The Conspiracy Theory Is Valid
Deductive and inductive reasoning can help invalidate the theory that the earth is flat. While deductive reasoning involves a guaranteed truth of the conclusions, inductive reasoning is based on probabilities. However, both concepts involve concluding widely accepted truth that can be verified. The earth’s spherical shape can be determined by various experiments and normal observation. Being flat, like a sheet of glass, means that there are no curvatures and indentations on the earth’s surface. However, the planet is endowed with mountains, hills, and oceans that run deep on the surface. Additionally, if the earth was flat, then the rivers would not run in a specific direction, as can be demonstrated with a mass of water in a flat basin. Moreover, just like people going into space, the mountaineers carry oxygen with them due to its decrease with an increase in height. Often when the sun sets, one can see it above the horizon, proving that the earth is curved and not flat. Furthermore, if a ship sailing off the sea is observed, its mast and flag appear to slowly sink as it fades into the distance. Finally, if one arranges raises posts with similar heights in a straight direction, the middle one will seem longer than the others if observed from one end of the line. The observations are contrary to what has expected if the earth was flat. Therefore, the earth’s shape cannot be flat based on widely observed facts about the planet, including water movements.
Scientific evidence has proved that the concept that the earth is flat is invalid. Various geographers explain the earth’s shape as a spheroid, meaning that it is spherical but flat at the North and South poles. The centripetal force is responsible for the earth’s flat shape at the South and North poles. The earth is believed to be in a constant rotation on its axis. As it rotates, the centripetal force is supplied by the planet’s gravitational pull towards the center (Zhong & Yu, 2022). The regions at the South and North poles are nearer to the earth’s center than any other surface. Consequently, the pull towards the earth’s center is greater at the South and North poles than at any other surface of the earth. Therefore, the earth is flatter at the poles compared to other parts, making it a glenoid spherical in shape. Meanwhile, the earth bulges outwards along the equator due to the centrifugal force that pushes the surface from its center. Since the planet rotates on its axis, the earth’s centrifugal force is always outward and away from the axis. While deductive and inductive reasoning help determines the earth’s shape from daily observations, the scientific evidence invalidates the conspiracy that the earth is flat through experiments.
References
Edwards, B. F., & Edwards, J. M. (2021). Geodetic model for teaching motion on the Earth’s spheroidal surface.European Journal of Physics, 43(1), 015003.
Landrum, A. R., Olshansky, A., & Richards, O. (2021). Differential susceptibility to misleading flat earth arguments on YouTube.Media Psychology, 24(1), 136-165.
Muanya. C. (2019). More reasons why Earth may not be spherical. The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News.
Zhong, W., & Yu, C. (2022). The Critical Core Mass of Rotating Planets. The Astrophysical Journal, 926(1), 43. Web.