Flat Earth societies, also known as Flat Earthers consist of individuals who promote the idea that the Earth is flat rather than an oblate spheroid. Such groups date from the middle of the 20th century; some adherents are serious and some are not. Those who are serious are often motivated by pseudoscience or religious literalism.
If you think the Earth is flat, then you’re on the wrong website. Incidentally, somewhere else that you don’t expect to see flat Earth peons are on Elon Musk’s Twitter profile but this is 2017, where logic is about as relevant as witchcraft.
The Tesla and SpaceX chief have a bit of a vested interest in the shape of planets given he wants to colonize them and with all the hullaballoo over flat Earth conspiracy theories recently, Musk got a little philosophical on Twitter.
He incited the Flat Earthers with a single tweet Wednesday. His question was prompted by photos from the NASA Mars rover Curiosity. He poked fun at those who are convinced that our planet is flat. “Why is there no Flat Mars Society!?” he asked.
Why is there no Flat Mars Society!?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 28, 2017
Surprisingly, we have an enormous, game-changing spoiler for you. The official Twitter account of the Flat Earth Society responded to Musk’s tweet, and they have claimed that Mars, unlike the Earth, is absolute, definitely round. The Flat Earth Society replied that ‘unlike Earth, Mars has been observed to be round’, leaving many observers of the conversation baffled.
“Hi Elon, thanks for the question. Unlike the Earth, Mars has been observed to be round. We hope you have a fantastic day!” tweeted The Flat Earth Society.
Hi Elon, thanks for the question. Unlike the Earth, Mars has been observed to be round.
We hope you have a fantastic day!
— Flat Earth Society (@FlatEarthOrg) November 28, 2017
That’s the kind of conspiracy thinking that leads flat-Earthers to set up ambitious crowdfunding campaigns to apparently conduct their own ‘real’ scientific experiments. For those unfamiliar with the much-maligned theory, Flat Earthers believe all photo evidence of the Earth as round has been doctored. But Wednesday’s debate revealed a less-known facet of the theory.
While the theory claims the Earth is flat and the entire concept of a round Earth is a sham concocted by nefarious global elites, most Flat Earthers accept that the rest of the planets are indeed round. They exist inside “the firmament”, a loosely defined boundary that encloses the flat surface of the Earth like a bubble.
Earth, then, is “the only flat celestial body to have been found so far, at least,” wrote The Flat Earth Society, the society that took on Musk. “But we’re also the only (known) body to harbor intelligent life.”
The only flat celestial body to have been found so far, at least. But we’re also the only (known) body to harbour intelligent life.
So, forget the FE stuff for a moment and think about this: is it weird that we haven’t found life elsewhere yet? Maybe. But it’s still true.
— Flat Earth Society (@FlatEarthOrg) November 29, 2017
By no means! Those who believe the Earth to be round claim that it is an oblate spheroid – since the spin of the Earth would slowly bulge it out of shape.
— Flat Earth Society (@FlatEarthOrg) November 29, 2017
The conversation was eagerly followed by thousands of Twitter users, many of whom waded into the debate themselves.
Musk and his space travel firm SpaceX boasted in September about plans of sending humans to Mars as early as 2024, so perhaps the debate will be settled then, though it’s doubtful.