Ready to find out more fascinating facts about history? Then check out this video and find out about Talking Tough: Martin Luther’s Potty Mouth: ua-cam.com/video/ru4DiHVSAYU/v-deo.html
P K No. Not some guy 2000 yrs ago. Many, many independent, and repeated observations and measurements for the past 2000+ years. And in my everyday job, the shape of the earth is an everyday encounter.
The fact alone of the massively larger population would make that at least plausible. Especially if the church believed the earth was round. A lot of people with no education or even reading skills got their knowledge from the church. So if the church and Islam preached the earth was round then there probably weren't a lot of flat earthers. Back then denying scripture could get you killed and if god says it's so then I guess that's how it is.
You don't need to go to the middle ages. 20 years ago that's not a question, no one believe such a stupidity. Of course, there was some person here and there with some mental issues, that think it might be flat, but they keep quiet, or make a fuss on the street while everybody tries to ignore the mental breackdown until the police arrive and take them to the mental hospital to get better. But then, it come the internet, and those people come together online, and make groups and sites, and invade (probably with multiple acounts) foruns and comment boxes... Nothing change, that's still not a issue. just some nuts that now feel less lonely in his delusions.
@@almahperditae Actually there were people who argued the flat earth idea in those years (~20-22 years ago, 'pre-internet') and even some small organizations who espoused such 'knowledge'-- though your general idea is true-- that the internet has helped to foster a resurgence of such communities, and in likely greater numbers, whether by 'head count' or as a percentage of the greater whole. I don't remember the exact years, or names (such info not really being important enough to retain in detail imo lol) but at least a group (or a couple of small groups) are known to have existed in the later 19th century, and iirc at least for a while before, though I know even less of how large, or how long they existed, or even how 'serious' they were at that point. Or at least enough individuals of those times working as 'trolls' to make it seem as though they existed in slightly larger numbers. The one bit of 'hard info' I remember on this is a group called the Universal Zetetic Society (or something like that, and spelling of Zetetic could be wrong) which was 'founded' sometime in or around the 1890s I believe. They are sometimes claimed as something like the start of the 'modern' flat earther community. Again, I agree with your general point, but this type of idiocy was around long before the internet and modern technology; though these things have definitely helped to bring these ideas into the general consciousness, as well encourage the growth and spread of it, much more than was possible previously. Tldr; humans always have some nutjobs, but, yes the net and whatnot has certainly helped them find each other to consolidate and then spread more easily, and quickly than before.
Thanks for clarifying this. I remember being taught this myth as a little kid, but since I was always interested in history, I eventually found out that it was false. Particularly since sailors all throughout the ages could see the curvature of the earth over long distances. I figured it was a slur against Christians or medieval people, but I didn't realize that it was made up so recently.
its a humorous translation by art historian Cecila Klein of the divine excrement offered in the rites of Aztec goddess Tlazolteotl. literally holy shit
There were Portuguese seamen who describe how they have seen a large country to the west during whaling in Iceland. Their reports made Columbia's fearsome distance.
He said the myth was likely started by secularists who were trying to attack religion "and in particular the Catholic Church" but doesn't cite any examples (aside from Washington Irving but he was a Christian). It seems more likely to me that since the absurdly vast majority of people at the time this myth started were religious, it's more likely that this was a myth begun by Protestants to attack the Catholic Church as they often have (sometimes warranted, sometimes not), then the myth persisted as the society grew more secular.
+PotatoChips BeatBattles (1) But the Earth is flat. It is a scientific fact. It is very thin, and not fat. To any physicist, this truth makes no big impact. Although I am not triggered at all. Columbus was a failure at math. On the Earth there is no edge for you to fall. But if it wasn't for the Caribbeans, it would have been a lethal path.
Of course the Earth isn't flat. It is Obviously HALLOW. WE LIVE INSIDE THE EARTH IN A GIANT CITY PLACED HERE BY ALIENS. THIS IS A SCIENTIFIC FACT BUT ALL SCIENTISTS ARE ALSO STUPID AND ARE CONSPIRING AGAINST US.
