BoopGotYaToe
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Mar 22, 2024 10:38 AM
BoopGotYaToe
78751
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Mumalot
and THIS is fine... he learned and changed his mind, instead of digging deeper and looking for that "1 outta 10 doctor that agrees with me"
reformedxile
For any curious, here is his youtube https://www.youtube.com/@STST/videos
Nbiakro
The chosen one!
ReverseSyzygy
is it still a thing?
my man, people still think *everything* is only 7000 years old.
Apeofdeath
The universe is balls
PineappleLoopsBroether
EveryUsernameIsTaken4
I thought they had all become QAnon
LowlevelRebel
Nice to see someone vomiting up the kool aid once in a while.
Huor
Wow. Respect for admitting to being wrong.
DSREX
Purest sign of maturity right there.
JadeNB1729
Yeah, exactly. It's hard to admit you're wrong one on one. I admire the hell out of somebody who'll put himself out in public and say, not only was I an idiot, I specifically fell victim to a con.
camtin
I mean it sure helped his view counts
Huor
Or earned him hatred and death threats.
bob3dod
Good point
SterlingArcherSecretAgent
It never really was.
Durahl
How can you even be conned with the concept of the Earth being flat? 🤔
Do they act like Churches where they charge you Money for their believes or how is the Con part supposed to work? 🤨
DisgruntledFerret
It works on conspiracy theory logic, and I dunno if you've noticed but people are real vulnerable to conspiracy theories.
Durahl
My focus is on the "Con" part... I usually associate being a victim to a con with losing money... How is believing in the Earth being flat a risk to your wallet? Are they selling you insurance in case the Plane tilts and you fall of or what? 🤨🤣
DisgruntledFerret
It's pretty simple actually. When you've gotten your audience believing that literally everything is fake but what you tell them is real, that's when you get real power over other human beings.
LinguisticBitch
Can't wait until people do it with Trump.
NomadUniverse
Unfortunately, yes. Check out SciManDan on the youtubes, he has flat earth fridays every...well, friday, where he tears em to shreds (also does tin foil tuesdays for the "space is fake" and other conspiracies crowd). His videos make me want to self harm. I cant believe people can be so stupid. It doesn't take many of his videos to convince me we're doomed as a species.
Leonon
Flat earth has slowly been bleeding support for the last several years https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTfhYyTuT44
badbiscuit
I'm a 20 yr bartender. I've only had 1 guy start talking about being a flat earther. I walked away and yelled I just fucking can't. Still can't and won't listen to pure bullshit.
r0twhylr
The first step in becoming the victim of a con is assuming that any reasonable person would see it coming, therefore as a reasonable person you are somehow protected.
DaBaiMa
The ‘I was wrong’ video was his biggest hit
ValiantToast
The world is indeed flat, and supported by 4x giant elephants standing on the back of am even gianter turtle.
Timetoupdatemyusername
Unrefutable. But at least it only took him 4 months to get his head straightened out.
austinwizardforhire
Yes, they're all over social media.
oldguyexlurker
'Flat' earthers are a little... off. Their brains work at a slightly lower frequency than those of people who are more in tune with the world.
WhoHim
Flat Earth is just a scam by Big Map to sell more Mercator Projections.
SirToltec
3 months huh
notinitforthepoints
I kind of want to go click his link to see how he was conned and how he was convinced Otherwise. I'd love to hear that redemption story
memesis
Flat earth is still a thing. It's a grift, but grifts are a thing.
maqp2
UFOs, flat earth, new ageism, homeopathy... Every single one of them is a grift where conmen milk a cult-like community of people who have been put down for their fringe beliefs, who have been isolated from their community, who want to feel special, who want who are primed to believe in conspiracies, and who need a simplified world view to explain their world, especially their failure in integrating with the society.
