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Earth : Flat or Spherical ?

The Planet Earth is:

  • Total voters
    61
Dragonfly

Dragonfly

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The flat-Earth conspiracy is spreading around the globe. Does it hide a darker core? - CNN

A YouGov survey of more than 8,000 American adults suggested last year that as many as one in six Americans are not entirely certain the world is round, while a 2019 Datafolha Institute survey of more than 2,000 Brazilian adults indicated that 7% of people in that country reject that concept, according to local media.
Click to expand...

Okay, so "round" may not be the scientifically proper word. A sphere. To be a bit more specific:
oblate spheroid, or oblate ellipsoid
Click to expand...
.

But for the sake of making this easier can we just call it either "flat" or "spherical"?
And if "round" is what you wish to call it that's fine too. A squished ball works too.

So is this really a growing trend? Are more people being convinced that the Earth is flat?

Anyone here wish to confess to being a flat-earther?

How is it that we have an International Space Station orbiting a flat earth (for decades), yet no pictures to prove the flatness?
 
I think we are more cube shaped a planet. Like nature's Jack In The Box waiting for something to pop out the top.
 
"And that, my liege, is how we know the Earth to be banana shaped"
 
Dragonfly said:
The flat-Earth conspiracy is spreading around the globe. Does it hide a darker core? - CNN



Okay, so "round" may not be the scientifically proper word. A sphere. To be a bit more specific:
.

But for the sake of making this easier can we just call it either "flat" or "spherical"?
And if "round" is what you wish to call it that's fine too. A squished ball works too.

So is this really a growing trend? Are more people being convinced that the Earth is flat?

Anyone here wish to confess to being a flat-earther?

How is it that we have an International Space Station orbiting a flat earth (for decades), yet no pictures to prove the flatness?
Click to expand...

I voted "Other".

My jury is still out.

:2wave:
 
rocket88 said:
"And that, my liege, is how we know the Earth to be banana shaped"
Click to expand...

No matter how far I travel, no matter where I go, no matter who I converse with, there is always some pertinent line from Monty Python that can be interjected into any current conversation!

:lamo
 
Dragonfly said:
Really?

Seriously?
Click to expand...

Well, we were fairly certain it was essentially round, most of our life, but then with all this string theory and membrane theory and alternate dimensions where everything thing that could be likely is, came along, and, well, we just aren't so sure anymore.

Perhaps the earth is flat and it is just our vision that is curved?

Who knows?

:2wave:
 
LouC said:
Well, we were fairly certain it was essentially round, most of our life, but then with all this string theory and membrane theory and alternate dimensions where everything thing that could be likely is, came along, and, well, we just aren't so sure anymore.

Perhaps the earth is flat and it is just our vision that is curved?

Who knows?

:2wave:
Click to expand...

Then why are coins flat per our vision?

We can mechanically manufacture flatness into things down to sub-microns of flatness.

They don't then appear curved, or worse, round when we look at them.
 
Dragonfly said:
Then why are coins flat per our vision?

We can mechanically manufacture flatness into things down to sub-microns of flatness.

They don't then appear curved, or worse, round when we look at them.
Click to expand...

Do coins appear flat?

Reduce yourself to the molecular level, stand a one edge of a dime, look across the diameter for the coin, you won't see the other side.

Because it isn't flat.

They only appear that way at our normal size because our perspective is off, it is an illusion of optics.
 
LouC said:
Well, we were fairly certain it was essentially round, most of our life, but then with all this string theory and membrane theory and alternate dimensions where everything thing that could be likely is, came along, and, well, we just aren't so sure anymore.

Perhaps the earth is flat and it is just our vision that is curved?

Who knows?

:2wave:
Click to expand...

Feel free to post the mathematical equations that strongly suggest that the Earth is flat. :)
 
LouC said:
Do coins appear flat?

Reduce yourself to the molecular level, stand a one edge of a dime, look across the diameter for the coin, you won't see the other side.

Because it isn't flat.

They only appear that way at our normal size because our perspective is off, it is an illusion of optics.
Click to expand...