Can we please stop hyperbalizing Flat Earthers. Most of the comments here and elsewhere are about how people hate Flat Earthtards, and I am yet to read any non-sarcastic comments here that would come from that tiny online troll community, which is truly insignificant in the real world. Can we just rejoice in the fact that this video is awesome and should be played in every primary school geography (and history?) class.
Joe Horn It’s significant because the book of Job is among the oldest writings know to man kind. The stars and the planets were well understood by the ancient cultures. Thanks to modern technology we can now affirm what the Ancient people knew For example King David compared the number of stars to the number of grains of sand. For thousands of years that was though to be artistic license. Thanks to modern science we know David’s observation is scientific fact
Depends on what folks you are talking about. Romans based it on the founding date of the city of Rome in 753 BC. The Chinese have a calendar with a start date in 2700 BC, and the Hindu calendar starts at 3100 BC. The Jewish calendar of the Hebrews starts at the date of biblical creation as described in The Old Testament, 5770 years ago (which is based on adding up the generations of biblical characters).
I'm going to send the link to this video to anyone who comments on other videos that the earth is flat. Im dumbfounded that people still believe that. Great video!
I've heard that Columbus "knew" (some claim that from old Norse maps or other documents) that there was a land between Europe and Cipangu (Japan), but he didn't want it to be known. This was supposedly what convinced Isabel de Castilla to finance his trip. How much of that is true or how well supported it is I couldn't say, but makes an interesting story anyway.
It's really, really, hard for me to comprehend that there is such a large following of people, that actually believe.... that the Earth is actually flat. And they're totally serious. As if EVERY other celestial body in the universe is round, just not Earth.
I'm not a flat earther. I believe the earth is round. But now we have cameras with zoom on. The boat don't disappear because it's going over the curve but it's because our eyes can only see so far. The world is way to big for our eyes to see the boat going over the curve.
Columbus didn't prove the world was round. He was the first to show you could sail the Dark Sea by using the trade winds. He realized that land must be closer because the winds were so regular which as a sailor he knew that land must be closer. By the way, Columbus was a religious Catholic. He never thought that there were religious objections to a spherical world.
I'm fine with the music, but there's some particular chime in it that sounds just like my ringtone. I reflexively checked my phone several times over the course of the video.
I do wonder how flat earthers explain the ability to travel all the way around and being able to "complete a circle." Do they use something like a pac-man or asteroid comparison where one gets teleported from one edge of the screen to the other when you move far enough? Hmm, maybe I shouldn't give them ideas.
The excuse I’ve seen them use for modern navigation is that nasa redirects people. I haven’t seen anything for historical navigation other than they used the stars which led them in a circle. Flat earthers are the single most mentally impaired group on the planet
I wouldn't say single most mentally impaired, I can think of a few more to add to the group, that being said, I feel bad for any actual impaired people that get lumped in with these people.
Also, Columbus most likely wasn't looking for a route to China, rather than new land. In the contract between Columbus and the Catholic Kings, it was specifically stated that Columbus was to be rewarded with a vice-kingship of the new lands he'd discover. Columbus's second-in-command on the first voyage, Martin Pinzon, most likely WAS looking for China; there was no reward for Pinzon for discovering new land, but a Western way to China would make him immensely rich.
Nope... not disappointed at all... ...and now, off and out of here, before the cancer turns me into an even more uncivilized monster than I already am... :o)
The people in to conspiracies generally didn’t do well in school but are interested in science. Being a contrarian allows them to appear relevant to the scientific process.
The other thing about the whole "Columbus proved the world was a sphere by discovering America" myth is that Columbus discovering the as-yet unknown-to-Spain America doesn't do anything to prove that the Earth is a sphere. If he _had_ managed to sail all the way to Japan and the rest of Eastern Asia what would have been plenty proof but finding a piece of land that one didn't expect to find in the ocean only proves one thing; there's land there.
What I want to know is when did we first build a ship that could sail across the Atlantic ocean if not for the Americas? Because if Columbus hadn't have been incorrect on the Earth's size or if nobody had listened to him, then the Americas may not have been discovered until much later.