Mikeiller
I wouldn't put UFOs with those. That's a whole different level of mystery and conspiracy
maqp2
Just today I watched the Pen&Teller's Bullshit -episode on alien abductions, and sure as hell, there's a collective that books venues where people to sell their bullshit, lectures etc. Here's a tiny piece from the episode that shows some of the event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sInfM-5TaD0
Findrek
There are grifters for everything, but UFOs still stand out in that group because believing that exist at some level doesn't spit in the face of modern science. Sure I don't believe Jeb and Cletus were abducted, that Area 51 has saucers or 99% of the videos, but I don't think someone is being uneducated to wonder if a spacefaring being or item has done a fly by in our planet.
maqp2
The events pitch anecdotal evidence as more or less hard proof, that alone is spitting in the face of the scientific method. And the people there spout anti-establishment lies about Bush family, Cheneys, etc. being lizard people. As much as I dislike them, this type of dehumanization does disservice to the evil that mankind is capable of. The event also offered a platform for new age bullshit that pulls the chumps to grifts like alt med, living on just sun etc.
Findrek
I am not defending those events, I'm talking about at the base the concept of UFOs.
ShuannaRetPallyWoW
I went to a New Age store 30 years. They had a nice collection of books. One day, I bought Necronomicon in paperback (!). The owner gave me a long suspicious look, like a cop. I was wearing black at the time, my goth years, and then he said: "You sure you want to buy this? It's very powerful magic."
I paid the price. Though ... I didn't go insane when I read the first page. I guess paperback grimoires is not that powerful. Much disappoint. I also bought a crystal that did absolutely nothing.
ShuannaRetPallyWoW
*ago.
Redshadow09
I want to know who are these con men that are doing this. they deserve to be hanged.
My theory is Flat earthers are just scheming to get a free ticket to outer space. They know the world is round but they want to go to outer space so badly that they are willing to lie and see if they can trick people to fund or give them a free ride into space.
Zange0
amiurume
It's all funded by Big Flat.
OliverClothesoff70
The earth is round. It's the birds that aren't real.
BoopGotYaToe
😂😂
flipj
Only ever was a thing for imbeciles.
WorkerLurker
It was originally created as a sort of an absurdist protest against established ideas, but even the founder left saying it was round and the movement wasn’t about what it’s turned into.
ChaopsPyramydBuylderCompany
And religion a few Century ago...
AnonKneeMoose
The religious thing was the earth moving around the sun, not that it was round.
flipj
It was never a thing, other than for the current imbeciles. Church had a earth centric view of the universe, not a question about the shape of the earth.
marsilies
I wouldn't say "never," but it's been a long, long time. Pythagoras figured it out in sixth century BC, so over 2,500 years ago. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Earth#History
IrrationalNumber
No, they said the earth was the center of the universe. A ships crow's nest was at the top of the mast because you see further from high up, than from deck height.
ArcaneConjecture
I still don't believe that flat earthers are real. I think they're just making a joke of us. What is the payoff for a con man who convinces fools that the Earth is flat?
CandidGamera
The conmen sell books, get hired for talks... or just enjoy low-level fame and recognition. The flat-earthers themselves, like many conspiracy theory followers, are, among a host of other causes, a product of an age that feels, for the average person, like there's nothing big left to do or discover or be part of. You can't sign on a ship crew and maybe sail to undiscovered lands, you can't pack up and settle some frontier. Conspiracy theories offer the chance to be part of something "big".
Isorikk
The payoff is the same vein as religion. Whatever people get out of that is what they get out of conspiracy theories.
Scaramucci
Some guy died because he built a home-made rocket to take pictures from it and prove everyone that earth is flat. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mad-mike-hughes-daredevil-and-flat-earth-theorist-killed-in-rocket-crash-2020-02-22/
SteelKnight
Selling merch, public speaking engagements, YouTube ad revenue, patreon
Somanyquestions
To put it simply, they want to feel good about themselves by knowing something others don't. It gives them a sense of pride and superiority they desperetaly need as the rest of their life usually isn't much in their control.
Squaba13
There's a pizza place where I live called "Flat Earth Pizza" and it's owned by a flat earther. The Pizza's okay.
PorneliusHubertII
The movie "Beyond the Curve" taught me that its just people desperate to feel included in something, and this stupid conspiracy is where they found a community willing to accept them. Felt really bad for them.
rbudrick
I know one. Unfortunately, he believes it.
datphone777365
Payoff is merch or as a gateway to other more costly cons. Like crowd fund a "prove x bs is real or fake" then keep cash or use it to buy equipment.
