10-08-2017, 03:16 AM
You know, I've been developing a new theory on why so many people are embracing Flat Earth theories. I think it's a reaction against "collectivist" thought and the de-valuation of personal experience.
There is a HUGE amount of stuff that "we know" in life which people are simply expected to take on faith because smart people say so. I'm not saying this to be anti-science, I'm saying that so much of scientific deduction is virtually impossible for an everyday person to see\derive for themselves. Like imagine trying to explain The Big Bang to someone who steadfastly rejects any ideas which they can't verify directly. Considering how indirect much of the evidence is - such as red-shift on faraway stars - it would be effectively impossible.
Most people are OK taking such things 'on faith.' But others aren't. Some people just cannot accept what they can't see for themselves, and others are philosophically bothered by how de-valued personal experience is becoming. (And on the latter point, I agree to some extent.)
Which is why Flat Eartherism becomes so attractive. It's the ultimate "screw you, I'll only believe what I can see" style belief. Someone who wants to assert absolute authority over their thinking can say "no it isn't" all day long to someone trying to convince them of a (semi)spherical Earth and never actually have to confront the possibility of changing their mind. And the fact that it's an idea which is so bothersome to so many of the collective-minded people probably just makes it that much more amusing\appealing. It's a direct challenge to the entire idea of collective knowledge, by denying something which is so universally accepted as true.
Plus, all it would take is a relatively small group of people who are doing this deliberately, making a game of it, to gain a fairly large group of followers who are naturally of the "I only believe what I can see" mindset.
There is a HUGE amount of stuff that "we know" in life which people are simply expected to take on faith because smart people say so. I'm not saying this to be anti-science, I'm saying that so much of scientific deduction is virtually impossible for an everyday person to see\derive for themselves. Like imagine trying to explain The Big Bang to someone who steadfastly rejects any ideas which they can't verify directly. Considering how indirect much of the evidence is - such as red-shift on faraway stars - it would be effectively impossible.
Most people are OK taking such things 'on faith.' But others aren't. Some people just cannot accept what they can't see for themselves, and others are philosophically bothered by how de-valued personal experience is becoming. (And on the latter point, I agree to some extent.)
Which is why Flat Eartherism becomes so attractive. It's the ultimate "screw you, I'll only believe what I can see" style belief. Someone who wants to assert absolute authority over their thinking can say "no it isn't" all day long to someone trying to convince them of a (semi)spherical Earth and never actually have to confront the possibility of changing their mind. And the fact that it's an idea which is so bothersome to so many of the collective-minded people probably just makes it that much more amusing\appealing. It's a direct challenge to the entire idea of collective knowledge, by denying something which is so universally accepted as true.
Plus, all it would take is a relatively small group of people who are doing this deliberately, making a game of it, to gain a fairly large group of followers who are naturally of the "I only believe what I can see" mindset.
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