I am atheist. Reformed christian. I recall a passage in the book whose wording alluded to round spherical earth. I think it was when some... saint, tool, leader?... they held up their arms and "stopped the earth in its path for two damn days dawg. It was night time for 2 fn days?!" I think it was an old testament event.
I love the irony of people claiming that religious people were idiots who didn't believe in science, and to maintain that belief they ignored every piece of evidence to the contrary. No matter what group you look at, human nature never changes......
Simon Whistler you mentioned Pythagoras to be the first known acknowledgment of the earth being round. At Isaiah 40:22 it mentions the earth being a circle or sphere. The book was finished circa 732 which would be about 150 years before Pythagoras.
The book that Simon mentions, "1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus" (by Charles Mann) is excellent as is its companion, "1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created ". Both are fascinating, as was this video.
You know what's funny is that the religion vs science debate is only 200 years old. For millennia there was no argument at all, with theologians and scientists (with that line pretty fuzzy to begin with) often supporting one another. Also, the idea of a literal seven days of creation has only been around since the 1800's. Christians before that always considered it either metaphorical or that Gods "day" was not our day of 24 hours. A little off topic but this made me think of it.
"The debate amongst the educated, both religious and secular" seems like an overly modern distinction that I don't think applies very well to the time periods you're referring to.
What I think is interesting, is how one of the major arguments for a spherical Earth from antiquity on, was central aspects of Aristotle's physics, which are long-debunked now. So it's really a no-brainer that late medieval/early renaissance European society believed in a spherical Earth, since Aristotle was all over their belief system and science. Not least the church was very much aristotelianised. Futhermore, Aristotelian physics postulated an Earth that was a perfect sphere, something we now know it's not.
The Earth is not round. The Earth is a sphere. My dad taught me this when I was 9 years old. Simon even said sphere near the end of the video. A map of the Earth can be both round and flat. A quarter is round and flat But a sphere is three dimensional.
Lactantius, a Christian trained in rhetoric and a trusted adviser to Emperor Constantine, did teach that the Earth was flat. We know this because of how much other Christians made fun of him for this belief, at best defending him on the grounds that such an odd notion is irrelevant to salvation and thus should not be considered a heresy.
As a kid who always read the full text book in school and a great memory I know for fact we are not taught from the textbook yes your teacher did teach you he was trying to prove the earth round but it was not in the text book there are many other times this happened in school but most kids don’t read the books and pay attention
Columbus' journey also could not prove the Earth was round becasue he did not get to Asia. Rather he just proved there was another land mass and that the world was larger than some claimed. It would take other explorers to travel the full distance and "physically" prove the point. (sincethe point had already been proven thoretically)
So how about a sequel: was it actually Columbus who called the natives he found in America "Indians", and was it really because he thought he had reached the East Indies?
"With extrodinary few exceptions, no educated person in the history of Western Civilization from the third century B.C. onward believed that the Earth was flat." *looks at 2017 flat-earthers* >.>
Columbus was bad at Math .. the size of the round Earth was already known for several thousand years, yet he thought is was 2,300 miles from Spain's Canary Islands to Japan via a Westward route, when it was easily calculated with information available in his day, at 12,000 miles.
Pythagoras was NOT the first to be credited with the spherical Earth theory. That would be Aristarchos of Samos, 250 BC; Eratosthenes of Cyrene 195 BC: or Hippachos of Rhodos, 120BC.
Those intellectuals were all Iron-Agers, after 1000 BC. There was also significant international trade and travel earlier, during the Bronze Age.. I wonder what those folks believed.
Isaiah 40:22 is 200 years better than Greek Philosophy and 300 years better than Greek astronomers, more research is always good . @todayifoundout, you could have dropped the mic with the bit above, but I do appreciate your hard work with the research. Keep up the effort =)
You missed one interesting point; the old testament was written before the spherical Earth theory was widely known in the middle east. In Genesis it talks about the firmament as an arch over a (presumably) flat-ish Earth, and other parts of the bible are consistent with that; and that's the cosmology that was common in the middle east at that time and so flat Earthers are often biblical literalists today. But by the third century the Christians were nevertheless overwhelmingly spherical Earthers.
