Hey all. I compiled this list of problems and fallacies in the FAQ. Hope you enjoy.
1)
Q: "Why do you guys believe the Earth is flat?"
A: Well, it looks that way up close.
Circles aren't self similar. If you look at a sphere or circle close up it won't look like a sphere still.
2)
Q: "Why do the all the world Governments say the Earth is round?"
A: A Conspiracy among world Governments claiming to have space programs has disseminated the lie to the other governments of the world, as well as to the media and the general public.
Circuar reasoning. There is no proof of this, other than "the earth is flat, therefore the government must be lying". Since "the earth is flat" is a premise, it can't also be the conclusion. Therefore saying that the government has a conspiracy is fallicious.
3)
Q: "What about NASA? Don't they have photos to prove that the Earth is round?"
A: NASA is part of the conspiracy too. The photos are faked.
Again, circular reasoning. Also, there is no evidence of this.
4)
Q: "Why has no-one taken a photo of the Earth that proves it is flat?"
A: The government prevents people from getting close enough to the Ice Wall to take a picture.
If the government prevents you getting near the ice wall then you can't know it exists. You just made it up because it works with your theory.
5)
Q: "How did NASA create these images with the computer technology available at the time?"
A: Since NASA did not send rockets into space, they instead spent the money on developing advanced computers and imaging software instead
Same as 2 and 3. No proof aswell.
6)
"PLEASE NOTE This means that pictures confirming the roundness or flatness of the Earth DO NOT IN THEMSELVES CONSTITUTE VALID PROOF"
This is assuming that NASA images are fakes, which, as pointed out above, is fallicious. Again, circular reasoning.
7)
Well, what can I say about this one?
Q: "If you're not sure about the motive, why do you say there is a conspiracy?"
A: Well it's quite simple really; if the earth is in fact flat, then the governments must be lying when they say it isn't.
- Earth is flat
- Nobody knows why the government is hiding this fact
- Therefore, the government is hiding this fact
Conclusion is also a premise. AGAIN, circular reasoning. Seriously, this is like the worst fallacy and you guys are great at using it.
Q: "How are the world governments organized enough to carry out this conspiracy?"
A: They only appear to be disorganized to make the conspiracy seem implausible.
A2: Only a few governments (USA, former USSR, certain European countries) need to be involved. The rest readily accept the lie.
Citation needed. This isn't using the scientific method if you don't atleast provide some evidence, especially since it is only deduced from the hypethesis that the Earth is flat, which is fallicious on it's own.
9)
Q: Why hasn’t this site been shut down by the government?
A: Doing so would prove that the government is hiding something.
Fallacy of many questions: this is like asking "did you stop beating your wife?". Also, 'poisoning the well' fallacy. Closing it down doesn't necessarly mean they are hiding something - you are just turning people against the government by doing this. Also, non-sequitur. Saying the government has something to hide has no logical link to them closing it down.
10)
Q: "What about satellites? How do they orbit the Earth?"
A: Since sustained spaceflight is not possible, satellites can't orbit the Earth. The signals we supposedly receive from them are either broadcast from towers or any number of possible pseudolites.
Un-sourced conjecture. There IS proof otherwise of this you know.
11)
Q: "Doesn't this mean we'd be traveling faster than the speed of light, which is impossible?"
A: The equations of Special Relativity prevent an object from accelerating to the speed of light. Due to this restriction, these equations prove that an object can accelerate at a constant rate forever, and never reach the speed of light.
Actually, your mass gets larger as you tend towards the speed of light, according to Einstein. You can't accelerate forever sorry.
Also, are you willing to accept Special Relativity but not General Relativity? Why? Did Einstein get this wrong? It's based off the same space-time theory.
12)
Q: "If the Earth was indeed a flat disc, wouldn't the whole planet crunch up into itself and eventually transform into a ball?"
A1: If the Earth generated a gravitational field, yes, it would eventually happen, after a billion years maybe. FE assumes that the Earth does not generate a gravitational field. What we know as 'gravity' is provided by the acceleration of the earth.
Earth is made of mass whether it is round or flat. This means that it would create a warp in spacetime, i.e. a gravitational field.
Why does Earth not count as the same type of mass as any other celestial bodies in the universe?
13)
Q: "Why does gravity vary with altitude?"
A: Some models claim that the moon and stars have a slight gravitational pull, but other models hold that gravity does not exist anywhere in the Universe, thus gravitational variation is either a myth or caused by another phenomenom.
