Flat Earth vs. Round Earth | Explorer

you think that with the beautiful photographs that we have of our round blue planet it would convince any doubters but there are still some who insist that the world is flat correspondent Mariana van Zeller discovers more about this fast growing movement in California I'm Mariana van Zeller and I'm in Southern California to look into a growing movement in America people who claim the earth is flat they call themselves the flat earthers and we're here to try to understand what's behind this unconventional view and how it can affect the rest of us so what's happening here today why are you here this matters to me flattered that shows you that you are not a mistake and you were created and so you have meaning in matter - we're not monkeys floating through space on the false maxim that testable it's not measurable it's not provable it's not real how old are you guys just out of curiosity do you think it's a growing movement yes and we're networking and getting stronger people are realizing it it's coming out in the media you're hearing the term flatter this is becoming more normal people are more open-minded to it he's not wrong a recent survey of Americans found that two percent believe the earth is flat for the US population as a whole that works out to be over 6.5 million people even high profile artists and athletes are getting on board I want to try to find Mart sergeant who's one of the leaders of the Flat Earth community nice to see you man mark used to design video games and run software trainings now he devotes himself full-time to promoting the Flat Earth with all the attention that you must be Mark Sargent I am Mark Sargent thanks for meeting us here it's a pleasure to be here so tell me what is this movement all about this movement is about changing the world literally you think for the longest time that you live here but what if it wasn't this what if this was just the illusion yeah we're gonna open this thing up and the reality look something like this in a nutshell you have North Pole at the centre the continents splayed out organically on the sides Antarctica is stretched around the entire outer edge like an ice ball the Sun in the morning are very very small and the stars are just lights in the sky a giant planet area which means is built by somebody someone bigger than us someone better than us do you think it was a god not my place to say your belief in the earth being flat flies in the face hundreds of the world not only that we have satellite imagery we have photos from space and nobody here believes any of that anymore so you don't believe that people travel in space no oh it's much worse than you know meaning the only reason NASA was founded in 1958 was to keep this thing under wraps as best they could be big think of the shockwaves if all of a sudden you're telling a civilization that this model this is an it anymore flatters is the last conspiracy anyone ever looks at mark and his fellow flat earther seem to be pretty convinced that the earth is flat and that we've all been lied to for all these years but I'm interested in knowing what impact this might have not only for science but for society at large so we're heading to meet with an astrophysicist that we hope can answer some of these questions the universe began about fourteen billion years ago an event that we call the Big Bang james bullock is a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of California Irvine he specializes in how galaxies formed did you ever think a few years ago that you'd be having this discussion for National Geographic it's frankly shocking we've known for 2,000 years based on observations you can make with your own eyes that the world is round they have all the evidence right in front of them and they still choose not to believe in it you know who knows what motivates people from the inside to believe these things but science is important science is valuable science saves lives it makes our lives better and more comfortable and it enriches us intellectually and to question what scientists are saying and suggested they're part of some massive international global conspiracy it's really scary are they a threat to the work that you do as a scientist if say government stop funding science the cause of some kind of anti science anti intellectual feedback they're getting from the populace that's when it really starts getting dangerous for our civilization and as the war on science heats up some Americans are fighting back we're heading to the largest lake in California to meet the independent investigations group which is a group that essentially debunks paranormal claims and they want to do a round earth task may that be a test that will prove that the earth is not flat but that it is round let's go we're ready to launch you ready Craig ok so what's happening here right now okay this is the boat base target it's horizontal stripes we're gonna launch a small boat out into the water here with a striped target and as it gets farther and farther out you'll start to lose the stripes one way that Aristotle proved 2,000 years ago that the earth is a sphere was with a boat's test very similar to this one as a boat approaches the horizon it appears to slowly dip down into the water before disappearing completely that's got everything to do with the curvature of the earth if the planet was flat the entire boat would remain visible so it'll be a very visual depiction of the curvature of the earth and what's really interesting is that some of the flat earthers including mark sergeant's are actually going to be here for this test they want to see it for themselves what do you think is gonna happen here today I appreciate the scientific group coming out and trying to do this test great appreciate the enthusiasm but cannot work can't work yeah okay so the test is starting the test it's starting right now at first all the stripes are clearly visible but sure enough as the boat reaches the horizon the stripes begin to disappear one by one it's pretty amazing you can actually see it really clearly with this camera here and you see that the red stripe cuz that was at the bottom has completely disappeared and it's now getting closer to sort of the middle Green we've lost about one and a half stripes so this can only happen white because of the curvature of the earth but mark Sargent and the other flat-earthers have a very different interpretation of the results so you don't think that what we're seeing is actually real you think it's because oh yeah here in flat earth believe it's a globe mister demonstration that doesn't change anyone Korea Lord no mark do you really believe this stuff tell me the truth I'm serious right absolutely 100% believe we are not on a globe we are part of a giant studio set all the world's a stage and you're on it I still don't understand that like who's gaining from all this from this larger exclusive the highest authority higher than presidents this super-rich people that are behind the scenes remember the first rule of powers stay hidden so this is for me where I think it gets really dangerous because we're going back into the dark ages all right you're essentially perpetuating ignorance by denying science you know there's a real-life implication in all of this science has had its chance and they aren't putting up a defense I think that the flat earth could potentially uh sure in a new golden age or it could assure in an age of chaos it's easy to dismiss this as just a silly theory and unimportant but the problem is that is a growing movement in America more and more young people seem to believe that the world is flat and you know it's more than just distrust and government it's this notion that thousands of years of empirical scientific evidence is now being dismissed as a mere conspiracy and that's where I think it really starts getting dangerous for all of us

