First of all I must say that I am very glad I stumbled upon this site. I am a board certified psychiatrist with a special interest in conspiracy and cult phenomena. Now I must say that from what I have read so far, the Flat Earth Society does not possess all the characteristics of a “cult,” yet many of the threads I have read show classic presentations of cultist views. i.e. the complete dismissal of the obvious and rational truth to be replaced with outlandish, irrational and twisted logic. A perfect example of this is the FES’s explanation of how a lunar eclipse occurs:
The logical (and correct) explanation is that the spherical earth aligns itself perfectly between the sun and the moon so that a crescent shadow (created by the curvature of the earth) is cast upon the moon. A lunar eclipse can only be seen at night because that is when the viewer is on the side of the earth that is facing the moon. These eclipses are 100% predictable as we know the exact trajectory of the celestial bodies in our solar system.
Now we shall look at the explanation provided by the FES. According to the FAQ’s, the spotlight sun casts light upon the earth which then reflects back on the moon. Since different areas of the earth have different photo absorbancies (i.e. different percentages of a perfect black body) the light selectively reflects a specific pattern back onto the moon to create the eclipse. OK, this explanation isn’t too bad, actually. It has rational logic, and scientific roots; however there are two major components that make it not only unlikely, but impossible. 1) The shadow cast on the moon has a perfect arc, therefore in order for the FE theory to be possible, there would have to be a place on earth with a perfectly smooth demarcation between reflective surfaces… I certainly don’t think anything like that occurs on the earth surface. 2) everyone knows that the moon is sometimes visible during the day, so therefore since a flat earth only has one side, an eclipse should be visible from parts of the earth where it is "day." I would be very curious to see if a FE proponent could predict an eclipse using their theory...
OK, let’s take another example. I have read so many FE proponents say that gravity does not exist, and believing in gravity is the same as believing in “magic.” I would be curious then to hear the explanation as to why a water droplet (or any free-falling liquid for that matter) coalesces into a perfect sphere. I’m sure FE proponents have heard this argument many times before and are armed with a very interesting answer, but the truth is that the water molecules posses mass, and as such they are attracted together to form the most compact form possible; a sphere.
The issue of aviation travel over the South Pole appears to be a favorite for FE proponents because it is true that commercial flights do not fly over the south pole and any rational proof that can be given to prove that Antarctica is an island can easily be countered with irrational logic. I am also a pilot, and for the record (for those of you who will believe the truth) the reason flights do not take this route is not for fear of flying of into space, but rather because of safety. Unlike flying over the North Pole, antarctica is so far removed from anything that if there were to be an emergency, there would be little hopes of a rescue, and there would certainly not be any landing strips if a passenger started having a heart attack or what not. When you are flying over the north pole you have the northern territories of Canada, Greenland and then before you know it you are in Russia. Much safer. Even trans-oceanic flights usually plot courses where emergency landing sites are no more than an hour or two away. This however provides far too many “loop holes” that the FE’s could run with in their conspiracy, and therefore both sides will have to agree to disagree on this point and move on.
The bottom line is that no amount of internet ranting, theorem postulating or psychological evaluation is going to make this group change their minds. The mind is a wonderfully mysterious thing that we are just starting to understand. It has an amazing power to deny what it wants. In a condition called parietal neglect, a person will actually deny their own body parts. For example a person with this affliction may look at their arm, see that it is attached to their body, yet despite all the evidence, they choose not to believe it is part of them. My advice to people is to not waste your time trying to convince this group. In 20 years when space travel is open to the public you could take one of them into the weightlessness of space and they would probably say it was just an elaborate amusement park ride. They seem to be a perfectly harmless bunch who just have a slightly delusional perspective. I must say however that this level of denial is a serious risk factor for future, more damaging cultist involvement, and if any of you FE’s find yourself slipping into more dangerous cultist activity, you should seek help immediately.
Lastly, I just had a few things I was hoping I could get explained.
I know you think that satellites are not real, and GPS is done by land based towers. This argument is very possible as we use this exact technology in aircraft LORAN (which was subsequently replaced by GPS). How then do you explain the loss in satellite radio transmission when you pass underneath an overpass, or drive into your garage? If the signal was coming from land based stations this would not be affected (you don’t drop cell phone calls when you pass under an overpass.)
What keeps the atmosphere on earth? I understand that the “Ice Wall” keeps the water on, but if gravity does not exist what force prevents the atmosphere from being sucked into the vacuum of space at the border? Is new air continuously being produced? And if so, how?
Are the 4 elephants and turtle that the earth is resting on accelerating also at 1g? (see FAQ for any readers who don’t understand this question)