It has been said that the flat-earth movement has some characteristics of a cult. There is no authoritative set of doctrines, and beliefs are varied, as seen in a cursory view of the Flat Earth Society FAQ. Some are typical, such as Earth being flat and round like a disk, but others hold views that are...truly bizarre.
Some of the strange views are found online (the internet has given flat-earth views a wide audience). Members had a chance to put up or shut up with something called The Final Experiment. It did not go well.
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| Flat Earth rendering, public domain image, Wikimedia Commons / Trekky0623 |
Another trait that flat-earthers share with cults is a victim mentality; they're all out to get us. NASA photographs proving the spherical earth? Faked for various reasons, and thousands of people are in on the deceptions. (Was I forced to wear a NASA T-shirt while I wrote this post, or will people believe me when I say that it's entirely coincidence?) Flat-earthers have many rescuing devices and simple denials of basic science against their beliefs.
Flat-earth internet trolls are better Christians than those of us who are foolish globe earthers, a view they frequently inflict upon us. Some of those people are pleasant and rational (many in other cults are as well). Their science is easily refuted. For that matter, I could not find anything online about flat-earthers who are also scientists. Mayhaps that's a conspiracy brought on by global warming?
The Final Experiment was proposed by flat-earthers and involved verifying the Antarctic 24-hour sun in December. Yup, it happened, just as the sphere-earth model predicts. Some flat-earthers admitted that science and mathematics could not be denied, but others were like members of other cults and atheists when presented with flaws in their material. It is my contention that some people just want to believe they are special and right (rooted in pride), so nothing will dissuade them.
Early in 2024, Will Duffy announced The Final Experiment (TFE), a project that he proposed would end the flat-earth debate once and for all. What is TFE, and did it end the flat-earth debate?
The article goes into greater detail, including some mathematics. If you're not inclined for that, the rest of if should prove worth your time. To read the rest, see "Was the Final Experiment a Success?" If you're interested in another bit of silliness (which some flat-earthers believe), see "The Geocentrism Resurgence." Finally, here is a video dealing with a flat-earth claim:
