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Surprisingly, humanity has known that the Earth is a sphere for a long time. It is a myth that medieval Europeans as a whole thought the world was flat and the earliest documents found involving the theory that the Earth is round are from 4th Century B.C. written by Plato. It is a myth that Pythagoras discovered that the world is round. Despite this, there are still debates to this day on whether or not the Earth could really be a completely different shape: totally flat. One of the earliest groups to lead with the argument that the world is actually flat was a commune run by a British author named Samuel Birley Rowbotham in the 1830’s. He wrote a novel called “Zetetic Astronomy: Earth Not a Globe” that was published in 1865. There isn’t a whole lot of information on what exactly went on in this commune, however we do know that members believed that Earth was a circular disk with the North Pole at the center. Nobody paid much attention to the group and they were considered to be harmless.
The “Flat Earth Theory” as a more modern concept began in the 1950’s with the formation of the Flat Earth Society. The group is based in Britain and originally had less than 4,000 members. Because of the influence of the internet and social media in the early 2000’s, the organization launched to the rest of the world and held annual conferences. Researchers studying this movement believe that the main appeal of the group to people is mistrust in scientific sources, conspiracy theories, social media and the spread of misinformation, and loyalty to a community. This is still an ongoing issue. On April 8th, 2024, an eclipse occurred that spanned across the U.S., Mexico, and Canada which sparked an influx of misinformation from self-proclaimed “flat-earthers” which had to be publicly debunked.
After reading your blog post, it is interesting to me because you shed light on the persistence of the Flat Earth Theory regarding centuries of scientific evidence that goes to show that the Earth is sphere. Your post provides a more comprehensive view on how some individuals may have thoufh the world is flat and why such beliefs have evolved. Additionally, the influence that technology today and the influence of social media today helps spread such ideas, which emphasize the challenges of the misinformation many have been provided. Your blog post highlights and discusses the importance of thinking critically as well as being educated on conspiracy theories.
ReplyDeleteHey Carly, so happy you chose to write about the flat earth theory! My friends love to try and come up with absolutely outrageous theories on how the earth could be flat. If this interested you, look into the Antarctica Ice wall for some good times.
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