ItTookMeAGoodWhileToComeUpWithAUsername
Easy answer: people make money off these people. They will pay for stuff that protects them from other bullshit because one conspiracy is never enough. Eart is flat? Buy this 2000$ stone to give you back balance. The rest is right wing folks who want to get more people to distrust government.
ZachariasWolfe
Payoff is learning your have an easy mark for actual scams that will pay. Meanwhile if someone calls out your flat earth bullshit it's pretty easy to use the Tucker Carlson defense that no reasonable person would think you're telling facts.
pareidoliaperson
Vote for republicans.
Youhavinagiraffe
Flat Earthers don't care what shape the Earth is. What they care about is believing that nearly everyone in the world is wrong about something very basic and that there is a co-ordinated top-down effort to enforce that belief. This gives them permission to insert literally any alternate reality bullshit they want. Holocaust denial, Qanon, End-times evangelism, anti-vax and so on.
PutItInNeutral
I've met a few. The sad thing is that they are mostly people who got left behind because the science and math that was taught to them were not put into terms they could understand. They get conned into believing wrong information because they want to feel like they are ahead of the curve for once in their lives, but it just puts them farther behind everyone else.
SalmonTheWise
Ahead of the curve...
maqp2
Also ironic these people weren't for "flatten the curve" strategy during the pandemic.
PowerFart
It’s a social isolation/sense of belonging thing. People struggle to find community in today’s world, the sociological equivalent of drinking your own urine in the desert.
wodansring
oh no, they exist.
twoblackhands
It’s the gateway conspiracy theory if they can make you believe the earth is flat then they can convince you vaccines causes autism. Then they just lead you down the rabbit hole of crazy past lizard people and fema death camps, until your so far down you only believe what they tell you. Then they milk you for all they can and because you’re isolated from your friends and family by spouting all your crazy shit there is no one there to help you see the con.
fancyass
You should check out Behind the Curve on netflix. It's fucking wild and the people genuinely believe it's flat. And while there's plenty of shitting on flat earthers, it ends with a positive message.
Apollymkatistrafia
The payoff is controlling the idiots who now believe and hang on every word, because the con man 'opened their eyes'. For context, see also religion
hoefty
A decent chunk of the flat earth movement is about the Copernican principle. That the earth is unremarkable. If the earth is flat then it doesn't follow the regular rules, therefore God is real.
SaturnineCult
At least there's lot of people trolling with flat earth theories. I've done it too and it's hilarious when some of them take it seriously.
RoyalWithChz
My coworker legit believes it’s flat.
ericbres1337
I’ve met plenty of them. I live on a lake in New Hampshire (Winnipesaukee) where they come and do “testing” (sending lasers across the lake). They are … um … dense. But they are real.
thickythickydumdum
I read something about the psychology of conspiracy theorists...boiling it down to the basics: them "believing in something that few others believe makes them feel smarter and more special" is essentially why they exist in the world.
dudethisbetternotbetaken
I think it's a sign of mental illness at this point.
TheArrestingAbhorrentArrantAbominableAlliterator
I know two. Well, I knew two. They were fundamentalists. A baptist youth pastor who married what had been a reasonable young (though already Christian) woman and turned her into a devout trad-wife. I have worked in astronomy. I have worked in the Navy. I have a degree in Engineering and another in history. He would argue with me using fake quotes from 100+ years ago by famous scientists saying "no one had proven the earth is round". For them, it was a matter of faith. Along with...
TheArrestingAbhorrentArrantAbominableAlliterator
Dinosaurs being co-existent with man and uranium to-lead half-life producting and carbon dating either being the hubris of man or a trick from the devil.
The fact that I have literally sailed beyond the horizon, understand great circle routes, and have pictures from outer space that rockets I've made have taken meant nothing to them compared to the "word of God."
BelialDenial
flat earth globes, seminars, books...
Mustakraken
Selling more levels?
Mustakraken
Or fewer? Not sure.
naykid
The big ones sell merch and have decent social media followings. The ones at the top definitely have financial incentive.
