https://history.nasa.gov/rogersrep/v2appf.htm
Flat Earther Bev (@try_thinking) on #Birdsite is a... well, he claims *not* to be a "Flat Earther" while pushing FE talking points and claiming *ONLY* Euclidian geometry is valid. He's really big on "using Greek philosophy" as the basis for his pronouncements. I noted that since he rejects actual Greek philosophy such as used by Eratosthenes to discover a good approximation of the circumference of Earth, Bev is a "Sparkling Flat Earther."
Bev likes to quote-tweet from @FeynmanBot to show how smart he is in rejecting "globalism" and going against scientific consensus. And yet in Bev's assertion "I’ve talked to surveyors, they all know that level is horizontal 👍🏻" implying "the earth is flat." Of course, he appears to be upset when you *tell* him "you just said the earth is flat." "No no! There are mountains and stuff. OBVIOUSLY the earth isn't flat!" He then does a song & dance about why the ocean has no curve to it while denying curvature has to be accounted for in long suspension bridges.
This guy is a piece of ... well, "piece of work," to put it politely. When Bev produces his spiel promoting "it isn't Flat Earth," it runs roughshod over everything Feynman spoke of concerning reality. And yet this moron tries to claim Feynman's mantle as "super smart guy" with his quote tweeting. It's almost as disgusting as Feynman's behavior towards women. Not quite, but pretty low down there.
The part of this I find interesting and valuable is the mental exercise of thinking through proofs the Earth is a globe. Hell, following the Challenger Disaster, Feynman ended up writing https://history.nasa.gov/rogersrep/v2appf.htm with the wonderful quote, "For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled."
I need to engage here more about things that stretch my mind. It's too easy to dunk on flerthers. But time... I need to organize better how I spend my time.
@Romaq That's a great Feynman quote: "For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled."
The scope could probably be expanded. In the modern era, as far as I can tell, reality appears to have taken a back seat to much more than just public relations.
@aebrockwell The Flat-earther business is just part of the overall trend to disenfranchised knowledge. This push for anti-science isn't isolated, and it's scary as hell to me.
It's like the writing above a trashy bathroom urinal: "the joke is in your hand." The tools of knowledge these people seek to destroy back the very technology in their hands, their smart phone. Just... I can't even... How do you fight fog? How do you grapple with the nothingness?
@Romaq @aebrockwell How do you fight emptiness when there is no container to grasp?
@aebrockwell @Chamisa22 Every time... Every DAMNED time I think I'm being a bit too dark and cynical, far too many people are quick to remind me I need to lower my expectations just a bit more.
@Chamisa22 @Romaq I think it is becoming necessary to move the battle lines back a bit. It is no longer a matter of convincing people to do the right thing, because many people think that the right thing to do is to lie and attack people. The current challenge is simply to convince people that values like truth, integrity, kindness, decency and compassion are important.