I disagree...
by ufl (2019-03-19 09:22:30)

In reply to: i think they are equivalent.  posted by NDWahoo


...one can reject the flat earth notion with one's eyes and ears. If you live in California, get up at sunrise and call up an east cost acquaintance. Ask them when the sun rose. If they answer that rose three hours ago, you have decisive evidence. Alternatively take your binoculars on an ocean cruise and watch a ship disappear over the horizon hull first.

Both flat earthers and anti-vaxers reject the assessments of experts. Unlike the effect of vaccines, the reality of a spherical earth can be observed without expert help.


They have justifications for sunrises, sunsets, & horizons.
by rockmcd  (2019-03-19 12:16:53)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

You can find their answer with a quick google search if you feel like playing along. I didn't spend a lot of time on it, but the gist of it is the concept that things look smaller when they're farther away. The sun is going in a circular pattern above the tropics, which explains why that's the hottest part and the furthest parts from the sun are the edge (Antarctica) and the center (the "North" pole). The reason why you have sunrise and sunset is because the sun is relatively small and close to the earth so it just appears to be closer to the earth's surface as it gets further away (similar to a faraway cloud on the horizon) and eventually disappears from sight like a car driving away on an empty road.

Where it falls apart seems to be:
(a) Unlike the car driving away, the setting sun doesn't appear to shrink. They have some weird justification that I didn't really get. Something about the light coming from the sun causing a magnification effect to offset the shrinkage caused by distance, kind of like how you'll see headlights before you see the car. Whatever.

But where the bubble really bursts is:
(b) If Antarctica is at the perimeter, how do they explain nearly 24 hour days in December and 24 hour nights in June? They don't have an answer - they just say that the video evidence is as fake as the moon landing video.


Thanks...I think *
by ufl  (2019-03-19 12:45:56)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post


your point is well taken.
by NDWahoo  (2019-03-19 10:10:55)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

However, I would posit that you can see the effects of vaccination by simply asking anyone who got measles in this outbreak whether they had the measles vaccine.

Or asking everyone you know if they've ever had polio.


True but
by ufl  (2019-03-19 10:13:50)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

I think anti-vaxers don't usually claim that vaccines don't work. They claim that they have side effects (particularly autism). I could be overgeneralizing, though.