Submitted 2 weeks ago by zedgeist@lemmy.world to science_memes@mander.xyz
https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/e7708f2c-88c7-4b96-915c-2794c10ebce0.jpeg
It all started as a joke. The purpose was to fool people to believe in this dumb shit. Then people did, and there was much rejoicing. Then more people did, and it got old. Then even more people did, and was worrying. Then even more people did and now we have a whole industry of dumbfucks basing their lives and identities around something that started out as a joke at their expense.
Who’s laughing now?
I’m reasonably convinced that the flat earther explosion was at least encouraged by nefarious actors to see what dumb shit people will actually believe. I feel like the flat earth videos on YouTube are directly related to the recent rise of the extreme right, it primed so many of these people to reject reality so completely.
When I say this was meant as a joke, it picked up steam in the /r/flatearth sub, which I saw back early, and it was kind of an inside reddit joke much like /r/birdsarentreal is today. Mark my words, that shit will be the next flat earth.
People work like this. A sub with 50K subscribers? Maybe there’s something to it!
I had subs once. Big ones. They were taken from me. I know. Buy me a beer and I’ll tell you about it.
I was late to the Flat Earth thing, I assumed it started as satire for a couple of years after hearing about it, but didn’t pay it any attention. I was disappointed to learn that it was not satire, and too many (more than zero) believed it was true.
On the upside, I suppose, I now am more aware of just how fucking stupid people can be, and that’s good. Gotta keep your guard up when meeting new people, ya never know, ya know?
It’s like I tell people, if you know you know you know?
I still can’t tell if most instances of them are a) genuine, b) trolling stupid people into believing dumb shit, c) trolling smart people into believing they believe something stupid and enjoying the frustration as they fail to convince them otherwise, or d) conning true believers like that guy who just wanted to fund his private rocket launch did.
Like it started with group B, but it’s impossible to tell group A and C/D apart, if they are really dedicated to the bit. Like those youtubers who did various expreiments that would show which way it was, got results consistent with ball earth, then dismissed those results as something being wrong with their experiment could be strong denial but also just sounds like trolling and if I had to bet, I’d probably bet on it being a troll (or someone knowing their video will get way more hits like that because it’s a hilarious result that did get a lot of round earthers to watch to mock it).
Tldr, I think we might all be getting played, though none as much as the poor fools that really do believe and donate to “flat earth science”.
Who’s laughing now?
@tomiant@piefed.social who started selling t-shirts and slowly had to hire more employees as the demand steadily outgrew supply.
At the end they retired to their vineyard villa, now worth substantially more after the devaluation of half the planet.
I wish!
Well, that’s MAGA for ya.
This is a cogent and succinct analysis of MAGA’s genesis, yes. I mean that’s why we all were like, “hey, guys, funny joke and all but you do realize that if you repeat it often enough, people will start believe you and join your ranks and try to overthrow our democratically elected government, right?”
And they were like
“DA, comrade.”
This literally sums up Americas current situation
We are not evolved for being capable of seeing the thoughts, reactions and feelings of so many people, especially in the form of text written on a screen that your brain reads in its own voice. We have not adapted to nor even begun to study and understand how vulnerable our minds are to outside influence.
But it’s okay because we’re building giant artificial neural systems in data centers that take the power of small cities to run, with the express purpose of predicting and exploiting those vulnerabilities with superhuman effectiveness.
Same with Birds aren’t Real, and it’s going the way of this dumb shit.
Because in australia down is up, so their gravity pull all the water back up north
The stupidest possible way to say the truth. Now that’s a .ml comment
Bro, stop trying to other people
That you make all water bulge at the equator.
I mean you joke, but the earth does bulge in the center a little
OwO
What’s this?
Ah, but the equator also pulls the water sideways because nobody wants a sea where they live.
Technically…
If water flows down then why do I get it up my nose? Explain that Big Sciece!
By now you should know that if it does’nt work it’s your fault!!
Apploes to most bonkerz-science
I’m sorry my mind is stuck on
If gravity is not strong enough to stop a small stream from flowing to its lowest point
I mean… what…
Same. My brain literally made dial up noises until I figured out it was pure stupid.
That evil dihydrogen monoxide is at it again.
I WANT TO PUT THIS PERFECTLY CLEAR ONCE AND FOR ALL, this goes for all of you:
People are NOT DUMB because someone comes up to them and screams “watch out, dihydrogen monoxide can kill you!” because they may not be familiar with chemical nomenclature, yet may be acutely in tune with people taking to the streets protesting some substance that may affect them and their families.
I always hated that one.