Redshadow09
My theory is Flat earthers are just scheming to get a free ticket to outer space. They know the world is round but they want to go to outer space so badly that they are willing to lie and see if they can trick people to fund or give them a free ride into space.
phuzz00
Remember the dude that wanted to launch his own rocket to 'prove' the Earth is flat, and then it crashed and he died? He'd been trying to build that rocket for years, and realised that flat earthers would give him money: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/otilliasteadman/mad-mike-hughes-rocket-death-flat-earth
Redshadow09
exactly the flat earthers are ALL grifters
BEARD3DBEANIEE
People WANT to feel SPECIAL, religion does that and like religion believing in something that "no one else does" makes you feel special. Having words written down by men that never met Jesus but says that God has a plan for YOU because you're so special. Fuck dem other kids that are dying of cancer everyday, I have a plan for YOU.
So flat earthers think they know something no one else does and then they begin to cut people off like family and then become stuck in a cult much like religion.
Jadora
It's easier to manipulate confused and afraid people than someone who's secure in their worldly beliefs. Furthermore it's to divide people and make the normies seem like sheeple while the flatters can pretend to be heroic by being woke. But it also beautifully plays into the victim mentally because now they get to feel "lied to by the government" and be outraged. It's quite multifaceted.
Whitebeardthepirate
"What is the payoff for a con man who convinces fools that the Earth is flat?" "that makes me right! and it means I win at life and everything and I'm superior to other people and now people can finally like me!" - flat earthers
J4nein4ne
Flat Earth theory is a conspiracy by Big Flat to sell more airplanes, rockets, gyroscopes, lasers, builder's levels, graph paper, geometric planes, and - of course -flat.
LawFiveGuy
Like you, I didn't believe. Then I once got in a cab and the driver started talking about the earth being flat. To be fair, this was in Louisiana where there's no such thing as a mountain*, and he's never been outside Louisiana, so in his world he's never seen anything but flat. *given that there's no specific definition of what a mountain is, the generally accepted definition is a land mass over 1,000 feet at its peak and the highest point in LA is just over 500 feet.
Mairoa
I'm from the Cascades in Washington and it would be a lot harder to believe that crap here. Not impossible, but we got lots of spots where you can see the curve of the horizon. Gulf of Mexico is small but feels big. Pacific is actual big
ZachariasWolfe
The scale of the earth and the scale of space in general is mind boggling. Like, you can go to the edge of one of the Great Lakes around Michigan and not be able to see anything across them. Then you look at it on a map (or ideally a globe) and compare it to the Gulf of Mexico, or the Pacific Ocean, and it's amazing how huge the ocean is... On such a tiny rock floating through the vacuum of space.
Frothington
It makes dumb people feel special because they know the "truth" & everyone else is less than them for not believing it.
StenYngve
I think for many people, across religion and ideology, it's community
Bonsaipanda
It's a religion, a cult. It's not about the Earth being flat, it's about "sticking it to the man" and being rebellious. Sadly, there are other, more intelligent ways of doing that. And once they believe in one conspiracy theory, they believe in all of them.
Nikolai5
People enter a rabbit hole of conspiracy theories and you have to ask yourself why they do that in the first place? Why is it that many people wanted to believe that Covid was a hoax or created by the government? It's fear. They fear a chaotic world that nobody can control, they don't want to think that its possible for something bad to happen like that and nobody be responsible. They NEED it to be man-made or just fake to feel safe and comfortable.
Ryebread91
The guy who came up with birds aren't real did it as a joke. Now there's a whole following.
NearHereThere
Except that he's actually correct. Birds are not real.
Ryebread91
tollgret
You can't joke with customers, and you can't joke on the internet.
qwertdeep
It’s a gateway drug to Nazism. If you can convince idiots to believe the world is flat then you can convince them into anything
ErniesWidow
The Church of the flying spaghetti monster is real! Pastafarianism
QueTeValga
One of the dangers is that once they believe the earth is flat, they're more likely to believe dangerous conspiracies that lead to fuckshit, like Q-Anon stuff
METROlD
My mom is a flat earther. But I dont think she truly believes it, I think she is medium convinced if that makes any sense. I think she is just open for conversation and debate because thats the crowd she hangs out with, like "I'll consider the possibility of anything". She also sells flat earth merc on her website, so at least shes making money off of it.
