Flat Earth Ignorance is a Serious Problem

[RubinHighlander]

When I read the comments on the NASA feed on Instagram I get really ticked off at how many comments there are that call the images fake and try to preach that the Earth is flat. Some even deny that gravity exists and cannot be proven! At first I thought it was just a few ignorant nut jobs, but then I wanted to know if recent surveys have been done to see how many really believe the Earth is flat, have doubts about it being round or just don't know. Here ya go:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace ... c158437ec6

1/3 of Millennials! WTH?!

That really disturbs me! Our public education system is and has been failing in the US!

At least the COBs temple film shows round planets orbiting a sun, even though some TBMs still believe and teach the Newtonian view of the universe, as laid out in Smith's BOA.

It just goes to show that no matter how much factual data and evidence we have easily and readily available about the world we live on, large groups of people can still be way off the path of truth. I've tried arguing with these flat earth idiots in the comments on the NASA feed and it's exactly as productive as it is if you try to talk facts with a staunch TBM about the COB's truth claims. One of the flatard accounts I visited has it right in his profile: "I know the Earth is flat!" Sound familiar?

[RubinHighlander]

I haven't engaged much with TBMs, but today, just for S&Gs, I tried it on the New Name Noah Youtube comments:

TMB response to NNNs video:
No matter how you feel about the church your still placing Perl’s before swine and mocking God and taking what people feel to be sacred and spiting in there face. By there fruits ye shall know them. Your efforts are the work of Demons and devils. It is not a matter of exposing truth, it’s a matter of your lack of respect for what people hold sacred.

Me:
If you educated yourself on the actual and factual origins of those "sacred" ceremonies and how they evolved into the matrix you are plugged into, you might feel differently about all the time and money you pay to that corporation. If you are an honest seeker of truth it can set you free. I ran on that treadmill for over 40 years; looking back on it all, that was hell and it is heaven to have escaped from it!

TBM:
I’m happy you have found some peace. I look past what is not church doctrine and things that are anomalies that we will never know the truth about until we see them in person agin. There is so manny amazing things one can learn if they become as a little child and humble themselves and turn to the Lord for answers. The baptism of fire experience is real and opens doors to the meanings behind the mysteries of God.
If one focuses on the worlds view of “Mormonism”. They will most likely be angry and bitter and upset. That is what it’s designed to do by the deceiver which is Babylon. They will point and they will mock.
A true study of the doctrine is action. Truly and sincerely praying with faith and love in your heart trusting God loves you is part of that study.
Look at the fruits of the church, but mostly look at the fruits of what God has placed in our care. Your seeing the Ceremony but your not seeing the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ a honest study reveals the true meanings and then there is no doubt this is Christ’s Church.
Agin glad your happy but you don’t need to mock God. Jeremiah 23:1. John 7:17

"I know the Earth is flat and I know the Church is true!"

"By their fruits..." Indeed! I shall take the fruits thou givest to me and ferment them into a sweet drink that is delicious to the taste and very desirable!

[Reuben]

Original writeup, as linked to from the Forbes article:

https://today.yougov.com/topics/philoso ... -religious

I've determined three things:

1. YouGov appears to be in the business of selling data for market research.

2. The article's author doesn't know the difference between "spiritual" and "religious" which in psychology is an important distinction. Something like this is normally a bit of a red flag, but I don't know whether the author was involved in the study.

3. The study could have had good methodology, but they don't give enough details for me to be able to tell.

The surprising results could be an artifact of who happens to have a YouGov profile. Weighting samples as they suggest they've done doesn't always fix this: if the original samples (i.e. people with YouGov profiles) are very unlike the population (i.e. US citizens), they would end up with a lot of variance, which means less accurate numbers. Normally, I would say 8000 samples is enough to get about two digits' accuracy on a percentage (e.g. 66% of millennials) but the error could be arbitrarily bad. I can't tell without more information.

If this is accurate, I'm worried. I'll have to tell my son to step up his natural tendency to make fun of flat-earthers.

[deacon blues]

I don't see the problum. Just let all the athyists sale off the edje of the earth. Good ridance

[RubinHighlander]

1. YouGov appears to be in the business of selling data for market research.

2. The article's author doesn't know the difference between "spiritual" and "religious" which in psychology is an important distinction. Something like this is normally a bit of a red flag, but I don't know whether the author was involved in the study.

3. The study could have had good methodology, but they don't give enough details for me to be able to tell.

Thanks for a deeper dive Reuben! I really hope the numbers were way off, but even if you cut the percentage by more than half, say 5% of the population are flatards, I think that's way to high in my book!

[RubinHighlander]

I don't see the problum. Just let all the athyists sale off the edje of the earth. Good ridance

If money were no object...I'd send a couple hundred of them up Russian rockets, orbit them around the Earth a few times. Anyone who still denies it after that would be sent to clean up at Chernobyl. The ones who were converted would spend the rest of their lives on a mission to educate the rest of the dumb population.

[Reuben]

I don't see the problum. Just let all the athyists sale off the edje of the earth. Good ridance

If money were no object...I'd send a couple hundred of them up Russian rockets, orbit them around the Earth a few times. Anyone who still denies it after that would be sent to clean up at Chernobyl. The ones who were converted would spend the rest of their lives on a mission to educate the rest of the dumb population.

