9 Most Popular Flat Earth Arguments, Debunked

9. So, What Do They Believe?

First things first, let's take a quick delve into the mindset and beliefs of a flat earther (hereafter FE, because life's too short).

So, as the name suggests, they believe that the earth is flat, as opposed to spherical (or oblate spheroid for the pedants at the back). There are lots of flavours of flat earth theory, but the most common is that it is actually disc shaped, with the arctic in the center and the antarctic forming an icy barrier around the edge (guarded by NASA, no less, presumably to prevent people jumping off the edge).

The day and night are caused by the sun and moon moving in circles above the sphere and throwing light on the different regions at different times. There are some pretty precise measurements too, with the spheres of the sun and moon measuring in at about 32 miles in diameter and located approximately 3000 miles above the surface of the earth.

Gravity is also an illusion, caused by the disk of the earth flying upwards and accelerating at 32 feet per second squared, keeping us all pinned to the ground.

Now, a great many "members" of the Flat Earth Society and the various internet forums pertaining to it are probably doing it for the LOLs, or as a thought experiment or even as a troll, but there are a core group of people who genuinely believe this stuff. There is a mixture of conspiracy theory and theology in there, and a whole lot of batsh*t thinking.

Lets pick apart some key arguments shall we?