Discussion with a Lady Seeking Answers Why Flat Earth Memes are Pseudoscience

The image above is a flat earth meme to give a false impression that a spinning earth should throw off water into space just like a spinning wet tennis ball. It’s discussed in this article.

I don’t take much time talking to people who are convinced the Earth is flat and who are trying to convince me of their pseudoscience. I really thought the lady in this conversation was sincere, but in the end, she rejected my arguments. Who’s right? You be the judge.

The lady’s comments are indented and in italics.

So my question about the globe is, how do you explain areas that should be “hidden behind the curve” when you can plainly see farther than that with the naked eye? And how does air pressure work, assuming you reject the dome firmament. I’m genuinely still trying to figure out what I actually believe about all this.

It seems to me that you are repeating what you heard on Flat Earth videos. The fact is that you cannot see beyond the curvature of the earth. I am from Chicago and I cannot see the eastern shore of lake Michigan because of the curvature of the Earth unless I view it from an airplane. And just the fact that the higher you go in an airplane, the further away the horizon is, is evidence of a spherical Earth. From the air, I could see both the East and West shore of Lake Michigan when I flew over it.

There is no dome. Air pressure works because of the weight of the air due to gravity. We think of air as being very light but if you consider 20-30 miles of air over us all those molecules of air are going to be compressed near the Earth because of the weight of the miles and miles of molecules. That’s how air pressure works. And the thing is this is not rocket science but simple science that people should be able to understand in high school. One Flat Earth video said the reason for gravity is because of air pressure. And a simple experiment proves that to be absolutely false. I saw a video of a room with all the air pumped out of it and a heavy metal weight was dropped from a height the exact same time a feather was dropped. And gravity pulled the heavy metal weight and the feather down and they both hit the ground at precisely the same time! You see Flat Earthers also deny the force of gravity. And yet they dare not violate the principle of gravity by walking off the roof of a 20 store building.

Flat Earth videos are very deceptive. Unless you really understand true science, you will take statements as fact that are totally untrue. Like one man who said with binoculars you can see things what the curvature of the earth is supposed to be hiding. That’s totally false!

Merriam-Webster's definition of specious

Merriam-Webster’s definition of the word specious

Flat Earth videos are full of specious reasoning.

(She sent me this meme of a wet and spinning tennis ball.)

Of course, if you spin a wet tennis ball at 50 revolutions per second, water will fly off it, but not if it rotates only one revolution over a 24 hour period. (And gravity is not even a factor in this case!)

The average speed of the earth spinning is supposedly 1500km/hour so it’s not too far off to spin a tennis ball quickly. A condescending attitude doesn’t help your case.

Do you really think I am trying to be condescending? 1500km/hour at the equator means the earth is revolving only once every 24 hours. I would not consider that to be a spinning earth. Do you? You couldn’t even turn a tennis ball that slow! It would drive me crazy if I tried because it would take 24 hours. To say the Earth is spinning is not only misleading, it is false in my understanding of the definition of the word spin. Spinning Earth is mind manipulation in my opinion. I am just trying to say the facts. I don’t want to talk down to people. I love people. It breaks my heart to hear sincere Christians call Flat Earth the truth. I consider Flat Earth to be promoted by government-funded agents seeking to marginalize Christians. And sad to say they have done a good job because millions of Bible believers are deceived. No famous and respected man of God I know of teaches Flat Earth.

Please know that I am continuing this conversation with you because I thought you are sincere in wanting me to help you understand that arguments for Flat Earth are based on false assumptions and pseudoscience. If I thought otherwise I would end the conversation. It would only be a waste of both of our time if you are not really interested in understanding what I have to say.

If gravity pulls things to the ground then how does a cloud made up of water droplets stay afloat? Gravity is still a theory, as is much of what we call modern science. I do lean towards electromagnetism being the force over gravity as it can already be observed in animals such as the gecko with its toes. And it’s my opinion that much of science is made up, evolution. So if they lie about one thing, why are they telling the truth about other things? Satan is the father of lies and the prince of this world.

Modern science has given us the technology and tools to communicate with each other on this platform, and now for a relatively low cost, the price of our monthly WiFi and/or phone bill. I find it highly ironic and even hypocritical that Flat Earthers mock modern science and yet use technology that science has provided to spread their Flat Earth pseudoscience! I’m not speaking about you but about Flat Earthers in general. I think you are repeating what you heard about clouds from a Flat Earth YouTube.