OMGamIImguringCorrectly
Social media has created a wild west like vacuum where people would go town to town and sell snake oil to only their benefit. Likes, shares and followers net $$. It's always about the money.
maqp2
A real interesting question is, why are grifts so common. I learned this has to do with the 2008 recession, a book called 4-hour workweek becoming a best-seller, and a ton of people getting fixated on the idea of passive income, which doesn't really exist outside rent and securities, except for one: grift. Mostly by selling shovels in a gold rush, i.e. sell courses on how to make passive income.
AVeryLongFuseWithAVeryBigBangAtTheEnd
lots of good answers already, but here's my 2c: it makes a "mark" self identify and self-select for other forms of brainrot. so pushing flat earth becomes an on ramp for other conspiracies, and ends up in many sad places. but the 1in a 100 rare loot payout of the propagandist is to have nurtured a stochastic terrorist, someone like david dupape that can do the dirty work of destabilisation without leaving any meaningful trail back to the propagandists.
davebeastly
I think it was probably started by trolls, but then, as is unfortunately the case with the internet, some people actually started to believe it, and it snowballed.
tarnok
The flat Earth started as a internet joke in the early '90s like many things and was And it started by some Usenet and University peeps to show that bad information can be posted online.
And then this shit happened! *waves arms around*
jekath
I have zero evidence, but I'm convinced someone started this as a kind of "this is how stupid you guys sound" thing and the guys just went "that's all the evidence we need, so who's stupid now?"
RoaringTourist
Wouldn't surprise me. Weren't crop circles a similar story? Just some people messing about in fields and locals ended up thinking it was ET lifeforms
Quizz25S
"The greatest lie the Devil ever told was convincing people the earth wasn't round"
Slickdoodle
Don't you mean, "snowdisced"?
davebeastly
flamingflamingo
I think flat earthers are real, but that they're also mentally ill. Not because of thinking the earth is flat, but because of their proclivity toward inherently ridiculous conspiracy theories. It's like an extreme form of escapism and a desperate need for understanding without any of the footwork.
marsilies
Believing in one conspiracy theory has a domino effect that leads to believing other conspiracy theories, since the person has already done the logical leap out of reality, and conspiracy theorists like to tie multiple ones together, so learning more about one conspiracy theory tends to expose you to more.
flamingflamingo
I know a guy who only got into conspiracy theories after his acrimonious divorce. He was already unstable and that just cracked him. Paradoxically, pretending to understand everything (despite understanding nothing) is a form of taking control of their circumstances.
marsilies
Yeah, I think for some there's a sense of security in knowing that there's people controlling everything. It makes the word seem less chaotic, and it can absolve themselves of some blame. Like, it's not my fault my marriage failed, there's the grand conspiracy to undermine the role of men in society, etc.
flamingflamingo
Ah yeah I forgot to account for that aspect. It's a sense of having a perfect understanding of how everything works, so a sense of control, while also impressing a complete lack of personal control and therefore a lack of responsibility.
Dracon27
It's a gateway comspiracy theory. Once people start believing conspiracy stuff like this, it becomes easier to believe others. Almost always ending in "Jews are evil and run the world" conspiracy theories.
BigRobbo
I've sadly met a real one in the wild. He also thought there were two moons and that the US government controlled the weather.
SpotlightStealer
I haven't heard of the two moons one. Where's the second one? Did the government steal it or some shit?
BigRobbo
If memory serves they are never on the same side of the Earth so you wont see two moons. But when you sometimes see the moon during the day, thats the second moon.
SpotlightStealer
But then wouldn't you *always* be able to see a moon? How do they deal with the fact that they can't see the moon half the time?
BigRobbo
You are making the mistake of thinking there is any logic going on here.
bladderinfection
I worked with one. They are real. It’s like someone believing in god, all evidence is filtered through their beliefs and then improperly interpreted.
Frederf
The idea that invisible sky daddy and flat earth aren't treated as essentially the same is confusing.
marsilies
There's a strong religious component to a lot of flat earth beliefs. They see the scientific consensus of a round earth as just one more part of the erosion of religious belief, and is something they think they can personally fight back against.
