Megan Davies

Phys 1040-sp18
Van Ausdal
April 24th, 2018

Could Flat Earth Conspiracy Effect Policy Change?

It is difficult to believe we are still having this debate in 2018, but the rise in online

searches for information about a “flat Earth” suggests that there has been a huge increase in

interest in the flat Earth conspiracy in recent years. Here, I will take a look at the rise in interest

in flat Earth conspiracy, explore some of the points argued by “flat Earthers” and express how I

think this trend could cause potential policy issues if the conspiracy gains more traction.

Most people accept the idea that the Earth is round. But, despite what many people

were taught in elementary school, Christopher Columbus did not discover that the Earth was

round, nor did Magellan, when he circumnavigated the globe. Earth was believed to have been

deemed round, or spherical, dating all the way back to the ancient Greeks, initially, by

Pythagoras, and Aristotle, by observation, then, in more detail, by ​Eratosthenes ​(276 - 195

B.C.)​, when he calculated the circumference of Earth. These scientific discoveries were not

founded on conspiracy or religious doctrine. They were made through careful observation, study

and mathematical calculations.

Fast forward, thousands of years, and we have enough concrete evidence and

calculations, not to mention physical, first-person observations from outer space, by way of

satellites and photographs from Astronauts orbiting the earth, to convince even the staunchest

of skeptics, but it still isn’t convincing enough for Flat Earthers. Why are some people still

convinced that the Earth is flat, despite all the evidence?

 To understand how people in this information era with access to infinite amounts of data

at the tips of their fingers can still believe in outdated and disproved theories has much to do

with the fact that they’re-- LIVING IN AN INFORMATION AGE WITH INFINITE AMOUNTS OF

INFORMATION AT THEIR FINGERTIPS!

The internet has brought on a resurgence of the flat Earth conspiracy due, likely, to the

ability for anyone with access to the world wide web to disseminate any information they like,

true or not, to anywhere on the ​globe!​ Those drawn to conspiracy theories and who distrust the

government are particularly susceptible to becoming a skeptic of the concept of a round Earth.

But what is so attractive to the conspiracy theorists about the idea of a flat Earth and why does

the conspiracy theory intrigue those who are already skeptical of the government?

Let’s look at the basic tenets of Flat Earth theory, as listed on their website, to get a

better understanding of their thought processes. Flat Earthers believe the Earth is disc-shaped

and bordered with a wall of ice that keeps everything from falling off the sides and protects

Earth from “what lies beyond.” Some estimates of the height of the ice wall describe it as being

150 feet tall. Flat Earthers say that early explorers called this ice wall Antarctica.

It makes sense that there would be some misunderstanding of Antarctica in the early

days of global exploration. When explorers would venture to extreme south, they would be met

with a seemingly endless border of ice and snow. To add to the mystery, many explorers who

ventured past the ice border of Antarctica didn’t make it back. This clearly could be seen as

unnerving and mysterious and be the cause for the birth of many theories to try to explain the

infamous “wall of ice.”

We know now, through further exploration and technology, that the continent of

Antarctica is located at the southern pole of the Earth, and is covered by a massive sheet of ice

called the Antarctic ice sheet that contains 70% of the world’s fresh water. We can observe
Antarctica from satellite images from space, and from photographs taken, physically, by

astronauts. It is not a border, but a continent.

There area few more observations that flat Earthers hold as part of their evidence for a

flat Earth, including:

1. the idea that the horizon is always eye-level.

2. they claim there is no visible curvature of the Earth-- even from an airplane

3. they claim that there are no shots of Earth visibly rotating in space, they also

believe that photos from space a are faked by the government.

Simple logic would refute the first pieces of “evidence,” due to Earth’s size, compared to

humans, We are unable to see the curvature of the Earth because it is simply too big. This is

because, when an object is so large in comparison to the observer on it, the observer would not

be able to easily distinguish a curvature and the object would seem flat. And for the second

piece of evidence, most people who have ridden in airplanes would tell you they could see the

curvature of the Earth, so this claim seems unsubstantiated, immediately.

