Why Would Anyone Believe The Earth Is Flat?

The Earth as seen from space – looks curved from up there. 
Flickr/NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, CC BY-NC

By Peter Ellerton, The University of Queensland

Belief in a flat Earth seems a bit like the attempt to eradicate polio – just when you think it’s gone, a pocket of resistance appears. But the “flat Earthers” have always been with us; it’s just that they usually operate under the radar of public awareness.

Now the rapper B.o.B has given the idea prominence through his tweets and the release of his single Flatline, in which he not only says the Earth is flat, but mixes in a slew of other weird and wonderful ideas.

These include the notions that the world is controlled by lizard people, that certain celebrities are cloned, that Freemasons manipulate our lives, that the sun revolves around the Earth and that the Illuminati control the new world order. Not bad for one song.

Even ignoring that these ideas are inconsistent (are we run by lizards, the Freemansons or the Illuminati?), what would inspire such a plethora of delusions? The answer is both straightforward, in that it is reasonably clear in psychological terms, and problematic, in that it can be hard to fix.

Nuclear Experts Are Scared -- 48 Hours To Act

"Doel Kerncentrale 2" by Torsade de Pointes - Own work. Licensed under CC0 via Commons 

Nuclear experts are scared:

Belgium has just restarted two ancient and cracked nuclear power plants that threaten to unleash another Chernobyl disaster right in the heart of Europe!

Treading Water: Flint's Water Crisis and What It Says About America Today

The complicated story how Flint, Mich. is a striking example of American inequity today.
Photo: Flickr user Ken Lund (PRNewsFoto/American Federation of Governme)

AFGE tells the complicated story of how one city is a striking example of a nationwide problem

You get what you pay for. So when officials cut corners to find a cheaper source of water for the financially-strapped community of Flint, Mich., half of its children tested positive for elevated lead levels. Images of brown, rancid water dominated headlines and social media nationwide. Residents are now forced to survive on bottled water with little hope for relief in sight.

 

What you may not know is that it's not just Flint that is suffering.

Donald Trump: Just How Good A Businessman Is He?

Reuters/Aaron P. Bernstein

By Scott Taylor, University of Birmingham 

Demagoguery aside, much of Donald Trump’s bid to gain the Republican Party nomination for the presidency of the United States rests on his success as a businessman. It was his business fortune that meant he could kickstart his bid with $1.8m of his own money. But how credible a business leader is he? And, in light of his track record, should he be trusted to run the US?

Iliza Shlesinger's Latest Record, Freezing Hot, to be Released by Comedy Dynamics

Iliza Shlesinger (PRNewsFoto/Comedy Dynamics)

Iliza: Freezing Hot, will be released by Comedy Dynamics on all digital services January 29, 2016. A special of the same name premiered on Netflix to great reviews January 23, 2015. 

Why Pulling Out Of The EU Won't Give Britain Complete Control Over Its Affairs

And all the invitations just dried up. EPA/Andy Rain

By Eunice Goes, Richmond American International University

For years, crusaders of the Eurosceptic cause have claimed that all the evils of the world will disappear once Britain leaves the European Union. British fishermen and women will be able to fish as much cod as they like and greengrocers will be able to weigh Brussels sprouts in pounds. Britain will regain control of its borders, parliamentary sovereignty will be restored to its former glory and the great brotherhood of English-speaking countries will be rekindled.

But so far these grandiose promises have not been accompanied by any explanation of what exactly will happen after Brexit. No scenarios have been described apart from vague references to remaining part of the European free-trade zone. It’s about time they spelled out their case.