this post was submitted on 30 Jan 2024
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Supposedly, flat earthers started as a thought experiment for scientific skepticism; acknowledging assumptions your knowledge is based on, even the most basic things.
Yeah, and how did that work out, then?
For the record, I have no idea if that's true and a quick search doesn't provide any sources, so I feel if you have one, sharing it would be in the spirit of the conversation.
If i had one, I'd give it. Unfortunately, it's a claim I found a source for once and now lives in the back of my mind, which is why I can't commit more than a "supposedly". Amusingly enough, that's exactly the kind of casual acceptance the organization was supposedly designed to combat. So it goes.
Ah, live with the endless itch of not knowing if this has something to it or going down a rabbit hole of researching the origins of a dumb modern conspiracy theory. The choices that keep life interesting.
I mean the positive of a thought experiment is almost anyone can do it.
The negative is that most people don't have the scientific rigor to draw proper conclusions from their hypothesis, and may leave out very important data because it's outside their perspective to even consider.
Easily tainted, and not reproducible.
It's a good first step, and in the right setting can be very valuable.
Jim Bob musing on the nature of the universe is fine, until we start basing real world action on simple musings without actionable data.