The unbelievers understandably don't get it.
What do you, as an unbeliever, base your fervent insistence that I am wrong on? Let me recount some of the evidence for you:
1 You saw photos of a round earth from space;
2 You watched moon walks on TV;
3 Tom Brokaw told you the earth was round;
4 Your 4th grade science teacher told you the earth was round;
I could keep going but there's really no point because I'm right aren't I?
Right about what? Right that the majority of sources overwhelmingly favor a round Earth?
The entire idea behind science is that while anyone can do it him/herself,
people don't need to ; s/he can pick up where others left off. For FEers, they don’t do experiments; they use the work already done in “Earth: Not a Globe”. Apparently, REers can’t do the same with “Earth: Not a Book, The Real Thing”. Shame on us for relying on thousands of modern papers instead an obsolete book written 150 years ago! Shame on us for not being simultaneously a physicist, chemist, astronomer, and geologist! Shame on us for daring to use an outside reference instead of doing every experiment ourselves! Never mind that the FE supporters do the exact same thing; for Round Earthers, this is wrong!
Media and government have little to do with our “indoctrination.” Want to know why? Because this is the era where, as I am typing this post, I have outside sources accessible with less than a five-minute search. The majority of these outside sources defend and provide proof for a round earth. Yet according to your rules, “Earth: Not a Globe” is the Flat Earth bible and the FAQ are the Gospels; all other documentation contradicts these sources and is therefore wrong. If we aren’t an expert on everything, we can’t say anything.
I’m sorry; debate and discussion don’t work that way.
You rely on the same evidence to conclude that automobiles are frying the earth even if only at a rate less than 8% of the damage caused by volcanos and that man and ape share a common ancestor despite the ongoing search for the so-called "missing link." You, who look to the skies for UFOs and proof of life on other planets you don't know exist, seem to be logging in to this site angrily accusing FEers of being ignorant, based on your education which you received from television, magazines, and low paid public officials. What's absurd is the absolute fervor that so many of you REers defend your theories with. What you are missing is that we FEers are the one's lauging at you.
Wrong. We rely on skepticism. We (or at least most of us) don't rely on hypocrisy.
To REers, FEers do seem ignorant. Look through the forums again and see what happens if an FEer can't answer a question. If s/he even posts, it's either a reference to a book or the FAQ (apparently it's wrong for REers to make FEers do the same) or a flame to the questioner. Some FEers are decent at admitting what is unknown and respecting the original poster (I have to commend theEngineer on this), but for the most part the FE community absolutely refuses to admit other conclusions than their own.
Who is more ignorant? The world may never know...
(BTW, I won’t argue with you about global warming. I actually agree with you there)
You are proof that if I can generate enough government and media support that states the moon is made of green cheese, you can be made to believe it. One day, I tell you Pluto is a planet, and you accept not only that it is, but that it even exists. The next day, I tell you its a rock, and without batting an idea, you accept it.
And you are proof that if a person reads a few books that contradict the world's knowledge database and wants to cry, "Conspiracy!” s/he will, regardless of which side has more scientific support.
Here is the real poll you REers should be taking . . .
1. How many REers have ever seen the earth from space with your own eyes?
2. How many REers have actually circumnavigated the globe under your own control?
To anyone reading this who responds by saying, "I have," I say to you, well done. If you have done one of these things and believe the earth is round, then you are enlightened.
However, if you have not, and you are not sufficiently well trained in science and mathematics to question and prove the experiments used to supposedly prove the earth is round, then you are a lemming; a patsy who will believe what you are told without proof and without first hand knowledge.
If I drop a ball, it falls to the flat earth. It doesn't roll in one direction or another. Everything about this experiment suggests to me that the earth is flat. If you are incapable of disproving this experiment SCIENTIFICALLY and CONCLUSIVELY yet you attack FEers on this site and call them names, they you need only to check your mirror to learn who the real hypocrites and who the real patsies are.
How about the poll for FEers?
1. How many FEers won't accuse someone who has claimed to have seen the earth from space as part of the conspiracy?
2. How many FEers have actually been to the Ice Wall and seen it with their own eyes?
That's the problem with conspiracy theories: any contradicting evidence automatically becomes part of the conspiracy. Space travel is a lie made up by NASA. The conspirators shoot down anyone who approaches the Ice Wall. The Flat Earth theory has crossed the event horizon; it is no longer a conspiracy theory but a convenience theory. Don't have anything to prove your conclusions? Blame it on the conspiracy. Does real life evidence contradict your beliefs? Blame it on the conspiracy.
How many of you FEers are well enough trained in science and mathematics to defend every observation that suggests a flat earth? Flat Earthers apparently have license to dismiss questioners and force them to read "Earth: Not a Globe" to get answers. Is that proving SCIENTIFICALLY and CONCLUSIVELY a flat earth? If so, then why do we REers get attacked when we try to refer the FEer to one of a thousand references? A book is proof for them, but not for us? In that case, who are the real hypocrites?
As for your experiment, our RE references, IIRC, state that the curve of the earth is so that over an 800m stretch, the Earth only curves one cm. When you factor in that the Earth according to RE still isn't a perfectly smooth sphere, and you should see that RE says your ball could easily do what it did.
Scientists are supposed to be skeptics. No truth exists in the absence of proof. Otherwise, what you have is faith. There is plenty of room in the world for faith. Faith is important, and meaningful. I have faith in God. But if you want to talk science, then show me proof. If I am incapable of understanding what you show me and yet accept it as proof, then I am a fool who confuses faith for fact. Thus, to a true scientist, nothing can be absolute until he has beheld it with his own eyes.
Is a book "proof"? If not, then you better send the message to the rest of the FEers on the website. We try to talk science, and you show us a book. FE is by no means any less guilty than RE of dismissing questions outright.
If someone questions RE observations and takes "Earth: Not a Globe" at its face value, they're called a skeptic. Yet if someone questions the aforementioned book, they aren't being skeptics; they're being ignorant. So it’s basically okay to be skeptical, as long as you aren't skeptical of the FE model. The funny thing is that the same thing applies to Christianity. And Islam. And Judaism. If that's not what faith is, then I'm the fool who confuses faith for fact.
You REers like to viciously attack people you disagree with, having little more than an empty head and bitter words to back up your arguments. The difference between me and you, is that I'm smart enough to know you are laughing at me and why.
Us REers? Admittedly, both sides have their one- or two-post douchebags. I don't mean you; I mean the ones who pop up, make the short little posts calling FEers or REers morons, and disappear. Whether you want to admit it or not, these people appear on both sides. Yours is the side, however with people like narcberry, people with several hundreds of posts who, instead of offering counterarguments, just flame on the poor REer for daring to question him. Even Tom Bishop has his moments, and I don’t even need to mention Franc T. If you find REer who consistently does nothing but flame the FES, make sure you let me know. Until then, stop accusing us of being the hypocritical ones.
PS. Who actually listens to Tom Brokaw, anyway?
Poll