But are the flatearthers spreading just this one fringe theory? Because once riding the conspiracy train there's usually lots of extra luggage...

Agreed. What I can never understand is where the conspiracy train bifurcates. By and large we would all accept a forest exists but not these guys: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/09/flat-ear...

It must be exhausting being them.

The video mentioned there claims to "reverse your concept of forests by 360 degrees". You read it right, reverse "by 360 degrees". Are we sure it's not a huge and successful practical joke? Although by the amount of people falling for it, it cant be really called joke anymore... at some point making fun of stupid ceases to be fun and gets actually frightening.

Poe's law applies, of course.

I was linked to this video a little while back in a different context and without foreknowledge that it was certified crackpottery. I was led to believe it was merely wild speculation fringe stuff, which I'm kinda into.

Anyway, it was ringing crackpot alarms almost immediately. I didn't even have to scrutinize the claims (they don't hold up even a little, natch), the way the claims were presented was sufficient. I wonder what it is that makes some people deaf to the heuristics most of us are able to employ against this kind of nonsense.

> Because once riding the conspiracy train there's usually lots of extra luggage...

See also: the human consciousness (circa 2023, Western culture style) train.

Gaze in amazement at all the confident claims of "fact" in this thread, that are derived from the imagination of the claimant.

Oh, but of course, everyone is "just expressing their opinion", of course. And the question of whether each person was conscious of it at the time shall not be discussed, because that would be "pedantic", "sea-lioning", "not the purpose of this forum", etc.

This planet is surreal.

Yeah but basically every flat earther is also at minimum anti-vax.

And your evidence for this completely made up fact is... ?