Jeran Campanella, a popular flat Earther, travelled 9,000 miles to Antarctica to observe a 24-hour sun, a phenomenon that would be impossible on a flat Earth
In a surprising turn of events, a well-known flat-earther conceded that his long-held conspiracy theory was incorrect after embarking on a 9,000-mile journey to Antarctica.
YouTuber Jeran Campanella traveled to the southernmost continent to witness a 24-hour sun - a phenomenon that would be impossible if the Earth were flat.
"I realize that I'll be called a shill for just saying that and you know what, if you're a shill for being honest so be it - I honestly believed there was no 24-hour sun... I honestly now believe there is. That's it," added Campanella.
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Campanella still didn't fully embrace the globe Earth model: “I won’t say the Earth is a perfect sphere,” then said, after first admitting he was wrong.
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The expedition was part of the Final Experiment project, organized by Colorado pastor Will Duffy, who "hopes to end the debate over the shape of the Earth."
The expedition was part of the Final Experiment project, organized by Colorado pastor Will Duffy, who "hopes to end the debate over the shape of the Earth."
He arranged an expedition in which four flat Earthers and four "globe Earthers" were flown to Antarctica to witness the continent's midnight Sun. Antarctica's Midnight Sun is one of many proofs that the Earth is spherical. It can only occur on a tilted and rotating sphere, and the axial tilt during summer positions the South Pole to face the Sun continuously for 24 hours.
Flat Earthers often claim that the Antarctic Treaty of 1959 prevents civilians from visiting the southernmost continent in an attempt to hide the true shape of planet Earth. However, Pastor Duffy wanted to demonstrate that this wasn't the case.
"I created The Final Experiment to end this debate, once and for all. After we go to Antarctica, no one has to waste any more time debating the shape of the Earth," Duffy declared in a statement. "This is, of course, assuming that the entire "experiment" isn't just an elaborate prank designed to fool us 'globe Earthers.' It seems highly unlikely, but we'll keep you posted if anything changes – not that we're trying to sound conspiratorial or paranoid."
The Earth is not a perfect sphere, nor is it argued to be. It is an oblate spheroid. It bulges at the equator due to the spinning. Additionally, if it were perfectly spherical, we wouldn't have changes in elevation, mountains, etc.
this person should be celebrated, not ridiculed. we all could stand to learn from him no matter how divergent our views on life are.
he sought evidence willingly and did not dismiss it out of hand when it didn't support his hypothesis. in fact, he has gone further and rejected that hypothesis.
his starting point may have been misinformed but he has had the courage to use the scientific method to recalibrate. i salute him.
Campanella still didn’t fully embrace the globe Earth model: “I won’t say the Earth is a perfect sphere,” then said, after first admitting he was wrong.
Lol whatever lets you save face, bud... But FYI, scientists don't believe this either.
All I know is that if I was a hiring manager for any position above fry cook, my first question for potential hires would be to ask if they believe the earth is round. If they answer "no" it would save me a lot of time.
Sorry for my ignorance but why didn't they just go to the Arctic, it should be much cheaper and one don't have to go straight to the Pole, northernmost parts of Canada, Alaska, or Europe would be enough to witness 24-hours sun. I personally was to the north of the Arctic circle and the polar day was lit. And it was as cheap and easy as buy one railway ticket from Moscow.
Well a floating balloon would give you 24hr light too! Did he keep the sun in view the whole time he was flying to Antarctica? Maybe they just took him to where they had the stationary 'sun' instead of the moving one? Maybe he didn't travel far enough to see the edge of the earth! /s for those who need it.
Seriously though, imagine what this guy would think if he got on to one of the space expedition flights, or simply a high altitude one... I hear it's quite a humbling, eye opening experience to see the curvature of the planet.
Have any flat earthers ever flown to Asia from the western US? If the earth was flat, you couldn't take a worldwide flight without flying off the edge if you kept travelling west :P
I think that everyone has forfeited the right to be taken seriously if they simply refuse to acknowledge proven facts until there is no way left to hold on to their crude claims. I think it is even dangerous to take this seriously, because it legitimizes hostility towards science and ultimately harms an objective public discourse based on verifiable arguments. Of course, everyone should be free to express their opinion, but they must also be held accountable for their actions.
I think the efforts of climate change deniers are a vivid example of the danger posed by the normalization of irrational pseudo-arguments and factually untenable denialism. This issue, like many others, is largely beyond direct human experience, but that does not mean that climate change is not real. So you can't even fly these people to the melting glaciers to convince them, which is out of the question anyway because their denialism is motivated by purely selfish goals, namely the avoidance of measures to combat climate change that would harm their financial interests or threaten their lifestyle. In such cases I think that it is perfectly legitimate to simply dismiss these outlandish claims as nonsense and expose their authors as mere charlatans.
Campanella still didn’t fully embrace the globe Earth model: “I won’t say the Earth is a perfect sphere,” then said, after first admitting he was wrong.
Who the hell told him scientists consider it a perfect sphere? Maps for various satellite navigation systems are incompatible, among other things, because of different geoid approximations they use.
And his sun experiment, obviously, didn't require traveling to Antarctica itself, he could just as well travel half the way, I dunno. Make the antique experiment with sticks in sand.
(I've spent half a year in a geodesy and cartography university before getting depressed after barely passing first exams and dropping out.)
In any case, he's a fine guy and smarter than many people. He at least only accepted real proof. Most people around think they are smarter than flat-earthers because of being in other group than the stupid one. They are not unless they can prove that position. Most of them can't, and still consider others stupid for questioning dogma, which is the whole fscking reason we know things allowing to build refrigerators, airplanes, radios, computers, and that Earth is not flat too.