Shaq is a flat-earther. On March 18th, 2017 the NBA champion Shaquille O'Neal explained on his podcast that he honestly believes that the earth is flat. Here is the relevant 2 minute portion of his podcast: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TKXCBlUPJqM
As you know, Shaq isn't just some basketball player. He is a major celebrity, television announcer, Basketball Hall Of Fame member, NBA champion, and (get this) a Doctor of Education. His Phd in Education is from a Florida University. He influences millions of people in the US and around the world. The fact that such a high profile individual is so desperately illiterate on one of the most basic facts of reality has me at a loss for words. I expect pro-athlete meat-heads to demonstrate ignorance and volatile personal traits, but this business with Shaq surprised me. Then again, he has practice at the art of living with contradictory beliefs. He is a black Muslim Republican supporter of Trump.
The US population is supposedly becoming less religious. I hope so. But this is an alarming data point. Shaq influences a lot of people, and some percentage will be influenced by Shaq's flat earth belief.
What do you think? Is the US becoming more backward in their beliefs? Are we becoming more enlightened and secular? Both? What accounts for the upswell of dumb-assery in Western Civilization in general and the US in particular?
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I was surprised to learn this as well. While I knew a large number of NBA players are flat-earthers, I didn't know Shaq got in on it too. What I hope is the case is just over-advertisement of the problem due to the fact that more opinions can be shared to more people in less time... However I have no evidence for this, so it's probability is equal to that of the cause being something in the water. What I've found is that most the people I know that subscribe to this dumb-assery (great word, I think I'll start using that) such as flat-earth and anti-vaxxers and UFO seers is that they all have little to no grasp on basic science, or what science really is. I think this is mostly due to the poor state of affairs within American school systems. You can see what I mean by visiting my forum page entitled Are we killing scientists with schooling?
Without any kind of grasp on the concept of objective observation and experimentation in school classrooms, you have the ingredients for a massive decline in scientifically literate students and adults, and this gives rise to ridiculous claims like the forementioned, and the equally ridiculous claims of people like Kenneth Ham. I truly think that this lack of basic understanding of well-established facts stems from poor education of basic scientific principles in grade school. As far as a black Muslim supporting Trump and the right-wingers... Maybe there's something in the water.
I've shut Flat Earth arguments down before & I'll be happy to do it again and again and again.
I remember talking to one of my co- workers recently. He's been around way longer than me. As a matter of fact, I knew him since I was a child. He was working with my Father and uncle. Now a Vet in the industry and is doing well, He really caught me off guard a month ago. To my surprise he tells me that he indeed buys the flat Earth argument. I asked him what sold it and he replied that he read something some time ago & besides, there can't be any damn way... ect.
Now besides the rudementary arguments we can offer like the trajectory of satellites or pictures of the planet via idk.. satellites.. I offer a bit of astronomy:
1) Polaris aka the north star. It is directly above our heads if we stand in the north pole. It is observed at an easier angle when in a country north of the equator (but not up to the north pole) and cannot be seen south of the equator. Why? What kind of flat earth allows this? It ain't withcraft. Witchcraft went out of style since the whole Salem thing. No it's the visual side effect of living on a round planet with an ever rotating changing tilt in it's axis.
2) Movement. Setting a camera to record the night sky and fast forwarding the replay, we can observe what appears to be movement of stars relative to our position. At the poles, stars seem to move in circles. Depending on if you're watching at the equator or somewhere other than the poles.. the stars will move either horizontally or vertically as time passes. Again, no flat earth allows this. That is empirical evidence that we stand on a huge spherical surface.
All in all, my co-worker considered my argument and I'm glad to say he's considered that the Earth is Not flat after all.
Well hell, SecularSOB, we need to get you on the air. Fast. I am just beside myself with surprise that someone of any consequence at all thinks the earth is flat. Sitcoms and Monday Night Football and whatever else most people watch explains how some people hold on to ridiculously easily disproved notions like that, but someone like Shaq has flown around the earth. Around it! Frankly, I understand why people have a hard time seeing past gods and demons; the combination of childhood indoctrination and our capacity to misidentify patterns, see agency where it doesn't exist, feel that things happen for a reason, and the comforting lies of religion are powerful anchors that hold people to their mystic beliefs. But a flat earth?!
Thanks Truett.
"...the comforting lies of religion are powerful anchors that hold people to their mystic beliefs. But a flat earth?!"
Well now that you say it. Yeah. It makes perfect sense that people would prefer to think the Earth is flat. If you truly believe a heaven is out there, You'd have to go in the up Direction at some point. With the Earth being flat, you can maintain the vision that you will "Ascend" to Heaven one of these days. I guess it's a convenient comfort, but still stupid.