Does this mean that gravity doesn't vary on a moon-less night? Or, if your second answer if correct, you have not answered the question. Red-herring and non-sequitur fallacies.
14)
Q: Follow-up to previous question: How is it that the Earth does not have a gravitational pull, but stars and the moon do?
A: This argument is a non sequitur. You might as well ask, "How is it that snakes do not have legs, but dogs and cats do?" Snakes are not dogs or cats. The Earth is not a star or the moon. It doesn't follow that each must have exactly the properties of the others, and no more.
This argument is a strawman. The question is perfectly legitimate (the Earth, like everything else in the universe is made of mass, and this warps spacetime). The answer distorts the question and then rebutes it, ignoring the actual question.
15)
Q: "Why doesn't water run off the Earth?"
A: There is a vast ice wall that keeps the water where it is. This explains why you can find a vast plane of ice when you travel south. The height of the Ice Wall is hotly debated. Several possible models exist and are supported by different FE proponents:
- The Ice Wall (possibly synoymous with the Ross Ice Shelf) is 150 feet tall, and holds in the oceans. Atmosphere/atmolayer is either contained by another means or is universal.
- The Ice Wall is between 40 and 50 thousand feet high, and holds in not only the world's oceans, but 40000-50000 feet of atmolayer as well.
I'm sure if the Earth is flat I can find this 40-50 thousand foot high ice-wall with my telescope (or even my binoculars if I wanted).
*checks*
Nope. Must be the first answer. What happens with the atmosphere then?
Fallacy of many questions.
16)
Q: "How does global warming affect the ice wall?"
A1: The Ice Wall is really a mountain range. It just happens to be covered in ice and snow.
A2: Global Warming doesn't happen. It and its counter-theory (Global Cooling) are effects that cancel each other out. Remember, these "greenhouse gasses" can reflect heat back out into space as well as keep it on Earth. Yes, there are recorded rises in temperature, but the only records we have go back, at most, around 150 years. This is very likely an occurrence that happens every [x>150] years, that's happened before (perhaps many times), and that the Earth has thus survived before.
A3: Global Warming is damaging the Ice Wall and will, if unchecked, eventually drain the Earth's atmolayer and oceans.
A1: You know this even though the government won't let you anywhere near it? Contradiction.
A2: Record temperatures and floods. There are bets as to whether the geographical North Pole will actually have any ice on it this year.
A3: Global warming has happened many times in the past.
17)
Q: "What about tides?"
A: The tides exist due to a slight see-saw effect on the earth. As it goes back and forth, the water rushes to the side that is lower. Note, this is a very slight wobble. Remember, these wobbles are created by very minor earthquakes. They keep the tides in check. Notice that large earthquakes result in large tides or "tsunami".
I was brought up in the Mediterranean and we had no tide. According to this model, you should get similar tide *everywhere*. Nope.
What stabalises the Earth?
18)
Q: "How come the travel time by air from South America to New Zealand, via the polar route, is SHORTER than the travel time going North first and then South again?"
A: (Presumed answer: The airline pilots are misled by their GPS, or are deliberately conspiring to make it appear that the flights take different times)
First answer: Fallacy of accidents.
Second answer: I actually know a pilot. He believes in RE. Is he lying? Do common people who want to be pilots get taught to lie?
19)
Q: "How can a compass work on a Flat Earth?"
A: The magnetic field is generated in the same fashion as with the RE. Thus, the magnetic south pole is near the geographic north pole, just like on the RE. The magnetic north pole is on the underside of the Earth. The Ice Wall is not the south pole, but acts as it, as it is the furthest from the center of the earth that you can follow the magnetic field. The field is vertical in this area, accounting for the aurora australis.
You do know that the magnetic field comes from swirling iron in the core of the Earth, right? If the Earth is flat, why would there be a circular core?
20)
Q: "When traveling in a straight direction, you will always reach the same point on the globe from where you started. How can this happen if the world is flat?"
A: You need to have evidence for this to be true. Also, define "straight." Remember, the northern point on the compass is, under most circumstances (unless near the centre or deep in the ice wall), pointing toward the centre of the Earth. Therefore, if you follow your compass due east or due west, ending up at the same point you started from, you've just gone around the world in a circle.
Burder on proof fallacy. This is like this:
Me: Santa exists
You: No he doesn't
Me: Prove it.
Also, by this logic, if you were to try and walk in a straight line round the ice wall, you would actually be going round in a circle. Does this mean that you will see a straight line of ice but it will actually be curved?
Think about these for a while.