There's an interesting documentary about flatearthers called "Behind the Curve" that gets into individual flatearther origin stories. The interesting thing is they are not stupid it's more than they have learned to not trust people in positions of authority on topics of science (often due to an experience in grade school).

Towards the end there are a few funded research projects that are erily more similar to the social dynamic of actual "legit" academic science than the film makers probably realize.