Sunday, January 13, 2019

All aboard the Flat Earth cruise – just don’t tell them about nautical navigation

“Though there are varying models within the flat earth community, the most commonly depicted model of our earth is that of a circular disk with Antarctica serving as an ice wall barrier,” the organization writes in its FAQ section.


From The Guardian by Adam Gabbatt

Flat earthers, who believe the Earth is a large disk, may be shocked to find the ship’s navigation is based on a spherical planet

"Flat Earth" type nonsense isn't new. This 1938 map depicts an "inspirational vision" suggesting the world's axis would shift, resulting in massive climate change, as well as lifting up of some bodies of land, and a submerging of others. 

A group of people who believe the Earth is flat have announced their “biggest, boldest, best adventure yet”: a Flat Earth cruise scheduled for 2020.

 Tim O'Brien painting

The cruise, organized by the Flat Earth International Conference, promises to be a lovely time.
Flat earthers – who include the rapper B.o.B. and reality television person Tila Tequila – will be able to enjoy restaurants, swimming pools and perhaps even an artificial surf wave.

Vniversale descrittione di tvtta la terra conoscivta fin qvi. Ferando Berteli, 1565,
based on an earlier map by Giacomo Gastaldi
(source LOC)

There’s just one problem for those seeking to celebrate the flatness of the Earth.
The navigational systems cruise ships, and other vessels, use rely on the fact that the Earth is not flat: theoretically puncturing the beliefs of the flat Earth crowd.

 This iconic image speaks volumes.
To many it underscores the vastness of space, the loneliness of the cosmos and how fragile our home planet really is.
Entitled “Earthrise,” it was taken by astronaut William Anders during an orbit of the moon as part of the Apollo 8 mission.
Apollo 8 was the first manned mission to the moon, which entered the Moon’s orbit on Christmas Eve 1968.
That evening, the astronauts onboard held a live broadcast, in which they showed pictures of the Earth and moon as seen from their spacecraft. Command Module Pilot Jim Lovell said, "The vast loneliness is awe-inspiring and it makes you realize just what you have back there on Earth."
The astronauts ended the broadcast with the crew taking turns reading from the book of Genesis.

“Ships navigate based on the principle that the Earth is round,” said Henk Keijer, a former cruise ship captain who sailed all over the globe during a 23-year career.
“Nautical charts are designed with that in mind: that the Earth is round.”
Keijer, who now works as a forensic marine expert for Robson Forensic, said the existence of GPS, the global positioning system, alone is proof that the Earth is a sphere, not a flat disc. GPS relies on 24 main satellites which orbit the Earth to provide positional and navigational information.
“The reason why 24 satellites were used is because on the curvature of the Earth,” Keijer said.
“A minimum of three satellites are required to determine a position. But someone located on the other side of the Earth would also like to know their position, so they also require a certain number of satellites.
“Had the Earth been flat, a total of three satellites would have been enough to provide this information to everyone on Earth. But it is not enough, because the Earth is round.”



Proof of the sphericity of the Earth advanced by Pliny the Elder 
(and not by Aristotle, as is often said.)
Low-resolution digitization of a figure published in the book Voyages des Astronomes français à la recherche de la figure de la terre et de ses dimensions by Abbé J. Loridan (Desclée, de Brouwer et Cie, Lille, 1890).

While there are different theories within the Flat Earth community, the core belief is the Earth is flat.
The FEIC claims that after “extensive experimentation, analysis, and research”, its adherents came to believe the Earth is not a sphere.
A common model offered for the exact topography of the Earth is that it is a large disk, surrounded by “an ice wall barrier” – Antarctica.

 credit : RT composite

The Flat Earth Society, which is not connected to the FEIC, has suggested that “the space agencies of the world” have conspired to fake “space travel and exploration”.
“This likely began during the cold war,” the Flat Earth Society says.
“The USSR and USA were obsessed with beating each other into space to the point that each faked their accomplishments in an attempt to keep pace with the other’s supposed achievements.”

"The Roulette Wheel Earth Theory" by Orlando Ferguson (1893)
That awkward moment when the flat earth isn’t even flat.
In contrast, the Square Earth Theory is based on its formulator's novel interpretation of certain Bible passages, dependent on a belief that God is incapable of symbolism, metaphor, and allegory.
This theory would presumably have no gravitational problems as those would be taken care of by God.

 New correct map of the flat surface, stationary earth
Other TitleWhen reading map lay it flat on table
Contributor Names : Abizaid, John George, 1868-
source : LOC

The FEIC did not respond to requests for more information on the Flat Earth cruise.

"Not amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
Mark Twain quote

The organization could potentially try to staff the cruise ship with a crew which does not think the Earth is round, but Keijer said that would be difficult.
“I have sailed 2 million miles, give or take,” Keijer said.
“I have not encountered one sea captain who believes the Earth is flat.”

Fantasy map of a flat earth by Antar Dayal

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