A couple of pertinent articles.
https://www.cnet.com/news/the-bizarre-tale-of-the-australia-flat-earth-convention-that-fell-apart/The bizarre tale of the flat-Earth convention that fell apart
A vicious falling-out, alleged death threats, an arson attempt. This is the story of how Australia's first flat-Earth conference destroyed itself from the inside out.
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Australia's first flat-Earth convention was supposed to end with a bang.
The convention flyer described it as an "ocean level world record laser attemt" [sic]. A repetition of the Bedford Level Experiment on a record-breaking scale. A laser beam sent miles across the sea to another point -- a boat, probably.
Samuel Birley Rowbotham first conducted the experiment -- with surveying equipment -- in 1838. He used the results to declare that the Earth was flat. In 1870, in response to a wager, biologist Alfred Russel Wallace repeated the test, adjusting for the effects of atmospheric refraction. His results were consistent with the curvature of a spherical Earth.
For his troubles, Wallace won £500, and a lifetime of death threats and litigation from the people who claimed he cheated.
The Bedford Level Experiment is controversial, and commonly repeated. Mostly by flat-Earthers. This test, at the close of Australia's first flat-Earth convention, would be no different, save for the scale.
But it never happened. Because the flat-Earthconvention itself never happened.
For more of this interesting saga, follow the link above...…...
And the sad circumstances referenced in the piece above.
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https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2017/11/the-men-who-believe-the-earth-is-flat/The Men Who Believe The Earth Is Flat
Image: iStock
Let me tell you about John.
John says he's not crazy. I believe him.
"I am a normal person," he says.
But John isn't a 'normal' person. Not quite.
Well, he is and he isn't.
This article was originally published on September 12, 2016.
John is a Doctor. A medical doctor.
Actually, John is more than a doctor. John is the kind of Doctor who manages other Doctors.
John earns a substantial amount of money. John lives with his wife and three children in a large house in a well-to-do suburb in Sydney. John is comfortable. Comfortable enough to have a hot tub and sauna in his backyard. Comfortable enough that when he arrived home from a work trip to find his wife had spent thousands of dollars on a brand new tree house for their kids, John didn't blink. Barely even mentioned it. Went on with his day.
John is intelligent. Intimidatingly intelligent. When John talks he holds eye contact. You're afraid of saying something silly in John's presence. You want him to think you're smart. You make a clever joke; a sideways glance. Is John laughing? I hope John is laughing.
John is the kind of person you want to impress.
John is tall. His eyes tend to squint. He laughs infrequently but smiles easily. When you arrive at John's home the first thing he shows you is his Arcade Machine, a cocktail cabinet with thousands of video games installed. John is in his 40s. He'll school you at Street Fighter 2, but he prefers the classics. Asteroids, Pac-Man. John has an almost childish passion for things.
John is a great guy. A good Doctor. A loving husband and a great Father. John is all these things and more.
But one tiny detail, not evident. Not immediately.
John believes the earth is flat.
John absolutely believes the world is flat.
This not a joke. This is not irony or an exercise in intellectual curiosity. John is not playing Devil's Advocate.
Again: John believes the world is flat.
More of this story at the link......