Those first points, aside, I want to draw attention to the last piece of evidence I stated

above. The flat Earthers claim in the FAQ section of their website, that if the Earth was round,

there should be video footage, from space, of the Earth rotating. However, they go on to say

that any images of a round earth from space must have been fakes, created by the government

for ulterior motives. It appears that flat Earthers are insinuating that if they had the video of a

rotating Earth, then they would be convinced of a round Earth. However, they already deny

photographical evidence of a round Earth in still photos. Why should we think that further

convincing, video evidence will change their minds, when the foundation of their conspiracy may

contain an equal part of distrust of corrupt government.

 The Flat Earth Society website’s FAQ section explains why the government would have

reason to lie about the shape of the Earth, listing 3 possible reasons:

1. A Cold War, staged moon landing that if revealed would expose the illegitimacy

of our government’s capabilities and downgrade the role science plays in our

society. (less science = more religion, and this plays with the conspiracy that the

government is trying to do away with Christianity.)

2. “To Hide the truth of the Bible.” ( More Christian conspiracy)

3. By having a fake space program, they siphon its funds for ulterior motives,

simultaneously hiding the truth about the Antarctic and hoard its resources,

preventing the world from using them, thus gaining more money and power.

These examples taken from the Flat Earth Society’s website, wreak strongly of religious

fanaticism and the conspiracy that there is a “war on Christianity.” We are already bearing

witness to the effects of the politicising of religious fanatic agendas through the push to omit sex

education in schools, through the push to teach creationism in school instead of evolution / the

big bang theory, and, of course, the denial of irrefutable evidence of human-caused climate

change.

If the flat Earth conspiracy gains more traction, we could begin to see a push for policy

changes throughout the world, by the religious fanaticism of the Flat Earth Society. As stated in

point number 3 (above), the flat Earthers see the space program as a cover for evil motives, and

there could be a push by religious fanatics to limit or eradicate budgets to NASA and other

astronomically related programs.

The emphasis on scientific facts, discovery and exploration are what brought us out of

the Dark Ages. We have seen the effects of religious fanaticism, the ignoring of facts, and

religious power-dominance throughout history, and the results have been disastrous. The Flat
Earthers aren’t utilizing factual evidence in their arguments, yet they have a following that

seems to be on the rise again. Whether or not their movement is religiously based, or not, the

refusal to look at facts and the fanaticism that is at the core of the Flat Earth movement is

disconcerting and I believe there must be an intelligent, counter-movement to educate the

conspiracy theorists to prevent any possible pushes for policy change that would affect the

human pursuit of discovery.

Works Cited:

Alfred, Randy. “June 19, 240 B.C.: The Earth Is Round, and It's This Big.” ​Wired​, Conde Nast, 4
June 2017, ​www.wired.com/2008/06/dayintech-0619/​.

“America's Flat-Earth Movement Appears to Be Growing.” ​The Economist​, The Economist

Newspaper, 28 Nov. 2017, ​www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2017/11/daily-chart-21​.

“FAQ.” ​FAQ :: The Flat Earth Society​, 24 Apr. 2018,

www.theflatearthsociety.org/home/index.php/about-the-society/faq

Ford, Arthur B. “Antarctica.” ​Encyclopædia Britannica​, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 23 Mar.

2018, ​www.britannica.com/place/Antarctica​.

“Greek Evidence for the Earth's Shape and Spin.” ​Welcome to Practical Physics​, 24 Apr. 2018,
www.practicalphysics.org/greek-evidence-earths-shape-and-spin.html

Johnson, Stephen. “Understanding the (Really Ridiculous) Core Tenets of the Flat Earth
Hypothesis.” ​Big Think​, Big Think, 2 Dec. 2017,
www.bigthink.com/stephen-johnson/understanding-the-really-ridiculous-core-tenets-of-the-flat-e
arth-hypothesis​.

Tretkoff, Ernie. “This Month in Physics History.” ​American Physical Society​, June 2006,
www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/200606/history.cfm​.