Take your grandfather to Lake Pontchartrain in Louisianna, and show him the Earth's curvature in a scene he can see with his own eyes. There is a series of transmission line towers, all a uniform level above the lake's surface, yet you can distinctly see that it is a downward curve and not a straight line, that connects them all.
Ready to find out more fascinating facts about history? Then check out this video and find out about Talking Tough: Martin Luther’s Potty Mouth:
ua-cam.com/video/ru4DiHVSAYU/v-deo.html
As a Freemason, I can say that it was known before Pythagoras. He gets credit for alot.
I belong to the "Flat Earth Society", we have members all around the globe...
It really be a globe though would it?
Some guy 2000 years ago: "Can we even start to imagine what the world will look like in 2000 years?"
Some guy, 2017:"Earth is flat! Wake up sheeple!"
P K
No. Not some guy 2000 yrs ago.
Many, many independent, and repeated observations and measurements for the past 2000+ years.
And in my everyday job, the shape of the earth is an everyday encounter.
Larry Scott are you a pilot?
Augustine Daudud
Flight crew aerial mapping: mission layout, data collection, navigation, pilot instruction, 20 yrs.
Licensed land surveyor 27 yrs.
Why?
Larry Scott no, not much, just wanted to know whether it was true or not
Earth is flat im a special vet
It may actually be the case that there are more flat earthers now than there were in the middle ages.
The fact alone of the massively larger population would make that at least plausible. Especially if the church believed the earth was round. A lot of people with no education or even reading skills got their knowledge from the church. So if the church and Islam preached the earth was round then there probably weren't a lot of flat earthers. Back then denying scripture could get you killed and if god says it's so then I guess that's how it is.
You don't need to go to the middle ages. 20 years ago that's not a question, no one believe such a stupidity. Of course, there was some person here and there with some mental issues, that think it might be flat, but they keep quiet, or make a fuss on the street while everybody tries to ignore the mental breackdown until the police arrive and take them to the mental hospital to get better.
But then, it come the internet, and those people come together online, and make groups and sites, and invade (probably with multiple acounts) foruns and comment boxes... Nothing change, that's still not a issue. just some nuts that now feel less lonely in his delusions.
That shouldshiw the regression not the human race!
More P900 zoom lenses as well. Neat!
@@almahperditae Actually there were people who argued the flat earth idea in those years (~20-22 years ago, 'pre-internet') and even some small organizations who espoused such 'knowledge'-- though your general idea is true-- that the internet has helped to foster a resurgence of such communities, and in likely greater numbers, whether by 'head count' or as a percentage of the greater whole.
I don't remember the exact years, or names (such info not really being important enough to retain in detail imo lol) but at least a group (or a couple of small groups) are known to have existed in the later 19th century, and iirc at least for a while before, though I know even less of how large, or how long they existed, or even how 'serious' they were at that point. Or at least enough individuals of those times working as 'trolls' to make it seem as though they existed in slightly larger numbers. The one bit of 'hard info' I remember on this is a group called the Universal Zetetic Society (or something like that, and spelling of Zetetic could be wrong) which was 'founded' sometime in or around the 1890s I believe. They are sometimes claimed as something like the start of the 'modern' flat earther community.
Again, I agree with your general point, but this type of idiocy was around long before the internet and modern technology; though these things have definitely helped to bring these ideas into the general consciousness, as well encourage the growth and spread of it, much more than was possible previously.
Tldr; humans always have some nutjobs, but, yes the net and whatnot has certainly helped them find each other to consolidate and then spread more easily, and quickly than before.
Great video as usual, thanks for debunking this one, it's much too common!
You're very welcome :-)
369369369? CONNOR
I got an idea! Let's measure it one more time.
Are you in? I got the gear.
Thanks for clarifying this. I remember being taught this myth as a little kid, but since I was always interested in history, I eventually found out that it was false. Particularly since sailors all throughout the ages could see the curvature of the earth over long distances. I figured it was a slur against Christians or medieval people, but I didn't realize that it was made up so recently.
in china they though the earth was flat until the 17th century, when the european catholic missionaries taught them the truth
@@AlexanderLittlebears they aré not truthd but indoctrination
And we now await the Flat Earth screamers.