Clouds generally form, survive and grow in air that is moving upward. Rising air expands as the pressure on it decreases, and that expansion into thinner, high-altitude air causes cooling. That’s why they stay up in the air. But they don’t stay up forever and eventually fall down as rain due to gravity.

Yes, gravity is a theory, and the reason why Flat Earthers need to debunk the established theory of gravity with their own theories is because if the established theory of gravity is true, a Flat Earth cannot be possible. One of the theories of gravity on I heard from a Flat Earther is the earth is constantly being accelerated upward by a force. And yet other Flat Earthers say the Earth is motionless! So you see, Flat Earth doctrine is not consistent throughout the Flat Earth community.

Again I repeat, I am only taking time to share this with you because you told me you are sincerely seeking answers. If I thought you were convinced about Flat Earth, nothing I would say would change your mind, and I would be wasting my time.

Of course, there is pseudoscience in the academic world as well. As you clearly brought out, evolution is one of them. But the first real scientists such as Isaac Newton were men of God who believed in God Who designed the universe according to principles and laws, and they sought to discover those laws. That’s what real science is about. It’s the pursuit of knowledge. And the best scientists are those who hold the Genesis account of creation to be fact and especially those who believe in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Do you believe the moon reflects the light of the sun?

Yes, absolutely, I believe that. The moon doesn’t generate its own light. It refracts the light of the Sun.

So how is it that when the sun and moon are both in direct line of each other in the sky it’s not full? Today at 3 pm I could see both the moon and sun. The moon was only 1/2.

Phases of the moon are caused by the alignment of the earth, the moon, and the sun. Like the earth, 1/2 of the moon’s surface is always exposed to direct sunlight. However, depending on the moon’s orientation with the earth during its 28 day orbit of the planet, a person on the surface of the earth will only be able to see a fraction of that exposed area, and the rest of the moon will appear to be dark or in shadow.

That’s what they say. But when they are literally both in the sky there is nothing between them at all to cast a shadow.

But we see the shadow because of the moon’s position in relation to the earth. It’s all about the position or alignment of the sun, the Moon and the Earth. When the Earth’s shadow from the Sun covers the moon that’s when we have a lunar eclipse. When the shadow moves away the moon is full again. I think what I shared above about the alignment of the moon the Sun and the Earth is pretty clear. The moon like the Earth is always one half illuminated by the Sun but we only see part of that illumination at times because of our alignment with the Moon because the Moon orbits the earth. And the reason Flat Earthers want to debunk that is because it proves the existence of gravity.

This explains why we see the phases of the Moon. The image is not in scale of course. I think it is very clear and reasonable but of course, the Flat Earth people will reject it because they reject a spherical Earth and they reject the conventional theory of gravity.

One of my friends told me that in order to be convinced that the Earth is flat I have to watch at least 30 Flat Earth YouTubes. I told him, “no thank you I don’t care to become brainwashed with false information.” Some Flat Earthers told me they wavered back and forth at first but eventually entered the Flat Earth camp after seeing so many flat Earth videos. I think they are dangerous because they are so deceptive.

You keep saying your explanations are so simple, but you can’t see that it’s IMPOSSIBLE for something to cast a shadow if it is not between the light source and the object it is casting the shadow on… that’s simple science. If the sun and moon are in a direct line in the sky, the Earth is not between them at all. I think I’m done with our conversation. I was looking for solid arguments and I’m not finding them. Thanks for your time.

Desklamp experiemnt showing how the phases of the moon work.

Desklamp experiment showing how the phases of the moon work.

A simple experiment with my desk lamp and a model of the Earth shows the error of your reasoning. In this case, the model earth in the photo represents the Moon, the desk lamp represents the Sun, and I am standing figuratively on the earth taking the photo. From my position, though I can see the sun and the model simultaneously, part of the model is not illuminated by the light bulb. For you to say that is “impossible” tells me you are parroting the falsehoods of the Flat Earthers from a YouTube you watched.

I thought that you were sitting at the fence about Flat Earth but now I see you have gone to the other side. As I said, Flat Earth videos are deceptive and the reasoning on them is specious. The bottom line for me is exactly one half of the Earth is illuminated by the Sun at all times while the other half of the earth is in darkness. This is impossible if the Earth is flat. A simple experiment with a light bulb in a dark room next to a wall or near the floor proves that.