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unrelated but fun: I once chatted to an Uber driver who insisted the Earth was flat. I told him the reason helicopters doesn't spin around the Earth is that th

by jopsen 9y ago

unrelated but fun: I once chatted to an Uber driver who insisted the Earth was flat. I told him the reason helicopters doesn't spin around the Earth is that they are within the atmosphere which spins with the Earth. He hadn't really considered that explanation before... It as a light hearted discussion, I thought the encounter fun :) After the 2016 election Americans doesn't surprise me as much any more..

icebraining 9y ago
I told him the reason helicopters doesn't spin around the Earth is that they are within the atmosphere which spins with the Earth. Isn't the actual reason simple inertia? They were already spinning with the Earth, unless there's a force canceling that, they'll just keep going.
- phkahler 9y ago
  >> Isn't the actual reason simple inertia? It helps if an argument fits the belief system or thinking patters of the person you're talking to. What are the odds that a cab driver has never had a physics class where they really dug into newtons laws of motion and internalized that? I bet the ones that have don't think the earth is flat. One might attack the inertia concept by using the idea of jumping on a train or bus, but that's one step removed from helicopters ;-)
- Tiksi 9y ago
  The inertia of the atmosphere. The inertia of the helicopter probably wouldn't be enough to fly in the 1000mph winds if the atmosphere wasn't moving with the earth.
phkahler 9y ago
...as a light hearted discussion, I thought the encounter fun That is actually how you need to approach most people when attempting to change their mind about something. Once you take a position or suggest that they have a position than may or may not be valid, you put them on the defensive. After that they will be trying to protect their belief and nothing will change them. If you approach a topic as an open light hearted discussion of ideas without judgement then there is some hope of change. From their point of view there may also be hope of you changing. I'm sure there's much to be said here about vulnerability and a two-way street.
monk_e_boy 9y ago
Is flat earth a thing that people who don't live on the coast believe? If you watch the sea, you see boats and birds and clouds go over the horizon. You can see that the ocean horizon is curved.
- deadmetheny 9y ago
  It's a thing that stupid people and conspiracy theorists believe. Living away from the coasts has nothing to do with it and it's quite frankly insulting to even insensate that being a reason people believe such malarkey.
  - jopsen 9y ago
    Yeah, people believe conspiracies because it's more interesting, more drama than the truth... The thing about flat Earth though is that it's so easy to prove. Just get in an airplane and fly to the edge :) I wonder why no amatuer pilots have done that, how hard can it be to find the edge? Hehe

by jopsen 9y ago

icebraining 9y ago

I told him the reason helicopters doesn't spin around the Earth is that they are within the atmosphere which spins with the Earth. Isn't the actual reason simple inertia? They were already spinning with the Earth, unless there's a force canceling that, they'll just keep going.

phkahler 9y ago
>> Isn't the actual reason simple inertia? It helps if an argument fits the belief system or thinking patters of the person you're talking to. What are the odds that a cab driver has never had a physics class where they really dug into newtons laws of motion and internalized that? I bet the ones that have don't think the earth is flat. One might attack the inertia concept by using the idea of jumping on a train or bus, but that's one step removed from helicopters ;-)
Tiksi 9y ago
The inertia of the atmosphere. The inertia of the helicopter probably wouldn't be enough to fly in the 1000mph winds if the atmosphere wasn't moving with the earth.

phkahler 9y ago

...as a light hearted discussion, I thought the encounter fun That is actually how you need to approach most people when attempting to change their mind about something. Once you take a position or suggest that they have a position than may or may not be valid, you put them on the defensive. After that they will be trying to protect their belief and nothing will change them. If you approach a topic as an open light hearted discussion of ideas without judgement then there is some hope of change. From their point of view there may also be hope of you changing. I'm sure there's much to be said here about vulnerability and a two-way street.

monk_e_boy 9y ago

Is flat earth a thing that people who don't live on the coast believe? If you watch the sea, you see boats and birds and clouds go over the horizon. You can see that the ocean horizon is curved.

deadmetheny 9y ago
It's a thing that stupid people and conspiracy theorists believe. Living away from the coasts has nothing to do with it and it's quite frankly insulting to even insensate that being a reason people believe such malarkey.
- jopsen 9y ago
  Yeah, people believe conspiracies because it's more interesting, more drama than the truth... The thing about flat Earth though is that it's so easy to prove. Just get in an airplane and fly to the edge :) I wonder why no amatuer pilots have done that, how hard can it be to find the edge? Hehe