Hmm... They appear to have fallen off the edge.
you expect flattards on a fact fueled video?
are you one of them? :D and if yes, how did you get here :D
@@panpiper Don't be silly. The Flat Earth Society has members **all around the globe**. :P
Can you do where the term "Holy Cow" come from.
Gennik Your mom as she's religious
Joshed George Thank you for you vast indept knowledge of my mom
it comes from the fact that cows are sacred in Hinduism. they're holy cows
ajgotpwned then where did the holy shit come from?
its a humorous translation by art historian Cecila Klein of the divine excrement offered in the rites of Aztec goddess Tlazolteotl. literally holy shit
Maybe also the idea/prejudice that if people didn't believe the helio-centric model, then they probably also believe the earth was flat.
There were Portuguese seamen who describe how they have seen a large country to the west during whaling in Iceland.
Their reports made Columbia's fearsome distance.
Flat Earth society has members all around the globe
I see what you did there.
He said the myth was likely started by secularists who were trying to attack religion "and in particular the Catholic Church" but doesn't cite any examples (aside from Washington Irving but he was a Christian). It seems more likely to me that since the absurdly vast majority of people at the time this myth started were religious, it's more likely that this was a myth begun by Protestants to attack the Catholic Church as they often have (sometimes warranted, sometimes not), then the myth persisted as the society grew more secular.
I agree. At the same time, I don't think you can say starting a myth to attack a group is ever justified.
I can hear flat earthers getting triggered!
PotatoChips BeatBattles 🤣
+PotatoChips BeatBattles (1)
But the Earth is flat. It is a scientific fact. It is very thin, and not fat. To any physicist, this truth makes no big impact. Although I am not triggered at all. Columbus was a failure at math. On the Earth there is no edge for you to fall. But if it wasn't for the Caribbeans, it would have been a lethal path.
PotatoChips BeatBattles I checked the comments to see if I could find flat-earthers. I find them really amusing
Of course the Earth isn't flat. It is Obviously HALLOW. WE LIVE INSIDE THE EARTH IN A GIANT CITY PLACED HERE BY ALIENS. THIS IS A SCIENTIFIC FACT BUT ALL SCIENTISTS ARE ALSO STUPID AND ARE CONSPIRING AGAINST US.
PotatoChips BeatBattles uh, no, it's a pyramid, duh.
WOA!!! You changed up the rhythm of your first sentence.... *DON'T DO THIS TO ME!!!!*
I was in school in the early 90s. I learned all of this. People need to pay attention in school.
Can we please stop hyperbalizing Flat Earthers. Most of the comments here and elsewhere are about how people hate Flat Earthtards, and I am yet to read any non-sarcastic comments here that would come from that tiny online troll community, which is truly insignificant in the real world. Can we just rejoice in the fact that this video is awesome and should be played in every primary school geography (and history?) class.
Also the Book Of Job declares that the earth is round.
He's pointing out that Christians would never have believed the flat earth theory from the beginning because the Bible literally says otherwise.
I think it's the book of Isaiah that says the earth is round. The book of Job says the Earth is "suspended upon nothing"
UntouchedWagons
Thanks for your input yes Isiah speaks of the circle of the Earth Job 26:10 ESV speaks of a circle inscribed upon the waters as well
Joe Horn
It’s significant because the book of Job is among the oldest writings know to man kind. The stars and the planets were well understood by the ancient cultures. Thanks to modern technology we can now affirm what the Ancient people knew
For example King David compared the number of stars to the number of grains of sand. For thousands of years that was though to be artistic license. Thanks to modern science we know David’s observation is scientific fact
Joe Horn people who are watching this video and are curious to learn probably care. So you can go fuck yourself
what calendar keeping did folks have in the "BC" times?
Depends on what folks you are talking about. Romans based it on the founding date of the city of Rome in 753 BC. The Chinese have a calendar with a start date in 2700 BC, and the Hindu calendar starts at 3100 BC. The Jewish calendar of the Hebrews starts at the date of biblical creation as described in The Old Testament, 5770 years ago (which is based on adding up the generations of biblical characters).
