The Flat Earth Theory

Public school teachings and scientific research have led society to believe that the Earth is spherical. As a result, most of society acknowledges this and blindly accepts the concept of global Earth rotating around the sun; although, the vast majority of the human population would not claim to have personally seen the world from beyond its borders. What most ordinary people have done, however, is explore the Earth empirically. Being empirical is defined as basing viewpoints, not on theory, but on pure observation and experience. In essence, being empirical with regards to the shape of the Earth is “...relying on one’s own senses to discern the true nature of the world around [them]” (“Frequently Asked Questions” 2). In simplest terms,

The Flat Earth model illustrates “a flat disk ringed by sea ice, which naturally holds the oceans in” (Selk 2). If one ripped open a globe from Antarctica to flatten it out, the correct configuration of continents and countries on the Flat disk would be roughly shown. The North Pole lies in the center with Antarctica spread out as a ring of ice surrounding the disk (“Circumnavigation” 1). British Naval Officer Sir James Clark Ross first to documented his discovery of the “vertical ice front to the open sea [that extends] more than 50 meters high above sea level” (“The Ice Wall” 1). Humans are unable to survive a trip through the Ice Wall because the temperature approaches absolute zero the deeper into the wall one treks (“The Ice Wall” 1). Similarly to the round Earth theory, layers of gases known as the Atmolayer cover the Flat Earth. An invisible barrier contains the Atmolayer preventing “the various gases from flowing out into space” (“Atmolayer” 1). A combination of research from Dr. Samuel Birley Rowbotham and Albert Einstein was used to develop this Flat Earth layout named the Neo-Classical Model (“Neo-Classical Model” 1). The ideas accepted by the Flat Earth Society are based on decades of scientific research and observation by Rowbotham. The esteemed author and inventor collected his research into 430 page book titled Zetetic

Theoretically, on the Flat Earth, someone standing on shore would be able to see all across the ocean to the Ice Wall including every ship along the waterfront, yet this is obviously not the case. A supporter of the round Earth would claim that the curvature of the planet accounts for the reason an observer from shore cannot see a ship countless miles away. This supporter would say that the ship would disappear as if receding over a “...‘hill of water’” (“Sinking Ship Effect” 2). In actuality, however, the Sinking Ship Effect distorts human perception making distant ships invisible. To illustrate, as a ship travels further and further off into the distance humans perceive it as being smaller and smaller. That being the case, people view the ship as getting “...closer and closer to the surface of the sea” (“Sinking Ship Effect” 1). Subsequently, once the ship gets far enough away, it becomes impossible to distinguish the surface of the sea from the ship. The point where the ship and ocean unite is known as the vanishing point. In summary, the Sinking Ship Effect outlines how the limits of human perception prevent humans from being able to see to the edge of the vast flat disk (“Sinking Ship Effect”