A growing
community of theorists who believe the world is actually flat is organizing
conventions, cruises, a planned television series, and future expeditions to
uncover what they believe are the hidden truths and mysteries of the
world. Even controversial YouTube star
Logan Paul recently expressed his desire to journey to the edge of the Earth
and will release a documentary called "The Flat Earth: to the Edge and
Back" premiering March 20.
While I am
certainly not a Flat Earth believer, I am always intrigued by the mystery of
our planet and can't ignore the dedication and growing Flat Earth organizations
and followers around the world. I had a
chance to speak with dozens of Flat Earth supporters to talk about exploring
Antarctica and to get their response to the recent highly publicized journey
across Antarctica by Colin O'Brady.
Recently
Youtube star Logan Paul attended the Flat Earth International Conference in
Denver and spoke onstage to the attendees about his interest in the subject. He
was there filming a documentary (possible mockumentary) for YouTube and talked
at length about Flat Earth with founder Robbie Davidson.
"I
consider myself a man of truth, someone who hates being ignorant," Paul
said. "I’m not ashamed to say my name is Logan Paul and I think I’m coming
out of the Flat Earth closet. If I'm going to put my name out there (as a Flat
Earth supporter), I want to know the facts. The fact that we haven't been to
the moon in over 50 years, the fact that the moon emits its own light. Some of
the best scientists can't explain gravity; Neil Degrasse Tyson, Bill Nye, in
the end, do they even know? I want to explore for myself and keep an open mind.
There is a stigma of being a flat earther and if I'm going to do it I want to
know the facts."
Sitting down
with Davidson, Logan Paul was also passionate about his interest in trekking
across Antarctica to confirm the flat earth theory hoping he would be the first
to reach the wall. "I am that guy that will make it to the edge," he
says.
Davidson,
(who is not affiliated with the Flat Earth Society) is also organizing an
enormous cruise in 2020 for Flat Earthers to convene and discuss theories while
continuing his popular yearly conventions around the country. His take on Antarctica
is fueled by what he calls real exact science.
"When
we look at Antarctica if you take a globe and you squish it down, the Antarctic
would go all the way around the Earth. It's kind of like an ice shore and it’s
very very large. It's not like you just go there, and you can just peek over
it. We don't believe anything can fall off the edge, because a big portion of
the flat earth community believe that we're in a dome, like a snow globe. So
the sun, moon, and stars are all inside. It's very high but all contained
inside. So there's no way to actually fall off of the earth."
According to
Flat Earther Jay Decasby, who is in development for a television series about
the subject:
"All we
have to do to shut this debate down once and for all is get the distance of the
coast of Antarctica. It has been done by early sailors (before the UN was
established and set up its Antarctic treaty essentially making it illegal for
independent and private exploration of Antarctica) who managed to make 60k+
miles which irrefutably proves the flat earth model, but like all other
mountains of evidence for flat earth this is not enough for ballers today. If
we can get to the coast of Antarctica and sail all the way around it, we will
get the distance that will prove it’s the outer edges of flat earth and refute
entirely every single argument anyone can possibly try to pitch for the
sun-worshipping cult of heliocentrism." He continues, "They’ve made
laws to not allow any kind of motorized equipment on the ice which would help
us prove not only flat earth but what’s beyond the ice wall, but in reality, we
don’t even need to get onto the ice to prove flat earth. The coast of
Antarctica on the ball earth is no more than 14.5k miles. On a flat earth, it
would be over 60k...we have evidence of 60k+ and none of 14.5."
There have
been 16 journeys across portions of Antarctica throughout the years, with
expeditions such as Borge Ousland’s 1997 kite expedition, and in 2006 Rune
Gjeldnes skied 2,988 miles in the South Pole region with kites. In 2012,
Felicity Aston became the first woman to ski alone through parts of Antarctica.
And in 2018,
Colin O'Brady completed his solo, unsupported and unaided crossing of
Antarctica in a 54-day journey which created a firestorm on both sides of the
Flat Earth debate. Critics said it delivers proof of no flat earth while others
are not convinced.
Decasby
says:
"In
1773 Captain Cook became the first modern explorer known to have breached the
Antarctic circle and reached the ice barrier. He intended to sail completely
around Antarctica looking for inlets through the ice-wall. Sailing a total of
60,000 miles along the Antarctic coastline he never once found an inlet or path
through or beyond the massive glacial wall. Cook wrote: 'The ice extended east
and west far beyond the reach of our sight, while the southern half of the
horizon was illuminated by rays of light which were reflected from the ice to a
considerable height.'"
Eric Dubay
and other flat Earthers feel that Antarctica is impenetrable and that the UN
Antarctic Treaty of 1961 will not allow any private exploration to happen
there. Jay Decasby further explains the
controversy behind the O'Brady expedition:
"The
only information the public received was the claims of O'Brady, his several
selfies, and endless hearsay. The one and only piece of information that even
remotely mattered, however, was missing. The factual and irrefutable evidence
of this alleged crossing. No telemetry data, no GPS coordinates, no evidence of
any kind that O'Brady took the route he did, accomplished the miles he had or
did the crossing at all for that matter. Some may claim that because there are
no cell towers along his route, it was impossible to obtain this kind of
factual evidence and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that he did, in fact,
complete the trip as he had claimed."
"If
O'Brady had cell service and some kind of connection it would mean his
coordinates would also be known and recorded. These coordinates have not been
provided to the public. Is it because these coordinates do not exist? Or perhaps
O'Brady didn't actually take that route or accomplish his alleged mission in
the claimed 54 days?"
I reached
out to Colin O'Brady who responded:
"The
GPS coordinates were published publicly throughout the entire expedition in
real time. Anyone could click the link on the website any time of day to see
exact latitude and longitude coordinates."
While the
heated opposition from scientists, NASA, and other experts would fill volumes
about the subject, I am a huge believer of allowing everyone to express their
personal beliefs and opinions in a safe, non-discriminatory discussion. I am
also particularly excited about any further exploration of the undiscovered
parts of our planets from all sides.
Originally
Published on: Forbes
Author: Jim
Dobson
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