Why is the Sun, Moon, and all of the other planets spheres but the Earth is a flat pancake?
People have been everywhere on Earth so why hasn't anyone ever discovered the edges?
If the Earth is flat what is its orientation to the Sun and to all of the other celestial bodies?
If the Earth is flat how can people experience the different phases of the day and night at the same time?
Why do we waste our lives discussing people's stupidity?
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/shaq-was-apparently-trolling-everyone-...
Well at least there is some good news. The sad thing is that enough people believe this non-sense that it was reasonable to interpret his joke as being serious. Kind of like a flat Earth Poe; when so many people believe such crazy stuff, how can you tell when someone is joking?
Well it does pose danger to very simple-minded people who just follow others, but for those with an average and above logic skills will sway from his stupid false theory.
Anyone that could be influenced by the opinions of Shaq probably isn't the brightest person in the first place.
It is no more stupid than believing in lots of other silly things without proof or even good evidence.... but simply being stupid is Not dangerous
Hmm. For Shaq to go "Hey, I was just trolling, funny huh?", seems like a good way to try to get out of the situation he put himself in. So now, nobody knows what he actually thinks?
When the rapper B.o.B went rambling about flat Earth on Twitter, he got into a beef with Neil deGrasse Tyson, who set him straight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHBZkek8OSU
Yeah I remember that. B.O.B wss being pretty disrespectful. He deserved the repercussions.
I get my science from scientists not sportscasters.
I was a member of the local Flat Earth Society for a few years. Nobody actually believed this BS or anything. It was just so absurd that it seemed like the most hilarious possible excuse to get drunk with friends. If anyone had stated at our meetings that they believed in flat earth, they would have been swept away in an awesome wave of ridicule.
Seriously?!
Yeah. It was a great time. The whole thing was just a big joke. It didn't start out that way. Apparently it's a very old organization. They believed it once upon a time.
This is so amazing. If the Earth really was flat, how many people would have to in on the conspiracy to hide the truth(TM) from the public?
There would need to be millions of people in on the conspiracy and a Men in Black -style organization that handles all the people who notice the motor in the Foucault pendulum or look at their telescope a little too carefully. This kind of conspiracy would not survive 5 minutes before someone showed us proof of the truth(TM).
Truett snip
"What do you think? Is the US becoming more backward in their beliefs? Are we becoming more enlightened and secular? Both? What accounts for the upswell of dumb-assery in Western Civilization in general and the US in particular?"
You know, a doctorates on a wall in a snappy frame does not the genius make.
Our heroes are rather dull individuals in hi-viz recreational pursuits who probably know little about little. In this case "bassetball Jones" is a golden globes champion in that Hall-Of-Shame membership.
Dumbing down is certainly on the docket for implementation. Technology is having a field day with it and just as soon as it has penetrated the furthest reaches of the global market place with the proper tools to further the plague of stupidity, it will reinvent itself to ensure its own obsolescence never occurs. The key strategy is to make lives easier and this means the less one has to think, the better he is. So, we have technology campaigning a mantra that stupidity is the next version of brilliance.
But, what is stupidity?
Well, lack of a general grasp of the world humanity came from, resides in and anticipates is no longer the definition of it. The new stupidity is defined by thinking; thinking one has to know that stuff. If technology has it all bundled into a cloud why would anyone, in their right mind, endeavor to learn it, or learn anything at all? Gotta a question? Go Ogle the answer. Of course this works most of the time if the intellect-in-transition has the question made available to him. No questions, no answers. No answers, no intellect. No intellect, no Go Ogle cues.
Shack and his ilk are from a different parsec; in another orbit around a planet named Flaturn in the Dumbass Nebula. English is the language of the inhabitants with gibberish as their dominant dialect. Best to leave them with a steady transmission of Go Ogle in the hope they intercept it. I know we're not supposed to feed the animals but it is entertaining, ain't it?
Outstanding post, Pitar. As usual.
"Shack and his ilk are from a different parsec"
A whole parsec huh? Lol
For some reason, I don't recall ever meeting a flat earther in New Zealand/Australia.
Well played Algebe.
I have family members who honestly believe that the earth is flat. I told them not to believe every person they see ranting on Youtube, because I could literally do the same thing with any topic at any time. They told me they can "tell" when people know what they are talking about. That is when I realized that everything they said from this point on, opinion or not, needs to be sourced, because it probably came from some random guy on Youtube ranting in his basement about the government. These are the people I see on holidays. #normalfamilyproblems