That one and that dumb quote, “don’t attribute to malice what can equally be attributed to incompetence"- yeah cute, but uh, no, that is not how anything fucking works, it’s a funny quote in context, it’s not a rule of fucking thumb, you’d be a dumb sucka to live by that creed, but anyway, while we were clearing the air.
We need to get rid of that wicked substance.
and the annoying gaseous dioxygen.
But if the world would wear pants, how would it wear them? 🤔
looks around at the state of the world
On its head? Seems to be the default.
Hahah…
aww now I’m sad
this is really stupid, but how do you considered that the rotational speed of the earth at the equator is like 400 meters per second? How tf are you not flying into space under that speed?? The answer is obviously that the center of rotation is ABOVE us (that’s right baby hollow earth is back) and BTW that’s how gravity work, thank me later physicists.
Gravity is just centrifugal force.
*lowest relative to the center of the spherical celestial body
Out of curiosity of this argument, what direction in the universe is “down” to be considered the lowest point?
Let’s follow on this. Water goes down to the south hemisphere (why? Gravity is a lie). Then it stays there, attached to the ground. Why? Gravity again? An invisible barrier?
I doubt this is something anybody except the fringiest of flat earthers would approve, but I’m down for further explanation
Invisibly barrier makes sense. Up in the sky. I think the Bible mentions something similar.
Where were you when South America was kill?
When halo killed all the alien and doesn’t afraid of anything
funfact: because water itself has weight, it produces gravity, therefore it pulls more water towards itself, therefore more water collects in some parts of the world than other.
for example: most of the extra water that comes from global warmings, collects at the pacific because it has a larger surface, therefore US Eastcoast and Europe see very little change in sealevel, while some pacific islands are already gone.
epistemic status: I remember reading this info a couple years ago, but the best source I can found now is that sentence from wikipedia:
Changing ice masses also affect the distribution of sea water around the globe through gravity en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_level_rise
dont you mean mass.
I’m tired Boss…
The problem with the picture is, it's upside down.
🥴
Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
This is not a joke. This is genuinely what a significant number of flat earthers believe.
Iunnrais@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Flat earthers don’t believe in a flat earth. What they actually believe is that Satan is fighting a war for the minds of people, and education is a tool of satan to lead you away from god. All other nonsense they spew stems from that— they don’t believe the earth is flat because evidence shows it, they find evidence to support the earth being flat because the education system, which they believe to be from Satan, tells you it’s spherical.
BCsven@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
After a few years of marriage, it came to light that my wife thought the earth was flat. It wasn’t some religious thing or cult thing, she had no affiliations. She just came to that conclusion based on visual cues in the world (like ground looks flat) and believed it without it ever being challenged in it.
It came up when she mentioned that a plane fkying near the sun must be getting hot, and I’m like Whaa? I explained the sun is so far outside the earth that that plane isn’t feeling much different than us. She revealed she though the sun was inside the earth (like we lived in a snow globe on a flat planar surface) and the sun just went down behind the mountains at night like half hour away.
I was stunned. We had a 4hour talk about the earth as a planet and the solar system and how gravity works.
She curled up in a fetal position and had an existental crisis for the rest of the day.
Somehow she missed school for the gravity, solar system etc. And I’d destroyed her entire core belief system; that she had developed herself.
FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Also, they believe the earth is flat because the Bible says so; and the earth is young because the Bible says so, and that science is the devil’s work because it contradicts a book written by Bronze Age goat herders retconned by a guy in the Iron Age that got killed for telling the Roman’s he was king of the Jews.
InternetCitizen2@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Similar with the anarcho capitalist types
Revan343@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
Naw, there are atheist flat earthers
zedgeist@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
But… but… I posted it as a joke, so it is?? Please??
Kolanaki@pawb.social 2 weeks ago
Nope. It’s science now because you posted it in Science Memes. You just single handedly destroyed years of accumulated knowledge with your careless shitposting. Way to go, bud. Bravo.
tomiant@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
It’s all fun and games tricking idiots into believing dumb shit, until they become fundamentalists.
Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 2 weeks ago
flat earthers=flat personality and flat brains.
Zerush@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
Flat EEG
Buddahriffic@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I think it is a joke, though not one we’re supposed to be in on.
The hint is that that is a very well made map for someone who doesn’t understand how water flow really works. They turned the ocean trenches into rivers. It’s a parody of someone who doesn’t understand gravity but still uses it properly in demonstrating how it should look incorrectly.
Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
I’m aware. That’s not what I meant by “This is not a joke.”
Also the hint is that OP said they meant it as a joke. But, yeah, evening you said too.