I think you're being deliberately obtuse.

But if a coin is "flat" to the human eye from the normal human perspective, then why do we not get info/pictures from the ISS showing a flat Earth?

Speaking of the ISS, and all the other satellites, what shape is their orbit if the Earth isn't a sphere?
 
Oblate spheroid
 
Dragonfly said:
The flat-Earth conspiracy is spreading around the globe. Does it hide a darker core? - CNN



Okay, so "round" may not be the scientifically proper word. A sphere. To be a bit more specific:
.

But for the sake of making this easier can we just call it either "flat" or "spherical"?
And if "round" is what you wish to call it that's fine too. A squished ball works too.

So is this really a growing trend? Are more people being convinced that the Earth is flat?

Anyone here wish to confess to being a flat-earther?

How is it that we have an International Space Station orbiting a flat earth (for decades), yet no pictures to prove the flatness?
Click to expand...

It's definitely flat. When I drive down the road it looks flat. :lamo
 
In some non-Euclidean geometries, a plane acts like the surface of a sphere. These are useful for map making and airplane navigation.

Due to the spin of the planet, the Earth bulges slightly at the Equator and flattens at the poles. The technical term is oblate spheroid.
 
LouC said:
Well, we were fairly certain it was essentially round, most of our life, but then with all this string theory and membrane theory and alternate dimensions where everything thing that could be likely is, came along, and, well, we just aren't so sure anymore.

Perhaps the earth is flat and it is just our vision that is curved?

Who knows?

:2wave:
Click to expand...

Yeah, that totally explains why ships disappear over the horizon when the sail away.
 
Tlrmln said:
Yeah, that totally explains why ships disappear over the horizon when the sail away.
Click to expand...
If you go to a high place and look at the the horizon, you can literally see the curve. The Greeks calculated the size of the globe, yet 800 years later everyone thought the world was flat.
 
I think that at this point, if someone really thinks the Earth is flat, they shouldn't be allowed to vote, lol.
 
Jay59 said:
In some non-Euclidean geometries, a plane acts like the surface of a sphere. These are useful for map making and airplane navigation.

Due to the spin of the planet, the Earth bulges slightly at the Equator and flattens at the poles. The technical term is oblate spheroid.
Click to expand...

Why did you vote other?
 
Cylindrical. Which explains how it can be both flat and curved.
 
Dragonfly said:
You voted other?

Any reason why?
Click to expand...

Because it's technically not a sphere but closer to an oblate spheroid.

Modeling the Earth as a sphere is like saying pi=3.14: It's fine for approximation in classrooms, but for precise calculations you need more decimals.
 
Phys251 said:
Because it's technically not a sphere but closer to an oblate spheroid.

Modeling the Earth as a sphere is like saying pi=3.14: It's fine for approximation in classrooms, but for precise calculations you need more decimals.
Click to expand...

Come on man...do you need to be THAT picky?

Please read the OP. Including the quote where I posted "oblate spheroid"


Dragonfly said:
The flat-Earth conspiracy is spreading around the globe. Does it hide a darker core? - CNN



Okay, so "round" may not be the scientifically proper word. A sphere. To be a bit more specific:
.

But for the sake of making this easier can we just call it either "flat" or "spherical"?
And if "round" is what you wish to call it that's fine too. A squished ball works too.

So is this really a growing trend? Are more people being convinced that the Earth is flat?

Anyone here wish to confess to being a flat-earther?

How is it that we have an International Space Station orbiting a flat earth (for decades), yet no pictures to prove the flatness?
Click to expand...
 
I watched the documentary on the people who truly believe it is flat. It was quite amusing that each experiment they tried to show the Earth was flat, their results showed the opposite, that it is round and then they would claim that experiment flawed and try to come up with something else. It was also amusing that the guy claimed it had to be flat because he could see some of the buildings in Seattle from Whidbey Island, but even the view he pointed out was only the tops of taller buildings, not their bottoms or smaller object closer to the ground.

Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk
 
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