Flat Earth 'Science' -- Wrong, but not Stupid

In this video I explain what flat earthers believe, why they believe it, and why I think scientists should take flat earthers more seriously.

The CNN article which I quote is here:

The Guardian article which I quote is here:

The poll that I mention is this:

#science #education #philosophy

0:00 Motivation and Content Summary
0:33 What Flat Earthers Believe
2:43 Are They just Trolling?
3:46 History
7:26 The Trouble with Zeteticism
13:46 Why you are right to reject the Flat Earth Hypothesis
14:55 Why scientists should take Flat Earthers more seriously

[notmni]

hi, im a 10 year old and i have watched every single of your videos they are lovely
as my interest in heavenly and interstellar bodies i love to hear you talking about so much of information
thx a lot for sharing all this knowledge
;w;

[stephenjones]

Question everything...but be prepared to accept the answers.

[HemiDad]

Someone once said that: “If the earth was flat then cats would have pushed everything off by now”

[fatthor]

I appreciate how you treat people with respect and do not just dismiss people as being stupid. You are a great educator and truly care about helping people understand science.

[Rachie-njoi]

Ex flat earther here. For some like myself It's lack of knowledge, lack of understanding, thinking you know something you don't for example how the physics would be when it isn't. For example...we rotating 1000mph at the equator... no that's tangential speed and we don't feel speed (when you mention the higher speeds for eg going around the sun etc then they think we should feel the movement...
Some are honestly lost especially the newcomers... those who have been in it for years and had things explained and demonstrated many times and many different ways are just liars, trolls and grifters, possibly some with biases and cognitive dissonance they can't or won't overcome or even realise they have. I realised my lack of knowledge and understanding and biases and cognitive dissonance and along with the help of others and chatgpt and fixed it.
There's also those who look up to some as idols and want to impress them and so will not disagree with them in the slightest and stay stuck in fe.
Oh and one more thing attacking flat earthers name calling etc doesn't help it only puts the walls/defences up more.

[heckyes]

15:30

"To me, therefore, flat earthers, are a warning sign that scientists should take seriously. The more difficult scientific experiments and arguments are to follow for non-experts, the more care we must take to explain how we lead those arguments."

That's an incredibly well put conclusion.

[DerFailer]

Zeteticism: A spoon is cut while half submerged in a glass of water and is rejoint when you take it out.

[rskeyesful]

I've found, when teaching a subject, it helps to have an extensive number of ways to explain the same concept. Re-Teach the subject until they GET IT. I love the job you're doing.

[wiredforstereo]

Many of us are fascinated with flat earthers.

Flat earth is dumb as rocks, but flat earthers are fascinating.

[billyt]

“no one cared…… he died.” omg sabine is peak german humor.

[fernandobernardo]

There are flat-earthers who sell the t-shirts and the others that buy them.

[haroldelrod]

Well put ma'am!! You are absolutely brilliant! Thank you for your time in putting this video together! Thank you for having the ability to articulate, communicating, in a brilliant, fair, reasonable, explanation of the flat earthers, and how they are most likely thinking.

[markpalaszewski]

My own experience tells me, by watching ships sail over the horizon, by driving towards the mountains and watching how they also look small then taller and taller as we go over the curvature of the earth and get closer to them. And looking at the other planets and a simple understanding of gravity tells me that we are on a globe.

[Dragonblaster]

When I was 5 years old, my father looked enormous, When I was 18, he was 2 inches shorter than me. Therefore he gradually shrank over 13 years. Of course, it also meant that the shelf I could never reach gradually moved down the wall until I could reach it, my clothes grew smaller as time went on... and, well round about my mid-teens, my senses adjusted so that I seemed to get bulkier and stronger as I played rugby and cricket and ran cross-country, but obviously this was a myth. All the people around me just got frailer and weaker, the furniture shrank, as did streetlights, buildings and animals.

It's the only thing that makes sense, since I am the centre of the universe, and the essential founder of reality.

[maximusironthumper]

Beautifully clear and well communicated viewpoint - a far better rebuttal of flat earthers than the 'Hey everyone, let's laugh at these idiots' stance that many out there take. Thank you for taking the time and effort!

[micahwahlquist]

Such a great video ❤ I love the meticulous approach while keeping things simple 👍

[Wulfdane]

Rather then being entirely dismissive, you make an effort to understand people’s thinking, even if they’re wrong. You’re respect toward others is admirable, you educate rather then insult - insults only hardens people’s hearts and minds.

[brucerogermorgan]

Well, I'm 71 and I have only watched a few of your videos so far, but I love the fact that you've shown me that I am still capable of learning - and enjoying it. Thanks again, Sabine.

[ritchiejacobson]

So well presented-like all of your videos. Appreciate your effort to make science understandable for most of us.

[derekcoaker]

What a fantastic way to look at it, and these ideas. Much respect. We could all use a bit of this toward those who don't think the same as we do.