His calculations could never in a month of Sundays be applied to a flat earth.
How so, explain.
As far as I have been able to ascertain there are no circumstances under which a flat earth size planet could ever form. Just not possible. A total affront to gravity. Not even improbable.
What does that have to do with Eratosthenes? Did he "confirm" gravity or something?
In that light there is no way in which the experiment could have in those circumstances could ever have applied to a flat earth or any other shape that was not a sphere.
How so? He measured what, something like 500 stadia? What's to say that the earth didn't flatten out or take some other shape outside of that? He believed the earth was spherical and measured a small area in relation to what he thought was a spherical earth and extrapolated that out to what he thought was a spherical earth in totality. He confirmed nothing about the shape of the earth.
The experiment confirmed the spherical nature of the planet by revealing its circumference.
He calculated its circumference given the earth is spherical. There was no "confirmation" that the earth was (is) spherical. How you get there, I don't know. We can "confirm" the circumference and its shape now to a much greater degree of accuracy, but there was no "confirmation" of anything 2000+years ago. It was simply, "If the Earth is a sphere, the circumference would be X." That's it.
Quite simple. In the real world A flat earth is an impossibility therefore the calculations could never have applied to one.
Wow, that is some crazy batshit non-logic that is weirder than I've seen in a while. You can't calculate something that doesn't exist therefore the calculations must only apply to something that does exist?
Tell that to brainiacs like this:
Calculation of Dark Energy and Dark Matter
Summary:
The derivation of a formula for calculation dark energy is described. The result is tested on the basis of the available data from the MAX PLANCK Institute for Radio Astronomy. Further formulas are deducted. The dark matter of the cosmos is calculated. A balance sheet is drawn up. Conclusions are drawn.
Have you ever heard of theoretical physics?
You know about theoretical physics.....wow. Tell me what you know. Though what that has to do about a mythical flat earth escapes me. While one is dealing with possible realities according to know laws the other is well grounded in fantasy and fiction. The two are not even poles apart.
Dark matter. I heard about it though not seen it possibly due to it being dark and difficult to see.
I think you missed the point. Or maybe I wasn't clear.
I know little to nothing about dark matter/dark energy or theoretical physics. I just know they are thing. The point being, you claimed that you can't calculate something that doesn't exist. I'm pointing out that theoretical physicists do this all of the time. The paper I presented shows learned individuals calculating something that we don't know if it even exists. They are literally applying calculations to something that may not exist. Contrary to your claim that that can't be done.
In short, your claim was incorrect and you're lazy in your rhetoric.