Out of deep concern for a friend who has recently succumbed to this Flat-Earth psyop thing, I've decided to crowd-fund a challenge. Yes, I'm starting to lean towards the possibility that this disinfo is being broadcast to make all "truthers" look like idiots when there are some actual conspiracies out there that need to be investigated. Get everyone arguing about basic, fundamental science in an incorherent way and they'll never actually stand together for anything... Maybe it's a little paranoid of me, but not as paranoid as believing that all modern scientists are either in on the conspiracy or too stupid to figure it out (now THAT's paranoia in a serious way, or at least severe narcissism...). It's like watching someone get involved in some racist extremist group or super wacko religion and I'm left wondering when I can get my friend back to where we can have regular conversations again.
It's often difficult to reconcile science vs. beliefs, so the typical empirical arguments don't seem to work with the flat-earthers. There is always an ad-hoc response, and the impossible-to-respond-to statement "I don't believe in ______." Sort of like telling a vending machine repairman that vending machines don't exist. Ok, you may not believe in vending machines, but that won't stop him from repairing them. Personally having been on a NASA base a great number of times and having family and friends all in their employ is not enough for my friend. Neither are curved shadows on the moon, tides, equatorial co-rotation, the fact that there is a horizon, etc. He seems to need something more in-your-face. Not words and complex ideas that can't be learned in a single youtube video, but something easier to understand. As an environmental chemist by degree, I try and explain that the same system of science that brings us concepts like atmospheric diffraction, the ability to put objects into orbit, that explains how atmospheric carbon becomes wood etc, is the same system that allows us to design cars and copy machines and computers and such everyday, readily tangible things. It's robust, it works every time, and when it doesn't, science changes course to reflect the evidence. Nevermind that when taken metaphorically nearly all religious texts are completely consonant with evolution and big-bang, let's stick to things we can see and touch.
If anyone wants to become rich, change science forever, and be the most famous person in the history books from now on, all they have to do is publish a paper in peer-reviewed scientific literature that proves the earth is flat, and if it stands unrebutted, it's generally accepted as scientific fact. Why post online when you could be making history? I have several professors and a few friends who have done exactly this in the way of discovering "new" compounds and organisms.
Anyway, let me get back to the point. Since private space exploration is prohibitively expensive, I've decided to start an Indiegogo campaign to buy my friend a series of plane tickets whose routes are "impossible" on his map. Namely, direct flights from Australia to South America, SA to Africa, and Africa to Australia. These are readily available, if expensive, and since he probably believes the flights are fake and just posted to fool us, I thought that he needs to be the one to see that one can fly from Auckland to Buenos Aires in elevenish hours, etc. I hope that anyone else who is also concerned about their friends or family to follow suit. Maybe someone is rich enough to actually send a flat-earther to space? This campaign is just for a series of plane tickets though.
Indiegogo link to follow soon, please consider contributing if this phenomenon makes you worried about others' mental health.