Beyond the Beyond: Falling Off the Map – A Closer Look at the Flat Earth Theory
Dude. This is going to be a tough one. There are strong feelings on both sides of the argument over whether the Earth is a globe or if it’s flat. The tension between the flat-earthers (Flerfers) and those who believe the Earth is round (Globers) is more than just a scientific disagreement—it’s a culture clash of belief systems and worldviews. I joined a few groups on Facebook, and these people are at each other’s digital throats.
The Earth is an oblate spheroid, right? This has been confirmed by hundreds of years of science. There’s NASA satellite imagery, confirmation from the highest scientific institutions, and… physics. The flat Earth theory is viewed by many as nonsense, as echo-chamber-fueled delusions from gullible conspiracy theorists.
The flat-earthers, obviously, believe the Earth is flat. That the entire thing is covered by a giant firmament, and that the perimeter is lined with an ice wall holding the ocean in. Many think that gravity is not only misunderstood, but it’s a lie. That space is not what NASA tells us it is, the sun and moon are local (and we’ve never been to the moon), and that stars shimmer or flicker like they’re underwater—a celestial phenomenon of sorts behind a firm barrier.
Globers believe in science, while Flerfers think that the Globers are just blindly following authority. They see Globers as trading intuition for textbooks, CGI images, and government-funded space agencies bent on not giving us the truth, and that these same organizations siphon off billions in taxpayer dollars each year. Globers seem to trust scientific evidence and peer-reviewed consensus, while the flat Earth crowd trusts personal research and their own observations.
One thing I do find interesting about the flat Earth community is that they believe the Earth was created for a specific purpose, and that humans are at the center of a designed, meaningful, and beautiful creation. According to some, there has been a vast conspiracy to make us feel smaller than we are, to rob us of the knowledge of our divine potential. I mean, how much smaller can you feel than knowing you’re on some spinning rock in the cold vastness of space, in the middle of a universe that is so big that our brains cannot fathom its size? Just specks, and not divine. Just life forms evolved from primates, and not created in the image of God.
I dunno, dude. I’m starting to sound like a flat-earther, but I’m not. Not that it matters, or that you care, or that I even need to say it. But to me, it’s a pretty ridiculous idea. I mean, NASA tells us so, right? Their seventy-million-dollar-a-day budget has to be good for something. But other stuff—the stuff about us being part of a design, watched, loved, known—the idea that this world was made with pure intention, and that we’re not just some accident, that there’s something very, very sacred about being here… that stuff I can kind of get behind.
As private space technology gets better, this issue is going to be put to bed one way or another. Some guy who isn’t an “operative” like Bezos or Musk, but some dude from rural Montana with a shit ton of money—he’s gonna build a rocket and send his dog up or something with a GoPro strapped to his head. It’s going to be well-trained, unstrap itself, eat some Sausage Surprise kibbles, and stare out the window, gazing down at that beautiful blue object below. And then we’ll finally know that the world is…
Does one of your family members believe in Ice Giants? Message me @beyondthebeyond1 on Instagram.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Eastern Sierra Now. Readers are encouraged to conduct further research and consult with relevant experts or professionals before making any decisions or taking any actions based on the information provided in this article.
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