Frederf
Every and I mean EVERY flat earther I've seen quizzed to their fundamental beliefs says "because God". Every single one without fail.
marsilies
There's a great bit in the video "In Search of a Flat Earth" where the video creator is describing how he went to a flat earth forum and explained the experiment he did and the results showed a round earth, and how he controlled for/factored in every variable and potential error the forum members brought up, and finally one member was just like "you should pray on it." When the facts fail them, they fall back on faith. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTfhYyTuT44
apollo1983
Im agnostic, but believing in a god and believing the earth is flat are two different ballparks. Literally every celestial body of sufficient mass is spherical.
uzetaab
Go watch a couple of flat earth debunking videos on YouTube, flat earthers have got an excuse for everything. For example, they claim the sun is a spotlight to explain why you can't see it at night. However, make sure you do it while NOT logged into YouTube. The algorithm loves this sort of shit and you'll get flooded with more videos. This also tells me that Google etc is a big cause for the spread of this BS.
GeofrontTmP
No, it's the same
Ohdearaudrey
The Old Testament is the basis of belief for flat earth, all the above the firmament shit. They took that literally. So to change their belief on flat earth you literally have to change their religious views. You can believe anything when you just think all evidence is fake to trick you
TheArrestingAbhorrentArrantAbominableAlliterator
They should be....
Don't confused "should" and "are." Sadly, flawed human heuristics and biases trump any determination of logic or your internal believe of reasonableness in "ball parks"
Kitehammer
Why is ignoring observable reality different from ignoring observable reality?
SalmonTheWise
It's religious fundamentalism. Even if they don't appear like a Christian Crockpot at first glance, if you push them hard enough they will bring up the Bible.
jbsquare
100%. Getting people to distrust science and their own government is a win for them.
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myeyesthegogglesdonothing
Akule
A pilot who is just going ignore the implication of the horizon at altitude?
Seawolfcola
Truth seekers ignoring everything not confirming the views you already hold
demagreg365
A pilot's license isn't an advanced degree, you're a glorified bus driver
MyNameIsntChris
I still don't understand how you guys can believe that every scientist and government in the world united and agreed to tell the "lie" that earth is a globe without gaining anything in the process.
Dracon27
So you could see the curvature in person, but deny it? Idiot.
whitefoxkei
Every time i see the phrase "truth seeker" I just think about that Game Grumps bit from Power Wash Simulator. https://youtu.be/mOdf843Xr5M?si=rLB5ziXL6WU7xtMu
DocWats
How did you get roped into such a mindset? Cause to the rest of the world, you are certainly some of the most foolish. Like you're better than anti-vaxxers cause at least your ideas don't kill people, but it's still the same vein of foolish.
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DocWats
Literally did not answer my question. I expected your geography to be poor, but reading comprehension...come on Roger
Akule
He's a "pilot" who can't explain what the horizon is. He isn't going to be equipped to answer your questions.
ImGoingToGoFallAsleepOnABench
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ImGoingToGoFallAsleepOnABench
They're literally your comments. You do know that your comment history is...public, right?
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HogWashDiddler
I thought the same thing until i met one in person. Theres certainly some that are no doubt con men riding the wave on youtube, but there is people that truly believe it. And they actually think theres a global and centuries old conspiracy to hide the fact the earth is flat.
VictusVonGuyver
All these flag earthers leading the charge are usually trying to profit off the misinformation they create. Like the Homeopathic Doctors who couldn't make it as actual doctors pushing for weird supplements, anti-vaxxer stuff, experimental non-scientific procedures.
It's the same with several Flag Earthers who are just trying to push their own products and get followers.
Are there done who legit believe this and aren't trying to profit? Yes, but so those who think they are a resurrected Jesus
gablestout
MrWobblyHead
The cost involved in covering up the 'truth' that the earth is for that long would cost an obscene amount of money. Who would benefit from it and how do they make their money to continue to cover up the 'truth'?
VaultGirl69
Too many ignorant people who need to feel special and important.
MechaNinja
A social worker once explained that the conversation I'd just had where I started to think I was the crazy person was with a person with borderline personality disorder. Talking to a legit flat earther feels exactly the same.
FMswottingTottington
I had the same experience but with the a cem trail guy. I never really thought that they really believed in it. The guy heared that I was a pilot and asked me about the trails behind airplanes and I explained it to him but I could see that he wasn't really listening and when my 30 sec explanation was over he spent 5 min telling me what it really was and why the airlines were doing it and that all pilots were in on it... news to me.. I ended the convo and quickly found somewhere else to be:)
LowTinaTurner
You can instantly prove these morons wrong by telling them to talk to a pilot. Tell him to look at flight paths or ask them how two planes can leave from LA, different directions and they both make it to Australia without hitting a wall.
