Quick Q re Gleason's Map: If, for example, a ship sailed out from the east coast of Africa and headed on 'straight right' correcting to cut across line of latitude and longitude in a 'south easterly' the ship should in theory reach the ice wall that encloses the oceans. This could be repeated from any other position. This would prove flat earth, that all line of longitude south lead to the Antarctic and that early Antarctic explorers were not merely navigating around a large iced landmass bigger than the whole European/Asia continent. If this is so, why hasn't anyone tried it?
For reference, to use forum terminology, I am a REer challenged by a FE friend to make reasonable and objective enquiries. As the Gleason map was offered as an example, I have thus raised it here.
The stock RE response to this map is to look at the Qantas airlines flight schedule from Sydney Australia to Santiago Chile. On a "gleason" map (the FE map shown in the Wiki) - their 747-400's would have to fly about three times the distance that Qantas say they do - they'd need to fly more than twice the maximum range for a 747-400, and their speed would have to exceed Mach 2...not something a 747 can do!
The ONLY response I've yet had to this from the FE community is that the Jet Stream speeds them along - but (a) the jet stream isn't that fast and (b) how could Qantas ALSO fly back from Santiago to Sydney against this mach 1.5 jet stream headwind?
Sadly, their experts are oddly quiet about this. There are MANY other airline timetables you can look at online, and without fail, 100% of them agree perfectly on flight times and distances with the round earth - and unsurprisingly, almost none of them agree perfectly with the FE map...except over ridiculously short trips or predominantly North/South flights.
Once you get into the Southern hemisphere - their model of the world simply doesn't work.
Since then though we have an exciting "NEW" map! It actually shows Antarctica as a separate continent - and has lines of latitude and longitude that make very exciting curves. Sadly, these are even more insanely wrong...but in different ways and in different places.
Hmmmm........good points. Although, if then earth is globular or 'flat' are not the distances the same? Rather like folding over a length of card?
Long before my FE friend gave me this challenge and having allocated FE to the realms of the understandings of the ancients, I had queried a good many things. If the earth is spinning at 1,000mph and rotating around the sun at over 60,000mph:
- Why WWII barrage balloons or other fixed balloons do not eventually lean to westward given that the earth is rotation West to East.
- Why planes flying West do not arrive at their destination twice as quick as those flying Eastward.
- The gravity of the earth has to be just right to counter centrifugal force zipping things off the centre as well as ensuring the northern and southern ends not to drop. This also enable water to flow uphill.
- How does orbit work if applying the principles of centrifugal force. If its gravitational pull then this too must be finely balanced to ensure we are not face planted onto the ground.
- If the earth's rotations and speed of trajectory around the sun, which is 93m miles, how does gravity work in this context?
- How did the lunar module have instant voice response with mission control on landing approach?
etc etc
I love a good mystery.