The Earth is Round and You Can’t Prove Otherwise

People love conspiracy theories. We love indulging them because they are creative and fun perversions of reality. If nothing else, conspiracy theories are a distraction that lets us ponder what could have been in another world if this one was just a little more interesting.

Unfortunately, some people like Flat Earthers turn conspiracy theories not only into facts but also their whole identities. Here’s the problem, big cat. The Earth is round and you literally cannot prove otherwise, no matter how much you want to believe.

The Flat Earth Theory

It’s honestly not a difficult theory to explain. The essential concept is that the globe shaped Earth is a lie and that the world is, in fact, flat. Anything that contradicts that is written off as a lie or, at the very least, an obfuscation of the truth.

For the most part, believers seem to agree that the Earth is actually something akin to a disc. Everything is on one side facing up with the Sun revolving around the planet. And Antarctica is actually the border, an ice wall preventing us from going over the edge.

I’m going to get real here. That doesn’t come across as completely insane, do you know what I mean? If we didn’t have mountains of data disproving this as a concept, it would almost seem reasonable. As far as conspiracy theories go, it is somewhat viable which explains its traction.

But let’s ignore all of the science proving Flat Earth wrong for now. Just for fun, let’s focus on three questions no Flat Earther can concretely answer. These questions are arguably more important than scientific ones, so much so that they discredit everything these people have to say.

Who, Why, and How?

Flat Earthers have essentially proposed that a centuries-old cabal of the world’s wealthy elite, massive organizations, scientists, and political leaders have all conspired to keep this information from us regular people. Who is in charge of this? How would they accomplish it? And, most importantly, why would they do it?

Who is complicated at best. To keep such a scam like pretending the world is a globe quiet would require the cooperation of millions of people spread across world working in innumerable government and private sector agencies. That’s impressive, not to mention impossible.

Keep in mind that the world was declared a sphere in roughly the 3rd century BC. That’s well over 2200 years for this massive multi-national group to protect this secret. The world can’t even agree on which sport to call football and you think we can keep this quiet? Not a chance.

The who feeds directly into the how of it all. Even a century ago it would have been easier to keep the Flat Earth on the down low. With the technology at our disposal today, it should be easier than ever to prove the Earth is flat. Yet, every scientific experiment Flat Earthers conduct inevitably proves the Earth is round, not that they’ll admit it.

Why is the most befuddling question. No Flat Earther can provide a reasonable or concrete answer as to why someone would do this. There is no benefit to anyone to hide the shape of the Earth. In fact, it’s both cost and time prohibitive to pretend the Earth is spherical. There is nothing to be gained by perpetuating this lie, only losses.

The Real Reason

When you pose these questions to Flat Earthers, you can get a wide range of answers in subject, focus, and clarity. What can be guaranteed is that none of these possible answers are supported by anything resembling a verifiable or researched fact.

Their biggest problem is that every time Flat Earth gets disproven in any way, believers have to expand the conspiracy theory to account for it. The theory has grown so vast and all consuming that it would be impossible to prove at this point. It leaves you wondering why they believe any of this in the first place.

I’m not looking to pass judgement on anyone. Many of the Flat Earthers I’ve met over the years have been intelligent, grounded people. Others have been batshit crazy. What they all have in common is hard lives. Some have moved past those difficulties. Some are still in the muck, as it were. But I’ve learned that the Flat Earth Theory has become a coping mechanism.

People stuck in the darkness of where life takes them can find solace in strange places. Flat Earth Theory gives them something else to think about outside of their lives. It’s part of a larger indictment of a system they believe has victimized them, which may actually be true in many cases. Then again, some people are just idiots.

Regardless, the Earth is spherical. Science has proven it. People fly and sail around the world in various directions every day. We have hundreds, if not thousands, of satellites that prove it. Astronauts have seen it. Just because you want it to be true to make yourself feel better doesn’t make it so. There are two truths I know; life can suck and the Earth is round. Deal with it.