Is Flat Earth a Religious Belief?
Challenging the beliefs of others often results in wasting time and introducing needless conflict. If you encounter someone who fervently believes the Earth is flat and you firmly disagree, how can you convince them otherwise? The natural instinct may be to present pictures from space, videos, podcasts, or other cogent explanations that disprove Flat Earth theory.
So why don’t science and logic work against the majority of Flat Earthers? People can use logic and data against them, yet they steadfastly deny it as a hoax or conspiracy. The issue isn’t the quality of information, which has centuries of evidence pointing to its soundness. What makes them so sure they are right? Why do Flat Earthers dismiss facts, regardless of their simplicity and validity? It seems that, in their eyes, any opposition only reinforces the belief in a grand conspiracy.
Taking their argument at face value, what would the “Technocratic Conspiracy” gain from lying about the Earth’s roundness? It’s hard to profit from such a conspiracy, requiring unprecedented coordination. For argument’s sake, let’s assume Flat Earthers believe there’s more in it for the Technocrats than just lying about the shape of the globe. Perhaps they see it as a grand conspiracy to fool people and profit from the illusion. It’s such magical thinking that it should be considered a religious belief.
Considering that Flat Earthers essentially engage in evangelism, would trying to convince a “true believer” that they are wrong be anything other than a complete waste of time? Most fanatics cherish opposition, and this “need for opposition” is precisely what internet trolls fulfill. Trolls, much like evangelists, relish ‘winning arguments’ and driving people nuts.
If Flat Earthers lead peaceful, happy lives believing in crazy ideas, should we accept their lunatic beliefs? Should we ignore the idiots and focus on belief systems that exist to control and oppress people? When institutions use lies to dominate others, those beliefs deserve to be mocked, ridiculed, and shut down. When like-minded individuals peacefully follow societal rules, who cares what crazy ideas they espouse? Would you try to explain to a crazy homeless person that there are no microchips embedded in their brain?
As far as we can tell, Flat Earthers are benign and pose no real threat. If you want to “defeat” Flat Earthers, use the best strategy known to man to defeat any troll: ignore them. When Neil DeGrasse Tyson addresses an idiotically misguided belief like Flat Earth, he lends it credibility. In their minds, that gives them the ammunition to say, “Neil addressed it; he’s clearly part of the conspiracy!”
When a celebrity responds to an internet troll, the troll has won. The same goes for those who say awful things to people; if they never got a response, they would stop doing it. It’s no fun to troll people if they ignore you. Making people spin their wheels, wasting time explaining why the earth is probably tons of fun for trolls. Forget about winning an argument with an evangelist and simply turn the other cheek.