Channel: National Geographic

Views: 3,005,016

Rating: 4.1304131 out of 5

Keywords: Explorer, nat geo wild, national geographic, wild, wildlife, animals, nat geo, natgeo, science, discover, nature, documentary Instant Video, Wild Explorer, Virunga, Nat geo wild explorer, Nat geo explorer, emmy winner, richard bacon, Flat Earth, Globe, Round Earth, Flat Earth vs. Round Earth, Ancient Greeks, Greeks concluded Earth was a sphere, PLivjPDlt6ApRiBHpsyXWG22G8RPNZ6jlb, PLivjPDlt6ApTqKN6DbR-GOM5omen0Xm2a, PL682A861CB5D349F7, validated by scientists, movement growing

Id: 06bvdFK3vVU

Length: 10min 11sec (611 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 16 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/TheEvilToaster]

0:55

There is your answer to why these people believe in flat earth. Its fear. They are scared that their world view is completely wrong and if its wrong, then to them, that means they have no purpose to exist.

[u/neverlost4]

I would like to see some physicists who believe this try and rationalize things. The computer programmer, who has to know at least some physics and math, threw away all logic to claim the boat experiment didn’t work cuz of heat. I want to hear damning facts from these people. If they can’t come up with any science to even get a person thinking, then they’re either really ignorant or this movement is edging toward a cult.

[u/EknobFelix]

Perform the same experiment over a colder body of water. Ask them why bodies of water with different temperatures generate the same heat artifact.

[u/khoggatt]

How can I profit from these flat-earthers? Seems like there's some sort of market inefficiency that I should be able to exploit.

[u/Threonine]

Flat earthers just want attention, or are religious nutjobs. They're not interested in genuine dialogue.

[u/impeccable_bee]

Ok, so that guy says that NASA was founded with this purpose in mind, to cover the truth that the Earth is flat. How about the Russians, the Chinese, were they part of the conspiracy too, during the cold war? Fuck, these people depress me

[u/wolfpack_charlie]

A much easier experiment is to go to the beach at sunset/sunrise, wait for it to be a sliver on the horizon, and lay down on your stomach. Sun disappears every time you lay down and reappears when you stand.

Also, I think a lot of people downplay the religious aspect of Flat Earth. The first person she talks to, the lady at 0:55 tells you most of what you need to know about why people are drawn to this movement. "You were not a mistake. You were created." It's pretty similar to the Geocentric Universe. The Earth must be the center of the Universe, because we are God's creation in his own image. To be alone in a vast Universe would mean that we actually have no higher purpose and no great protector or savior of humanity. I think a key ingredient to becoming a flat earther is having such a strong attachment to a faith, which in some way, emphasizes that worldview of humanity as God's children.

I think rather than presenting them with scientists who tell them how obviously wrong they are, they should instead seek out religious leaders who can explain how scientific fact like a round Earth is compatible with their religion.

[u/[deleted]]

Leader: So as you can see by my map, we're living in a large planetarium...

Reporter: Created by god?

Leader: I cannot say...

Well dude if you're already making wild assumptions about the structure of the Earth, why stop at the deity behind it?!

[u/alwaysneverjoshin]

Can't argue with stupid.