What people don’t realize about the flat Earth theory is that there are multiple ways of objectively proving to any person that the Earth is round.
It’s understandable to want objective, tangible and solidly provable evidence of anything recognized as ultimate truth in this world.
In Chicago, a landmark exists that serves as a point of contention for people who believe in the Flat Earth Theory.
The tallest building on the Chicago skyline is visible from many miles away across Lake Michigan. Some people say that the tower should not be visible from such a distance due to the curvature of the Earth, and then others suggest that more mathematical factors are involved in the equation and the failure for the Chicago tower to be invisible is due to an equation that goes over the heads of most people.
According to a user on Metabunk named David Ridlen:
“As Astrobrant2 has put it, ‘math is kryptonite to flat Earthers.’ FE fans unanimously confuse curvature “dropoff,” with bulge height, as they only cling to the simple “8 inches per mile squared” as the be-all and end-all of bulge calculation. I use this diagram to clearly illustrate their mistake without going into the trig they have no patience for, which has been working wonders for getting thru to them.”
The user also specThe user also speculated on flat Earth theories originating from Saudi clerics. He continued:
“Yes, there is an explosion of thousands of new flat Earth videos on YT since February. I suspect it started with the news story of the Saudi cleric questioning the spinning Earth in a videotaped lecture, that I think made sense to a lot of people who were inspired to search the subject. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art…nt-sun-rotates-Earth-planes-not-able-fly.html Variations of the question, “why dont we feel Earth rotating?” are by far the most common comments posted on my flat Earth debunk vid, where the number of views have only risen since I happened to upload it on the same day the Saudi cleric story broke.”
However, this is the most simple and straightforward explanation of the Chicago tower thing that I have seen yet: and it comes from a person who I don’t like and I doubt anybody likes, Mick West, the Metabunk guy that likes to sh*t on everything he thinks is fake. I just happen to agree with him here, but he doesn’t believe in other things that are real.
He simply said: “The curve is barely visible at 100 miles as the bulge is only 1/3 of a mile.”
This simple diagram can explain to anybody why you can still see the Chicago skyline across Lake Michigan.
(Image credit: Metabunk)