Excellent. And yes,1491 is a great book, one of my favorites.
This Whistler dude must be savage at trivial persuit!
3:19 "even the most empty headed sailor knows the earth is round" but yet today we still have flat earthers
I didn't find that today , but I love your work.
Thank you
I'm going to send the link to this video to anyone who comments on other videos that the earth is flat. Im dumbfounded that people still believe that. Great video!
I heard that Columbus thought the world was pear shaped, rather than round
laser325 thanks for the clarification!
Ironically enough, it is pear shaped.
sometimes when im alone i like to pour mustard on me and pretend im a hotdog
kinky
elso Can I be the bun?
elso I prefer relish.
ketchup makes for a nice change up on a hotdog. sometimes I think ketchup is overlooked when it comes to hotdogs.
In the good old days they were served with sauerkraut.
Kraut, kraut, kraut; two with wieners, one without.
I've heard that Columbus "knew" (some claim that from old Norse maps or other documents) that there was a land between Europe and Cipangu (Japan), but he didn't want it to be known. This was supposedly what convinced Isabel de Castilla to finance his trip. How much of that is true or how well supported it is I couldn't say, but makes an interesting story anyway.
It's really, really, hard for me to comprehend that there is such a large following of people, that actually believe.... that the Earth is actually flat. And they're totally serious. As if EVERY other celestial body in the universe is round, just not Earth.
I feel bad for the flat earth people living with an IQ below 40 is hard
Is doesnt matter
I'm not a flat earther. I believe the earth is round. But now we have cameras with zoom on. The boat don't disappear because it's going over the curve but it's because our eyes can only see so far. The world is way to big for our eyes to see the boat going over the curve.
Have you stumbled upon the 1st mockumentary? Washington Irving's "the life and voyages of Christopher Columbus"
Cool I learned more from this video than I did from my college classes today
Shiftr42 you were learning about Columbus and the flat earth?
Apparently 27 flat-earthers watched this video. Scary.
60th Like and I clicked on my notice soon as I got it. Just shows how awesome and popular this channel is!!!!!
Hey Simon, where did the phrase "litter bug" come from?
Very interesting, I had no idea this was common knowledge for such a long time.
But the Earth is not round....
It's spherical 😂
I understand that it is ever so slightly egg shaped.
Columbus didn't prove the world was round. He was the first to show you could sail the Dark Sea by using the trade winds. He realized that land must be closer because the winds were so regular which as a sailor he knew that land must be closer. By the way, Columbus was a religious Catholic. He never thought that there were religious objections to a spherical world.
I could have sworn that I learnt Columbus got the incorrect size of the earth from Marco Polo's bad records.
how is it that some people today are still thinking the earth is flat.
I'm fine with the music, but there's some particular chime in it that sounds just like my ringtone. I reflexively checked my phone several times over the course of the video.
What is the difference between afternoon and evening? When does afternoon end and evening begin?
I do wonder how flat earthers explain the ability to travel all the way around and being able to "complete a circle." Do they use something like a pac-man or asteroid comparison where one gets teleported from one edge of the screen to the other when you move far enough? Hmm, maybe I shouldn't give them ideas.
They genuinely fall to an argument best summed as the "Magic Circle".
The excuse I’ve seen them use for modern navigation is that nasa redirects people. I haven’t seen anything for historical navigation other than they used the stars which led them in a circle. Flat earthers are the single most mentally impaired group on the planet
I wouldn't say single most mentally impaired, I can think of a few more to add to the group, that being said, I feel bad for any actual impaired people that get lumped in with these people.
Have you ever looked at a flat earth map?
Your idea of a "complete circle" isn't flying in a straight line on the flat earth.
They probably think international flights are a scam. Can you tell what direction you are going above the clouds??? NO!! HA GOTCHA!
Do Galilleo's trial!
You should do one about the origin of the phrase "Bet your bottom dollar" !
Charles C Mann's 1491 is good, but I tend to think its sequel 1493 deserves it be read as much if not more.
Oh come on, EVERYBODY knows that people in the late 15th Century didn't think that the Earth was flat.
