Or just go to the seaside and watch a boat sailing away over the horizon... but that wouldn't put him in the spotlight, and this is obviously just another media attention seeking stunt...
From Lexington MI I can see a lot of wind turbines across lake Huron in Canada. You can see the blades rotating below the horizon. I'm sure if you drive over there they stay a good 50 feet above the ground.
Sadly, flat-earth believers will then claim that the ships aren’t being obscured by the curvature of the earth - rather, supposedly, it’s just that one needs to use a lens to zoom in due to the vanishing point: http://www.ign.com/boards/threads/evidence-for-the-flat-eart...
Of course, it would be easy to test that theory: keep magnifying as the ship sails away, and if the ship is still appears to sink, then the vanishing point explanation is a non sequitur.
I’d assumed it was commercial flight ticket and a quick search appears that’s the case: http://www.flyfighterjet.com/edge-of-space-flight although I’m sure you could disprove a flat earth for one of the lower altitude flights they offer
I wonder how he thinks satellites work... just hovering above a flat earth?
It’s just all so stupid that I hate that NPR is even validating this by publishing it. There is no bar anymore, or any level of critical thinking. Ugh.
"I don't believe in science," Hughes added.
"I know about aerodynamics and fluid dynamics and how things move through the air,
about the certain size of rocket nozzles, and thrust.
But that's not science, that's just a formula.
There's no difference between science and science fiction."
> "I don't believe in science," Hughes added. "I know about aerodynamics and fluid dynamics and how things move through the air, about the certain size of rocket nozzles, and thrust. But that's not science, that's just a formula. There's no difference between science and science fiction."
Tip: don't use leading spaces to quote things on HN. Instead, use either:
> The text.
or:
> *The text.*
depending on whether you want italics or not. (Italics can be helpful if you are interspersing quotes with other comments of your own; probably not needed for a simple quote like this.)
We're pretty limited in formatting options here, so those are about the best you can do.
Thanks for the tip - I shall bear in mind for next time. I must be outside my edit time limit now, as I can't change this one, but will do in the future.
> Still, Hughes converted to the flat-Earth belief recently, shortly after his first fundraising campaign for the rocket earned just $310 of its $150,000 goal. His second campaign, this time posted after his conversion and with the support of the flat-Earth community, succeeded in hitting its $7,875 goal.
He wants to build a rocket, and he'll say what it takes to get money to build a rocket.
I'm now buying into this idea more. He's not just any other eccentric flat-earther.
He could actually be a brilliant con man that, as with all other crowdfunding schemes that turn out to be work of con artists, doesn't believe his own words and is preying on the wishful thinking of their funders.
I would cost, what, $400 or so to charter a boat from Los Angeles Harbor to just head due west? The way the insanity compounds on itself is spectacular.
I seem to recall that most of these people believe the "edge" cannot be reached by sea or land due to hypnotic waves, or magnetic fields, or something like that; when you get too close, you become confused and turn around, fooling you into thinking believing that you've circumnavigated a sphere.
45 comments
[ 2.4 ms ] story [ 107 ms ] threadOr just go to the top of a large building
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings
1WTC is a little short, but the only one in the US which is close to that height.
Of course, it would be easy to test that theory: keep magnifying as the ship sails away, and if the ship is still appears to sink, then the vanishing point explanation is a non sequitur.
[0] http://www.migflug.com/en/jet-fighter-flights.html
It’s just all so stupid that I hate that NPR is even validating this by publishing it. There is no bar anymore, or any level of critical thinking. Ugh.
> "I don't believe in science," Hughes added. "I know about aerodynamics and fluid dynamics and how things move through the air, about the certain size of rocket nozzles, and thrust. But that's not science, that's just a formula. There's no difference between science and science fiction."
Tip: don't use leading spaces to quote things on HN. Instead, use either:
or: depending on whether you want italics or not. (Italics can be helpful if you are interspersing quotes with other comments of your own; probably not needed for a simple quote like this.)We're pretty limited in formatting options here, so those are about the best you can do.
He wants to build a rocket, and he'll say what it takes to get money to build a rocket.
If you are willing to launch yourself in a home made rocket the Internet will fund, as long as they can find you.
He could actually be a brilliant con man that, as with all other crowdfunding schemes that turn out to be work of con artists, doesn't believe his own words and is preying on the wishful thinking of their funders.
It's been posted 10 times in the last 3 days, getting votes most times, flagged other times.[0]
Curious what the record is for the most-submitted story submitted.
[0] https://hn.algolia.com/?query=flat%20earth&sort=byPopularity...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsOz_J6tJVU&t=1332s
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15751398
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15760481
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15764574