[Dominic C.]

I am a high school student applying to the University of Chicago.  One of their application questions implicates flat Earth theory.  I would be grateful for reactions to the question from members here, which would be helpful in my essay.  Many thanks in advance.

Question:  You’re on a voyage in the thirteenth century, sailing across the tempestuous seas. What if, suddenly, you fell off the edge of the Earth?

[Bobby Shafto]

I think it's just an exercise in floccinaucinihilipilification.

[Dominic C.]

I don't think that is directly the point of the question, though it almost certainly comes from the perspective that flat Earth theory is false.  I would be grateful, however, for responses from the perspective of those who take the view that flat Earth theory is true.  Many thanks.

[Rushy]

A few issues:

1. It wasn't widely believed that the world was flat in the 13th century. The notion that the earth was round began over a thousand years beforehand, when Aristotle claimed the earth was a sphere, because the gods would only create a spherical world. Aristotle considered the sphere to be a perfect, sacred object.
2. There's no edge that you can "fall off" in any Flat Earth Theory version. If this were the case, the earth would have run out of water a very long time ago.

Your university question is not about the earth being flat. It's an exercise in imagination and how you would respond to a such a strange circumstance. It's a creative writing prompt. The fact that I need to tell you this probably means you're not going to be accepted.

[iamcpc]

I am a high school student applying to the University of Chicago.  One of their application questions implicates flat Earth theory.  I would be grateful for reactions to the question from members here, which would be helpful in my essay.  Many thanks in advance.

Question:  You’re on a voyage in the thirteenth century, sailing across the tempestuous seas. What if, suddenly, you fell off the edge of the Earth?

There are dozens, if not hundreds of flat earth models.

In one model there is a dome which would prevent this.
In one model there is a firmament which would prevent this.
In another model there is a great ice wall which would prevent this.
In another model the earth is a infinite plane (in some models it's an infinite repeating plane) so falling off the edge is impossible.


Assuming that you broke through the ice wall or dome and were able to jump off:

A model, which uses gravity, would suggest that the gravity of the flat earth would pull you in and you would just land on the side of the earth.

A model, which uses universal acceleration, would suggest that you would be floating in space and the earth would accelerate up and away from you at 9.8 m/s

A model, which uses a different version of universal acceleration, would suggest that you would be floating in space next to the earth.

in one religious model you would be jumping into the waters above/outside the firmament

Another religious model you would be jumping into heaven

[Bobby Shafto]

I don't think that is directly the point of the question...

You may not be understanding the point of the question. University of Chicago is rather infamous for these supplemental essays, and the point isn't something as direct as you're seemingly taking it to be.

My reference to that was perhaps too oblique, but here's another example:

The word floccinaucinihilipilification is the act or habit of describing or regarding something as unimportant or of having no value. It originated in the mid-18th century from the Latin words "floccus," "naucum," "nihilum," and "pilus"—all words meaning “of little use.” Coin your own word using parts from any language you choose, tell us its meaning, and describe the plausible (if only to you) scenarios in which it would be most appropriately used.

The idea is to show a little bit of your personality, some out-of-the-box thinking perhaps. If you approach the question as if the point is literal, you won't likely present the best resume' of your personality to the reviewers who are looking for a "fit" in the U of Chicago academic community.

Good luck.