Also, Columbus most likely wasn't looking for a route to China, rather than new land. In the contract between Columbus and the Catholic Kings, it was specifically stated that Columbus was to be rewarded with a vice-kingship of the new lands he'd discover.
Columbus's second-in-command on the first voyage, Martin Pinzon, most likely WAS looking for China; there was no reward for Pinzon for discovering new land, but a Western way to China would make him immensely rich.
Go westtttt!!!Can't get that song out of my mind whenever I watch this kind of topic.
Only came here to read comments from flat Earthers. Wasn't disappointed 😏
those 5 people aren't here yet
Nope... not disappointed at all...
...and now, off and out of here, before the cancer turns me into an even more uncivilized monster than I already am... :o)
what are the captions doing when he is stating his conclusion???
Niñer, pinter, and Santa marier
Eerastostheeneez
The people in to conspiracies generally didn’t do well in school but are interested in science. Being a contrarian allows them to appear relevant to the scientific process.
A not so subtle dig at flat earthers. Good job
Simon if our planet is at a32.5(degree) tilt what colour would the. Sky and sunsetsbe if the axis was truly square on to the sun's rays?
The other thing about the whole "Columbus proved the world was a sphere by discovering America" myth is that Columbus discovering the as-yet unknown-to-Spain America doesn't do anything to prove that the Earth is a sphere. If he _had_ managed to sail all the way to Japan and the rest of Eastern Asia what would have been plenty proof but finding a piece of land that one didn't expect to find in the ocean only proves one thing; there's land there.
What I want to know is when did we first build a ship that could sail across the Atlantic ocean if not for the Americas?
Because if Columbus hadn't have been incorrect on the Earth's size or if nobody had listened to him, then the Americas may not have been discovered until much later.
Lief Erikson discovered the Americas hundreds of years before Christopher Columbus was even born.
Admit it guys.. We were all stoked on Columbus
Columbus may have known that the Earth was round but he wasn't intelligent enough to realize that the people he annihilated weren't from India.
I am atheist. Reformed christian.
I recall a passage in the book whose wording alluded to round spherical earth. I think it was when some... saint, tool, leader?... they held up their arms and "stopped the earth in its path for two damn days dawg. It was night time for 2 fn days?!"
I think it was an old testament event.
I love the irony of people claiming that religious people were idiots who didn't believe in science, and to maintain that belief they ignored every piece of evidence to the contrary. No matter what group you look at, human nature never changes......
Simon Whistler you mentioned Pythagoras to be the first known acknowledgment of the earth being round. At Isaiah 40:22 it mentions the earth being a circle or sphere. The book was finished circa 732 which would be about 150 years before Pythagoras.
bryan carter Isaiah mentions earth being a circle a circle is flat
The book that Simon mentions, "1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus" (by Charles Mann) is excellent as is its companion, "1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created ". Both are fascinating, as was this video.
How do people whistle?
Carl Sagan pushed the idea of "primitive" peoples who had no knowledge.
You know what's funny is that the religion vs science debate is only 200 years old. For millennia there was no argument at all, with theologians and scientists (with that line pretty fuzzy to begin with) often supporting one another. Also, the idea of a literal seven days of creation has only been around since the 1800's. Christians before that always considered it either metaphorical or that Gods "day" was not our day of 24 hours. A little off topic but this made me think of it.
"The debate amongst the educated, both religious and secular" seems like an overly modern distinction that I don't think applies very well to the time periods you're referring to.
This is a great summary of the book: The Flat Earth Myth
What I think is interesting, is how one of the major arguments for a spherical Earth from antiquity on, was central aspects of Aristotle's physics, which are long-debunked now. So it's really a no-brainer that late medieval/early renaissance European society believed in a spherical Earth, since Aristotle was all over their belief system and science. Not least the church was very much aristotelianised.
Futhermore, Aristotelian physics postulated an Earth that was a perfect sphere, something we now know it's not.
The Earth is not round. The Earth is a sphere. My dad taught me this when I was 9 years old.
Simon even said sphere near the end of the video.
A map of the Earth can be both round and flat. A quarter is round and flat But a sphere is three dimensional.
