Coskii ,
@Coskii@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

Who will be on the show: people with more time than sense.

People who won't: the dozens of actually intelligent cult leaders grifters who are making a living off flat earth believers.

Fedizen ,

I hate this timeline.

Delusional ,

So they're gonna lure a bunch of idiots on their program and film it to show the whole world what massive fucking idiots they are and then tell them to fuck off without pay because what kind of expert will be swayed by a massive idiot's argument about things we've known were true for quite a long time.

Dasus ,
@Dasus@lemmy.world avatar

tell them to fuck off without pay

Nah. Appearing will get you money (and visibility), rewarding these loonies.

elbarto777 ,

Why is this in a science community?

I want to read real science content here.

fsxylo ,

Didn't work when Chris angel offered 1 mil to prove magic is real.

The crazies spun a "noble witch" narrative that anyone who practices magic is above materialism. As if fortune tellers aren't more aggressive than knife salesmen.

just_another_person OP ,

Then they don't get the money. I think the concept is pretty simple.

UnderpantsWeevil ,
@UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world avatar

If you can explain how magic works, it isn't "real magic". Sort of the paradox of magic as a concept.

If I can dangle a steel penny in the air with a couple of magnets, is that a miracle? Only if I don't know how magnets works.

fsxylo ,

Iirc the rules were prove magic is real as described. Ie. Prove the rules of divination as written in their belief system. Of course it's a scientific approach, and it would make the unexplained explained, conventionally that means it "stops being magic" but all they had to do was prove their beliefs aren't bullshit.

UnderpantsWeevil ,
@UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world avatar

Ie. Prove the rules of divination as written in their belief system.

Traditionally, you prove (or more practically refute) the efficacy of a magical system like divination through empirical consistency.

Divination doesn't work because it is unreliable. I can predict, say, the next week of weather or the outcome of an athletic game through climatology or sabermetrics far more reliably than the I Ching or Tarot.

But let's pretend it did work. I'm not sure how you'd functionally prove it.

RememberTheApollo_ ,

Make one of the experts an astronaut who has been in space.

just_another_person OP ,

Not enough. They don't even believe their own cameras they've up on balloons. They think there is some kind of "round earth illuminati" that has infiltrated literally every part of your life to propagate the "lie".

LemmyKnowsBest ,

I wanna see an experienced astronaut convince another experienced astronaut that the earth is flat.

Now THAT would be some good viewing! 📺🍿

elbarto777 ,

Why?

echodot ,

Because filming and laughing at people who are mentally distressed isn't really satisfying is it. They think the Earth is flat they're not normal in the head why are considering this to be entertainment.

elbarto777 ,

That's a red herring. I don't care about the original post because, like you pointed out, it's about entertainment, not science.

Back to the original question I asked the parent poster, I'd like to know what value would bring two experienced astronauts debating a flat earth argument.

LemmyKnowsBest ,

Two experienced astronauts who've legitimately witnessed the full rotation of the earth, they've seen every side of the globe from their vantage point above. Now imagine one of them trying to convince the other -dead serious although he's actually trolling- that the earth is flat. How could that NOT be amusing 🤣

elbarto777 ,

Haha yeah, I see how that could be entertaining.

But eh.

This is off-topic.

massacre ,

My loathe for conspiracy theorists-flat earthers especially-kind of makes me want to watch this.

That's quite literally what they are hoping. This is rage-bait sensationalistic reality TV. Don't fucking give it the time of day and stop sharing for fake internet points... let it die as it should.

Edit: Also downvoted the article because I'm using the same logic... it's not personal - I just am so tired of seeing posts that are effectively free advertisement for things I despise and don't want to encourage it.

just_another_person OP , (edited )

Wow. We should only cater to your needs and wants. Got it, champ. 🫰

UnderpantsWeevil ,
@UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world avatar

We should though. He seems like a cool dude with a good head on his shoulders and we'd all be better off if we took his advice.

just_another_person OP ,

Nice tertiary account. You're sad.

Docus ,

And downvoted by me (for the avoidance of doubt, the article, not your comment) because it has nothing to do with science.

echodot ,

What a stupid show idea. Everyone knows that the best reality show is to take an activity usually undertaken by your grandmother and turn it into a global franchise.

Competitive knitting, competitive watercolors, competitive cooking, competitive dressmaking you name it. If your grandmother does it it can be turned into a television program.

Why are they messing around with this crap?

Aqarius ,

You're saying your grandmother doesn't try to convince everyone she meets the Earth is flat?

echodot ,

I think that's only dementia plus plus, and she never had that.

LemmyKnowsBest ,

If their target audience is baby boomers with dementia, then maybe this flat earth thing qualifies.

nul ,

Does it count if I give a proof reducing the entire universe down to a 2-dimensional construct?

JCreazy ,

Reality show aka scripted

Potatos_are_not_friends ,

Oh God. This is continuing to give attention to stupid.