It might actually be worth sending a couple of the ringleaders. Let them check and document everything. I would love to see the results.

[Hagoth]

I think the headline is a bit misleading. The second largest group to those who are certain the world is round are the don't-knows. This is disturbing in its own right, because it probably means, "don't know, don't care. Now shut up and let me watch Big Brother."

[Corsair]

I prefer to not engage with Flat Earth types as well as many other conspiracy theorists. Because the universe doesn't care.

[RubinHighlander]

I prefer to not engage with Flat Earth types as well as many other conspiracy theorists. Because the universe doesn't care.

This is true Corsair and it's even my moniker here that the universe does not give a crap about humanity, as is evidenced from the several mass extinction events of the past. But I guess if we are going to survive on this speck of blue dust, allowing too many stupid people to survive and thrive, holds us back and could very well be our undoing. I guess all I can do is just make sure my kids are educated critical thinkers.

[Kishkumen]

I don't see the problum. Just let all the athyists sale off the edje of the earth. Good ridance

If money were no object...I'd send a couple hundred of them up Russian rockets, orbit them around the Earth a few times. Anyone who still denies it after that would be sent to clean up at Chernobyl. The ones who were converted would spend the rest of their lives on a mission to educate the rest of the dumb population.

It might actually be worth sending a couple of the ringleaders. Let them check and document everything. I would love to see the results.

They would report the earth is tight and holds water, like unto a dish.

[RubinHighlander]

They would report the earth is tight and holds water, like unto a dish.

LOL! Yes! And the bees were not a problem, even through they were tossed to and fro and buried in the sea.

[Reuben]

Relevant article on the psychology of flat-earthers from a couple of months ago:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog ... obal-scale

I thought this paragraph was especially relevant to Mormonism, too:

On an individual level, successfully modifying belief systems usually requires interacting with people who hold different beliefs, so long as the goal of that interaction isn’t debate. In other words, changing “hearts and minds” shouldn’t be about arguing and trying to convince the other side. That doesn’t work in social interaction and it doesn’t work clinically in psychotherapy. Instead, discussions should start with empathic listening and validation of some of the core premises that underlie conspiratorial thinking. For example, we might agree that accepting everything we’re taught in school at face value isn’t necessarily the best way to learn the truth. From there, working together to assess evidence while considering other perspectives and alternative explanations as we do in cognitive behavioral therapy can soften the intensity of beliefs. From a clinical perspective, it’s that intensity, rather than the content of the belief, that most often gets us into trouble by influencing our actions in potentially harmful ways and should therefore be the target of interventions.

[1smartdodog]

Idiot thinking gets more of a voice than it actually represents In the general population. Mostly because of the internet. I would think a very small less than 1% of the population buys into a flat earth. Just like individuals with radical political beliefs they want you to think they are the majority or at least represent more people than they do.

[Ghost]

I've assumed that a lot of flat earth talk on the Internet is more about getting a reaction than about sincerely-held beliefs.

I can also imagine that some would overthink the questions in such a poll and select Other because they had heard that the earth is not perfectly round. I can also imagine someone choosing an answer specifically hoping to push a poll toward an amusing conclusion. But who knows?

[alas]

I've assumed that a lot of flat earth talk on the Internet is more about getting a reaction than about sincerely-held beliefs.

I can also imagine that some would overthink the questions in such a poll and select Other because they had heard that the earth is not perfectly round. I can also imagine someone choosing an answer specifically hoping to push a poll toward an amusing conclusion. But who knows?

Well, personally, I just might answer “no” to the question of “is the earth round?” Because round is a two dementional concept and the earth is three dimensional last time I checked. The question should be worded as “is the earth spherical?” So, ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer. The earth is not round, otherwise it would be flat. Flat and circular. The earth is an imperfect sphere. But then, I was raised with a bunch of smart assed big brothers.

[Thoughtful]

I asked my high school son how many people who knows in real life believe in flat earth.

He said zero.

Is this really a thing? Do people really think this or is it all bogus? He said he knows of some pro athletes that claim to believe it, ploy for attention.

[wtfluff]

Is this really a thing? Do people really think this or is it all bogus? He said he knows of some pro athletes that claim to believe it, ploy for attention.

Yes, this is really a thing. I know two people in real life who believe the earth is flat.

We don't talk about it.

[RubinHighlander]

I asked my high school son how many people who knows in real life believe in flat earth.

He said zero.

Is this really a thing? Do people really think this or is it all bogus? He said he knows of some pro athletes that claim to believe it, ploy for attention.

I asked my HS Jr. if she knows anyone, she said there are a few but it seems like it's a social trendy thing, meant to just get a reaction. One of my friends works with a guy who is a genuine flat believer. So, I think it is a small percentage who might be true believers, but I think they also have the potential to recruit actual believers to their cause, those less educated or that feel a need to be part of a social cause, no matter how ridiculous it might be.

[Yobispo]

I engaged a Flat Earth guy on reddit a few days ago. It was fascinating at first, but then it just sounded crazy and more like a religious cause than a different scientific analysis. Maybe I was expecting too much.