Rocket Man

[XFool]

I am in two minds about posting this here. Is it the the best place? If not, here, where?

Bear in mind the subtitle of this thread is 'Scientific discovery and discussion'

BBC World News

OK, on the first level, let's all have a good laugh. How can people be so...?

But then again, on another and serious level, this kind of thing has over time come to fascinate me. How CAN people think like this? Why do they think like this? What is it really about? What does it mean or tell us about how people think. What does it mean about how I think (very much NOT like this!)? Why do I very much NOT think like this? What does all this signify? Does it matter?

Thing is, I have a feeling this sort of 'thing' goes far beyond the narrow confines of this particular example. But perhaps we shouldn't go there...

Anyone have any opinions?

[johnhemming]

many people prefer winning arguments to being right and are often unwilling to change their minds even when provided with a good set of reasons to change their minds.

[UncleIan]

I was talking to my son about this, who's studying Physics with Astrophysics at Uni. Apparently he found a flat earther, someone asked said flat earther if Mars was round, and they said yes, as there was empirical evidence for it...who can argue with logic like that?

I can't get my head round whether people really believe this stuff, or know that it'll get them some attention.

[GoSeigen]

But then again, on another and serious level, this kind of thing has over time come to fascinate me. How CAN people think like this? Why do they think like this? What is it really about? What does it mean or tell us about how people think. What does it mean about how I think (very much NOT like this!)? Why do I very much NOT think like this? What does all this signify? Does it matter?

Thing is, I have a feeling this sort of 'thing' goes far beyond the narrow confines of this particular example. But perhaps we shouldn't go there...

Anyone have any opinions?

Some people never ask for the evidence of views opposed to theirs, and seldom offer evidence in defence of their own views. Evidence is only tolerated insofar as it supports a preconceived idea (and then it's "proof"!).

GS

[XFool]

I was talking to my son about this, who's studying Physics with Astrophysics at Uni. Apparently he found a flat earther, someone asked said flat earther if Mars was round, and they said yes, as there was empirical evidence for it...who can argue with logic like that?

The interesting thing is that such people themselves sometimes seek empirical evidence, which is to be commended. But there always seems to be something awry with their methods.

Take Rocket Man himself, it is amazing that he has produced such a rocket himself, gone up in it and successfully parachuted back on Earth. Trouble is, it currently only goes to 1,875 feet, which is very much lower than a commercial airline flight! Wouldn't it be more sensible (and a lot safer!), if he really wants to see for himself, for him to do as quite a few amateurs have done around the world - launch a small helium balloon carrying a digital camera and a means of recovery of the camera after the balloon eventually bursts.

Then there was the woman (on the following video - "Why do people still think the Earth is flat?") who had gone to the coastline with a "straight-edge" and confirmed that the horizon was "straight" from one side to the other and so declared: "It's flat". Nice effort - shame about the lack of appreciation of the scales involved...

This seems to apply to Rocket Man as well but he may be planning more advanced missions which, if successful, could offer confirmation. But would he accept the outcome?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Hughes_(daredevil)

Ah! Just read this in the wikipedia entry after I wrote the above:

"Ian Whittaker of Nottingham Trent University has commented that a more feasible way to view the shape of the Earth is to send up a camera in a high-altitude balloon; if high up enough in the atmosphere, such a camera can see the curvature of the Earth."

I can't get my head round whether people really believe this stuff, or know that it'll get them some attention.

Thing that interest me, assuming such people are 'for real', is WHY is the shape of the Earth such a 'thing' for them. Why does it bother them? It's the motivation and psychology of all this kind of thing that really interests me.

[GoSeigen]

This is a very interesting and seemingly relevant article:

https://psmag.com/social-justice/confident-idiots-92793

An ignorant mind is precisely not a spotless, empty vessel, but one that’s filled with the clutter of irrelevant or misleading life experiences, theories, facts, intuitions, strategies, algorithms, heuristics, metaphors, and hunches that regrettably have the look and feel of useful and accurate knowledge. This clutter is an unfortunate by-product of one of our greatest strengths as a species. We are unbridled pattern recognizers and profligate theorizers. Often, our theories are good enough to get us through the day, or at least to an age when we can procreate. But our genius for creative storytelling, combined with our inability to detect our own ignorance, can sometimes lead to situations that are embarrassing, unfortunate, or downright dangerous[...]


I haven't worked out yet how this article might shed light on the OP, but hopefully other more talented Fools can do so for me


GS
P.S. I think the recent Aviva preference shares debate over on the bonds board would also be a fascinating study for this article...