It’s a really good documentary because a lot of them actually want to be scientific about it.
But instead of following the scientific process of test->observe->draw a conclusion, they start with the conclusion and look for a way to prove it. And when the prof isn’t there, they simply say the test was flawed, and move on to the next test that will prove it.
It’s sad in a way. I don’t think, most of them anyway, are con man. They’re just misguided.
I will say, starting with a conclusion/theory is fine, but the next step is to do everything you can to disprove it. The more you and other fail, the stronger it becomes
They display the sentiment of “if we fail this test (show earth is round) something clearly went wrong and it doesn’t mean anything and we need to try, try again, but if we get a different result just once then that conclusively beyond any doubt proves that earth is flat”
It showed them as social outcasts with a drive to have a community but also a drive to have some sort of secret knowledge… the overall message I took away was that if you run into a flat earther, to treat them with some empathy and compassion while not validating their worldview. The dismissal of their ideas and belittling of their arguments further entrenched them in their beliefs.
And for what it’s worth, not everyone in that group is a complete idiot… just vulnerable to wacky ideas. Some of these smart people actually designed legit experiments that would actually prove if the earth was round or flat. At the end of the documentary, one group performed one of them with the film crew… conclusively showing the earth was round. The last word in the documentary was spoken by the guy running the experiment, where he said, “interesting…”. He was one of the ones who seemed to have a little intellectual honesty, and he may have gotten out.
In another part of the documentary, some of the more prominent voices in the movement pooled their money to get a $10k laser gyroscope that had the precision to detect the rotation of the earth…. It detected the rotation of the earth, so they were going out of their way to cover up the findings. It was all caught on film and presented in the documentary… The guy in the post is absolutely correct… these vulnerable are being deceived by con men.
This is 100% the reason for the documentary in the first place. Quote from the director:
My dream would be that when people watch it, they take flat Eartherism as an analogy to something they believe in, because it’s so easy to demonize another group or another person for something they think but you’re kind of just as guilty if you do that.
These are humans, people that are missing something in their lives, and this community and their “secret knowledge” grants them that.
I see the SovCit movement as exactly the same thing, but when one digs deep enough, maybe one finds the same in the fanatical MAGA crowds, and in the most fervent religious people, and it’s not a coincidence that there’s an overlap in membership between these groups…
Isn’t there a documentary flat earthers filmed in which they debunked their own beliefs?
Beyond the Curve! Great doc.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behind_the_Curve
I would also highly recommend folding ideas "in search of a flat earth."
It covers the actual flat earth claims in depth, but is very much about the culture, and why that culture exists.
the only documentary i know that has a twist in it.
There are so many. Shadowland for example.
The documentary “Icarus (2017)” has a twist as well.
Disney’s FastPass: A Complicated History has a twist that Defunctland fans are still talking about four years later.
i assume that “it’s real” thing would have been more impactful if i knew anything about disney parks.
It’s a really good documentary because a lot of them actually want to be scientific about it.
But instead of following the scientific process of test->observe->draw a conclusion, they start with the conclusion and look for a way to prove it. And when the prof isn’t there, they simply say the test was flawed, and move on to the next test that will prove it.
It’s sad in a way. I don’t think, most of them anyway, are con man. They’re just misguided.
I will say, starting with a conclusion/theory is fine, but the next step is to do everything you can to disprove it. The more you and other fail, the stronger it becomes
Here’s two different excitements where they did just that:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrGgxAK9Z5A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFqmDazwb6Y
They display the sentiment of “if we fail this test (show earth is round) something clearly went wrong and it doesn’t mean anything and we need to try, try again, but if we get a different result just once then that conclusively beyond any doubt proves that earth is flat”
Kinda…
It showed them as social outcasts with a drive to have a community but also a drive to have some sort of secret knowledge… the overall message I took away was that if you run into a flat earther, to treat them with some empathy and compassion while not validating their worldview. The dismissal of their ideas and belittling of their arguments further entrenched them in their beliefs.
And for what it’s worth, not everyone in that group is a complete idiot… just vulnerable to wacky ideas. Some of these smart people actually designed legit experiments that would actually prove if the earth was round or flat. At the end of the documentary, one group performed one of them with the film crew… conclusively showing the earth was round. The last word in the documentary was spoken by the guy running the experiment, where he said, “interesting…”. He was one of the ones who seemed to have a little intellectual honesty, and he may have gotten out.
In another part of the documentary, some of the more prominent voices in the movement pooled their money to get a $10k laser gyroscope that had the precision to detect the rotation of the earth…. It detected the rotation of the earth, so they were going out of their way to cover up the findings. It was all caught on film and presented in the documentary… The guy in the post is absolutely correct… these vulnerable are being deceived by con men.
This is 100% the reason for the documentary in the first place. Quote from the director:
These are humans, people that are missing something in their lives, and this community and their “secret knowledge” grants them that.
I see the SovCit movement as exactly the same thing, but when one digs deep enough, maybe one finds the same in the fanatical MAGA crowds, and in the most fervent religious people, and it’s not a coincidence that there’s an overlap in membership between these groups…
Yeah. I dont remember the documentary but maybe I watched it, or read another similar comment.
People in general just dont get this dynamic though.
Its too easy to just conclude that theyre idiots.