Conspiracy Theorist Tries To Prove The Earth Is Flat With A Spirit Level On An Airplane, And His Evidence Is Making People Laugh Their Heads Off

Conspiracy theories are fun, and no wonder they are so popular. We need a way to escape our dreary everyday lives, and what could be better than thinking about how governments are fooling us into believing the Earth is round? Or about those reptiles that govern the entire planet? However, there comes a point when all this becomes serious and can even become dangerous.

Some people have come to believe very strongly that the Earth is flat, and they are doing their best to prove it. Most of the time, they look ridiculous because they attempt to use science, despite not knowing much about it. However, many viewers also lack scientific knowledge, so the proofs of a flat Earth might actually seem viable to them.

Darryle Marble, from the Flat Earth Offensive, believes the Earth is flat. He took a spirit level on a plane to see if the bubble moved. In his YouTube video, he states that because the bubble didn’t move, the Earth isn’t curved.

“I recorded a 23-minute and 45-second time-lapse, which, by those measurements, means the plane traveled a little over 203 miles. According to curvature math used to explain the globe model, this should have resulted in a compensation of 5 miles of curvature. As you’ll see, there was no measurable compensation for curvature,” Marble said.

Lee McIntyre, a published author and a Research Fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University, said that he attended a Flat Earth convention back in 2018 and actually heard someone bragging about the spirit level “experiment.” He remarked, “They are to be commended for actually trying to test their hypothesis, but of course, they don’t understand at all how science actually works. Specifically, they are ignorant of gravitational pull. One of their main arguments was that if the Earth was spinning, the water would fall off. Do they not understand that gravitational pull comes from the center, is based on mass, and works on water too?”

McIntyre suggests that if you happen to be discussing a Flat-Earther, it’s best to ask them in advance what proof would be enough to convince them they are wrong. “I used that question in person at FEIC [Flat Earth International Conference] 2018, and it was very telling. Most of them just said ‘proof,’ and I asked, ‘proof of what?’ They couldn’t be specific. This shows that their beliefs weren’t really based on evidence in the first place,” he clarified.

While it’s conceivable that some Flat-Earthers are just trying to cash in on the naïve, McIntyre says that, in his experience, most of them genuinely believe.

“For one thing, where is the cash? Even the main speakers or organizers of the conference didn’t seem rich. We’re not talking about ExxonMobil creating disinformation about climate change so they can continue to sell oil. After about an hour face-to-face with these folks, I determined that virtually all of them believe it. Some are stronger in that belief than others, but I didn’t encounter one person who seemed like they were just trolling,” McIntyre says about his experience.

“Maybe I’m being naive? Surely some trolls are out there. But at one session, I heard many Flat Earthers talk about losing family members, getting kicked out of their churches, losing jobs… who would do that for fun? These are hardcore science deniers. As hard as it might be to accept, there are people who believe this stuff and are even willing to put their lives on the line for it! One rocket guy crashed trying to prove the Flat Earth. They aren’t pretending.”

Conspiracy theories have been around since ancient times.

“Conspiracy theories have been around since Nero in the Roman Empire. They pop up in times of turmoil or mass unrest when people try to make sense of the world but can't. Flat Earth is, in some ways, just a run-of-the-mill conspiracy theory. They've all grown in popularity because beliefs (even fringe beliefs) are reinforced by peer approval, which is now readily available on the internet. Virtually all of the flat Earthers I met were converted based on YouTube videos. Some then went to the conferences. After that, they were 'down the rabbit hole.'”

McIntyre explained that these Flat-Earthers then try to convert other people. “It's important to remember that these pathologies of human reasoning exist not just to defend themselves but to proselytize new members. They are virulent. They are infectious. I wish Flat Earth were the worst of them, but it isn't. It's the scourge of our age. And it will only continue to get worse.”

Marble believes he has proof that the Earth is flat.

D. Marble D. Marble D. Marble D. Marble D. Marble D. Marble D. Marble D. Marble D. Marble D. Marble D. Marble

Professor Pierre, from UCLA, says that Flat-Earthers and similar conspiracy theorists want to talk about spirit levels and similar experiments, “taking advantage of the fact that people might not be familiar with that obscure piece of experimentation at the expense of discussing how wildly improbable it is that every single country with a space program, its government, and its scientists could possibly collude to hide the truth about a flat Earth, not even addressing the ‘why.’”

Pierre says that his interest in Flat-Earthers started after basketball player Kyrie Irving spoke about the Earth being flat a few years back. “It seemed clear that, when his feet were held to the fire, he backed off from actually endorsing Flat Earth beliefs and was instead using it as a way of articulating a kind of generalized mistrust in conventional dogma that’s become very common these days.”

The professor continued, “The same has been shown in recent surveys of QAnon believers—few actually believe the more fringe elements, whereas many do endorse sympathy with the spirit of it. I sometimes liken this to distinguishing between Bible literalists and ‘true believers’ and those who embrace the Bible in a more metaphorical way. Unfortunately, surveys that query different degrees of belief conviction often fail to capture the details of individual belief, giving us a false impression of just how many believers are out there.”

D. Marble D. Marble D. Marble D. Marble D. Marble D. Marble

There are two options: either Marble honestly believes that the Earth is flat, or he’s cashing in on the whole conspiracy thing on his YouTube channel. Or is it a bit of both? Based on his other posts, he believes in quite a few conspiracy theories.

Flat-Earthers always emphasize how important it is to think for yourself. And they’re entirely right about that. Critical thinking and the ability to draw conclusions for yourself are incredibly important in a world full of fake news, clickbait, and propaganda.

But, ironically, apart from those conducting the experiments, most Flat-Earthers believe what others are telling them. So, they aren’t using their critical thinking skills; they are just repeating what influential Flat-Earthers tell them.

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