TheWiseAlaundo
They have lines for these all utter BS; like fake flight paths, pilots are in on it and Australia doesn't exist and anyone 'From' there is an actor. Which annoys me because where is my goddam pay check im out here doing this shit for free!
aThingWithTheStufAndTheJunk
Guy who writes the checks is on smoko, so leave him alone.
fistermatic5000
You'll never convince them
tiredandtrusted
Global…I see what you did there.
sv1rr
They are all around the world.
ValamirCleaver
Flat earthers "around" the "globe"
HogWashDiddler
https://i.imgur.com/xgvaQIM.null
vystral
But why though?
SarcasticComment
the same reason religious people believe in various forms of magic.
WinstonSmith101
Psychologically it makes those who feel dispossessed and disconnected from society important. It makes them think “I know something most others don’t” and makes them feel special, as part of a knowledge club. They feel intelligent but without the years of education or level of cognition required by the usual and effective route.
It makes average people feel superior.
YayItsMillerTime
I had one of em tell me it's a conspiracy by the elites to hide their paradise that is behind an ice wall in Antarctica
Hoogemast
A lot of these things are all about getting people involved for money. So listen to me, come to my seminar, give me money so I can fight the round earthers etc. Also conspiracy theory one is a gateway to other conspiracies where they can manipulate you more and more.
whitefoxkei
Something something God, something something Science bad, something something creationism, something something the devil.
GhostMutGaming
Because it defies their interpretation of the Bible.
EmptyHouseBurglar
The ego benefits to believing you know something secret/uncommon that even supposedly educated people get wrong. Feeling like a brave and/or persecuted underdog, with few of the actual harms of persecution (violence, injustice). The comfort of certainly over the discomfort of partial knowing, the humility of knowing others are smarter than you, the day to day experience of faithfully trying to go forward with a don't -know mind and without surety. See also: so many other beliefs.
EmptyHouseBurglar
See classic Zen books like "not always so" and "only don't know," but carefully, lest you sound too sure of yourself, like my above comment does. Lol
SpoonOfDoom
I think the more important why is "in-universe": why tf would the entire world, nations that usually hate each other, different ideologies, religions, etc etc all work together on this one thing to try to convince people the earth is round when it's not? What's the payoff here for anyone, let alone *everyone* who would have to be involved?
NineByNine
Because it's easier for them to believe in some weird dumbass conspiracy that everyone but them is blithely unaware of so they can feel super special clever about figuring out what's wrong with the world, rather than realising what's ACTUALLY wrong with the world and society, and self-examining.
MattoJanai
My theory is that the world is a sad boring dystopia and conspiracy theorists just can't handle that. They want so desperately to believe that the dystopia is at least interesting and not just a bunch of rich people openly exploiting the poor
Bugkeeper
Yeah; I get why people choose to believe this stuff, but WHY would NASA (?) hide a flat earthfrom us? Who even benefits if ppl think it's a ball? There's no money or power gained ...
Frankasti
The dude from "Birds aren't real" was just doing it for fun at first but it evolved into its own thing.
BigOrangeCats
I don’t know why someone would hide the ice wall. But I do know that these are the same as Q Anon types, and I’ve got a theory that the true believers are all people who have never been the expert in anything or the person people go to for knowledge. But now they get to pretend to be a part of some vast conspiracy that only they, one of the chosen few smart enough to see through the lies, trying to expose the truth! Because it makes them feel smart and important, where they never have before.
marsilies
This excellent video goes into more detail, and does note the Q-Anon connection. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTfhYyTuT44
BoominGranny
ifIScreamIntoTheVoid
They want to believe that there is a grand conspiracy against them because it gives them something nebulous and undefined to blame their own poor choices, failures, and even just bad luck on.
As long as "someone else" is in control, there's no need to justify your actions or change from your prejudices, and anyone who disagrees with you is immediately "part of the problem" and therefore your enemy.
keillrandor
Which is how and why it's related to religion, which started off as giving agency to the world around us to explain why things happened...