I never heard/read that Columbus thought the earth was flat. It seems like a pretty silly idea when taking his planned voyage into consideration.
More people think the world is flat today than back then.
Pah, no-one gets any credit for saying the world is bottle shaped.
What's the shape of all the other planets ?
Yeah, flat-earthers have a flat frontal lobe.
Everyone, please watch my little nature videos. There is no talking in them. Shhh!
Medievals and ancients vs internet experts
Lactantius, a Christian trained in rhetoric and a trusted adviser to Emperor Constantine, did teach that the Earth was flat. We know this because of how much other Christians made fun of him for this belief, at best defending him on the grounds that such an odd notion is irrelevant to salvation and thus should not be considered a heresy.
As a kid who always read the full text book in school and a great memory I know for fact we are not taught from the textbook yes your teacher did teach you he was trying to prove the earth round but it was not in the text book there are many other times this happened in school but most kids don’t read the books and pay attention
My favourite myth! The myth that the round earth used to be a myth
Columbus' journey also could not prove the Earth was round becasue he did not get to Asia. Rather he just proved there was another land mass and that the world was larger than some claimed.
It would take other explorers to travel the full distance and "physically" prove the point. (sincethe point had already been proven thoretically)
So how about a sequel: was it actually Columbus who called the natives he found in America "Indians", and was it really because he thought he had reached the East Indies?
"With extrodinary few exceptions, no educated person in the history of Western Civilization from the third century B.C. onward believed that the Earth was flat."
*looks at 2017 flat-earthers*
>.>
Columbus was bad at Math .. the size of the round Earth was already known for several thousand years, yet he thought is was 2,300 miles from Spain's Canary Islands to Japan via a Westward route, when it was easily calculated with information available in his day, at 12,000 miles.
Funny thing, I was told Columbus thought the world was round while the accepted belief at the time was it was flat in catholic school.
Everyone is talking about flat earthers, yet I never saw one anywere
They only exist on the internet.
Pythagoras was NOT the first to be credited with the spherical Earth theory. That would be Aristarchos of Samos, 250 BC; Eratosthenes of Cyrene 195 BC: or Hippachos of Rhodos, 120BC.
Piri Reis map, please?
hmm now i have to fly around the world instead of sailing across the sea
How would the earth be flat if some constellations can only be seen at some night
I always had a preference for Cabot; sailed five years later but definitely set foot on the contenent vice the caribean. I know...my spelling sux.
The spoon is a lie and the cake is a hologram.
Those intellectuals were all Iron-Agers, after 1000 BC. There was also significant international trade and travel earlier, during the Bronze Age.. I wonder what those folks believed.
Isaiah 40:22 is 200 years better than Greek Philosophy and 300 years better than Greek astronomers, more research is always good . @todayifoundout, you could have dropped the mic with the bit above, but I do appreciate your hard work with the research. Keep up the effort =)
What defines western civilization, and what are the other types of civilizations recognized?
Wouldn't the ancients know about the currents that would disprove that there was no land between Europe and Asia?
You missed one interesting point; the old testament was written before the spherical Earth theory was widely known in the middle east. In Genesis it talks about the firmament as an arch over a (presumably) flat-ish Earth, and other parts of the bible are consistent with that; and that's the cosmology that was common in the middle east at that time and so flat Earthers are often biblical literalists today. But by the third century the Christians were nevertheless overwhelmingly spherical Earthers.
The Earth isnt round!!
It is a polyhedral sphere!
My grandfather still thinks the earth is flat
Take your grandfather to Lake Pontchartrain in Louisianna, and show him the Earth's curvature in a scene he can see with his own eyes. There is a series of transmission line towers, all a uniform level above the lake's surface, yet you can distinctly see that it is a downward curve and not a straight line, that connects them all.
The Bible also mentions that the earth is round. That would be the original source to me.
58 flat-earthers disliked this video
Wait wat about everything else in Adam Ruins Everything?
Did Columbus actually plundered and razed villages to the ground while in the Caribbean?
Only Educated People Know that Earth was Round. But the Averege Peasant Doesn't even know that the Earth Was Round because is Very Expensive