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PSA: I watched a flat earth meetup at a park in Denver and it changed how I argue about anything
I went to a meetup at Cheesman Park in Denver about 6 months ago just to see what the arguments were like, and I noticed almost nobody there had actually checked the other side's math. I brought one simple question about the sunset and spent 40 minutes watching folks talk past each other instead of answering it. Has anyone else gone to one of these in person and found it easier or harder to actually get somewhere with people once you're face to face?
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phoenix_grant3424d ago
The thing that gets me about meetups like that is how the location itself messes with your head. Cheesman Park sits on a hill with open sky, so you can literally watch the sun dip behind the mountains and the shadow line crawl up the buildings. Most people never time it, they just glance and say "looks flat to me." If you had a phone timer and picked one fixed object to watch for ten minutes, the conversation would change because you'd both be looking at the same thing instead of trading talking points. What I've noticed at these things is that face to face actually makes it harder, not easier, because now there's a crowd watching and nobody wants to be the one who backs down. The math question about the sunset probably died because answering it meant someone had to admit they hadn't checked, and in a group that feels like losing. Try going one on one next time, away from the circle, and you might actually get somewhere.
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