When MTV started making reality tv show and encouraged morons to be morons, where most of us laughed, all it did was empower them.

just_another_person OP ,

Well...yes and no. I actually expect a lot of Flat Earthers to come out of the woodwork FULL BORE to win some prize money. I can envision this being like Shark Tank, but with the added benefit of educating uninformed minds as to why these people are idiots.

I guess I'm seeing a net benefit.

devfuuu ,

You have too much faith in humans.

It will serve to brainwash and make other people get in contact with the crazy and start believe the stuff they say.

just_another_person OP ,

I don't think shows like Mythbusters did anything but the opposite.

iorale ,

But this won't be Mythbusters and expecting it to not be malicious is being too naive

just_another_person OP ,

Whoa. Malice towards whom? Are you afraid flat earth folks will feel bad about being shut down?

echodot ,

Mythbusters took commonly held ideas and showed whether they were correct or not. Sometimes they actually said that what they were showing was true, often they showed how things are sort of true to a given value of true but there's a lot of subtlety and nuance in the answer.

But the Earth isn't flat. We know it isn't, there is no debating the topic unless you've got a neurological deficiency. All this show he's going to do is be, haha look at the morons, which won't do anything because we already do that.

just_another_person OP ,

No, they took random subjects as well. It's called MYTHbusters. They didn't just take proven facts and investigate. They took all kinds of dumbass thing and debunked them.

Have a look: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_MythBusters_episodes

echodot ,

This is a weird hill to die on I've got to say. I've seen MythBusters it's on TV, you can watch reruns on a on Youtube, you are arguing about something fundamentally disprovable.n

And I repeat, the Earth is not flat. The only people who think the Earth is flat are people who have stopped taking their medication. Laughing at these people is counterproductive at best an outright abusive at worst.

iorale ,

Are you being stupid on purpose or just to be an ass? Just to be sure. Now, on to the part that actually matters:
To you this might be a perfect chance to laugh at them, to them, this is a perfect chance to give them a voice and a place to show their theories and spread their conspiracy, remember that idiots might not be brave enough to show they are idiots in public until they are given a voice or a feeling of not being alone in their stupidity.

Now if they bribe enough people or if the sponsors decide to side with the flat-earhers for whatever reason, they just need to replace the panel enough times until they are willing to make the flat-earhers look convincing enough and we get even more idiots.

I've seen enough to believe idiots are a majority, not a minority like lemmy or reddit loves to believe, I really hope I'm wrong and it just stops at everyone laughing at the crazy people, but things can always get worse.

UnderpantsWeevil ,
@UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world avatar

I can envision this being like Shark Tank, but with the added benefit of educating uninformed minds as to why these people are idiots.

The gimmick only really works from season to season if you occasionally allow one of these freaks to win.

Also sets up this ridiculous standard of "debate", wherein arguing over a thing is considered more important than actually understanding a thing. Episode after episode of people making increasingly fanciful claims and fraudulent proofs will simply reinforce the idea that the Earth is, in fact, flat. If you have a parade of people asserting with supreme confidence that this theory is true, you create the impression that there is some serious doubt about the shape of the planet.

SkyezOpen ,

The gimmick only really works from season to season if you occasionally allow one of these freaks to win.

Finding Bigfoot is on season 12.

wersooth ,

so, is it legal to advertise and reward stupidity?
no wonder the whole human race is dying slowly....
I wish it would be faster.....

elbarto777 ,

Um..... yes?

For millennia.

This is nothing new.

The human race is not dying lol! Per evolutionary theory, it's skiing quite well. Billions of us on Earth right now - and counting!

magic_lobster_party ,

It has been known for centuries that you see a different night sky depending on how far north or south you are. A flat earth model has to explain why northern pole star is only visible in some parts of the world, while southern cross is only visible in other parts.

just_another_person OP ,

Tha Gubment

matthewmercury ,

Pictures of space are photoshopped, as is the giant photo of space that the scientists have pasted upon the firmament to fool you.

SlopppyEngineer ,

Not to mention the sun setting and rising, timezones, the sun being visible for six months from north and south pole, lunar and solar eclipses that can only be explained with pretzel like reasoning and so on.

Grandwolf319 ,

How much are they paying? And how much for the expert to be bribed to change their mind?

Asking for a friend.

vrek ,

The earth is flat...

Do you agree the earth is about 2/3 lakes, rivers, oceans etc?

Are they carbonated?

No, the world is flat ... Give me money....

Spitzspot ,
@Spitzspot@lemmings.world avatar

"Ocean acidification refers to a reduction in the pH of the ocean over an extended period of time, caused primarily by uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere." - https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/acidification.html#:~:text=The%20ocean%20absorbs%20about%2030,the%20levels%20in%20the%20ocean.

Couldbealeotard ,
@Couldbealeotard@lemmy.world avatar

You know there are some naturally carbonated springs. The Earth is not flat after all.

vrek ,

True but they are so rare, it's basically a "rounding" error ...

porl ,

Which proves the earth is round.

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