Going down the flat Earth rabbit hole

On March 20, Mayo High School Planetarium Director Paul Larson will unveil the findings of a worldwide experiment he conducted last year.

And it will show that the Earth is, indeed, a round ball.

What a minute! Didn’t some Greek guy prove the shape of the Earth some 2,200 years ago? Doesn’t everybody know the Earth is round? And even if there is a fringe element of cranks and flat-Earth types, why would you engage or validate their point of view?

The reason, Larson said, is because the number of people who believe the Earth is flat is growing. So even if it is a bit of a rabbit hole, Larson is determined to climb in.

It is estimated that 2 percent of Americans believe in the Flat Earth theory. That translates into six million people, he said.

Bombarded by Youtube videos and the musings of high-profile celebrities like basketball star Kyrie Irving and rapper B.o.B, more people are questioning the shape of the Earth. And Larson sees the trickle-down effect in his planetarium, where some students wrestle with the question or profess belief in a flat Earth.

“First, you can see the panic in their eyes,” Larson said. “Wait a minute! You’re questioning what I’m believing.”

Larson said his goal is to engage flat Earth believers and doubters and do it on the neutral ground of scientific inquiry. Last year, the Mayo lecturer conducted a worldwide experiment similar to the one the Greek mathematician Eratosthenes did 2,200 years ago in calculating the circumference of the Earth.

And next Wednesday, he will present his findings during a Community Education class called “Flat Earth! … Wait, What!?” The class starts at 6:30 p.m. and takes place in the Mayo High School planetarium. People are encouraged to register through Community Education if they are interested in attending.

Larson’s hope is that some of the people in the auditorium will be flat-Earth advocates, because “what I need from them is their side of the story,” he said.

“The driving force for this comes back to our students,” Larson said. “The whole point here is to take a question that you have about the natural world and investigate that question using a scientific method.”

Larson had contemplated conducting such an experiment for some time, but what pushed him forward was an experience that convinced him flat-Earth fervor was spreading.

Larson was sitting in line at a car wash when he noticed that the truck in front of him had a flat Earth decal on its window. Larson parked his car, got out and started talking to the driver. The man said he believed in a flat Earth, and there were more like him.

“I’m like, ‘Holy Cow, I’ve got to do this experiment,’” Larson said.

There may be limits to Larson’s approach. He said that for many flat-Earth people, their belief boils down to a religious argument. Many also believe that the round-Earth theory is a product of a vast conspiracy.

Photos taken from the moon? Flat-Earth people consider them fake. All the satellites that supposedly encircle the Earth. Fake. The Apollo moon landings? Also fake.

Larson disagrees that flat-Earth believers should be ignored or marginalized. Many, in fact, are bright, scientifically inspired people who are asking questions and skeptical of what they are being told.

“I would like to have a conversation, because as a scientist, I need to be open to the possibility that I’m wrong,” Larson said. “Because in science, you cannot prove anything to be 100 percent.”

Rochester resident Jor Johanson has been an flat-Earth believer since 2015. When the Post Bulletin sent out a request through its Facebook page for any flat Earth types, he responded almost immediately.

Johanson said he used to believe in a round Earth. In fact, all FE people start out as GE while trying to prove a globed Earth.

“I’ll be honest with you,” Johanson wrote through an exchange on Facebook Messenger. “Many wished they’ve never pursued the question, because of the subsequent question which follows. Are you entirely sure you want to know the answer?”

He said his conversion from globed Earth to flat Earth was a jarring experience.

“It’s a blue pill or red pill kind of thing,” he said. “The GE science proof used to be enough for me to believe, but i’ve seen too much. It’s flat.”

Flat-Earth advocates don’t believe in space, Johanson said. There are no planets, no galaxies, nothing but the sun, the moon and some unexplained lights. There are no satellites.

One big reason Johanson believes in a flat Earth is because “we can see too far.” Photographic technology allows people to zoom into areas that should be past the earth’s curve. He says photographic technology will “take down GE all by itself.”

He said that if you take away NASA, the theory of a spherical Earth collapses. “Answer without any NASA,” he said

Johanson said he doesn’t believe in the traditional flat Earth map, which shows a pancaked-shape Earth encircled by Antartica. When asked where the flat Earth ends, he said he is not certain. But the traditional flat Earth pizza map has “some flaws,” and he speculated that elites may be spreading it to discredit flat-Earthers.

“It might not end,” Johanson said. “Many people wonder if it’s an infinite plane.”

He said the flat-Earth theory doesn’t have an answer yet for lunar eclipses. Nor does it have answers for falling stars, meteors or stars. Johanson also linked to several videos that he said would illuminate the flat-Earth position.

“When you zoom into a star, for example, you get nothing but a flickering light. Most stars are blinking in different lights and at different frequencies? What are they? I don’t know?”

He said most people have a “strong cognitive dissonance reaction” to flat-Earth people.

“When something you have at the core of your belief system is shaken, it upsets people. It’s beyond their bedrock and against it. Brain fights FE real hard,” he said.

What: Flat Earth! … Wait, what!?

When: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Where: Mayo High School Planetarium (Enter through door #6).

Contact 

Community Education

for registration information. Call 328-4000