Flat Earth mentality

[toothdust]

Seems people still have an unconscious "flat Earth" mentality when it comes to looking up at the night sky.

Had a conversation tonight with a guy outside of work in the parking lot. He seems decently smart, but when I was pointing out to him the plane of the solar system, and how wher we are it cuts across the sky at a high angle, he was confused as to why it wasn't closer to the horizon. Even after I explained to him that we live on a sphere, and how if we were in the equatorial region it would be pretty much directly overhead, and at the poles it would be closer to the horizon, he still couldn't visualize the path the planets take.

Seems that just because we "know" something doesn't mean people actually get it...:doh:

[laurele]

It might help to show him a visual as part of the explanation. Some people, like me, have trouble visualizing how something would appear just from hearing a verbal description.

[undidly]

Seems people still have an unconscious "flat Earth" mentality when it comes to looking up at the night sky.

Had a conversation tonight with a guy outside of work in the parking lot. He seems decently smart, but when I was pointing out to him the plane of the solar system, and how wher we are it cuts across the sky at a high angle, he was confused as to why it wasn't closer to the horizon. Even after I explained to him that we live on a sphere, and how if we were in the equatorial region it would be pretty much directly overhead, and at the poles it would be closer to the horizon, he still couldn't visualize the path the planets take.

Seems that just because we "know" something doesn't mean people actually get it...:doh:

Try explaining a 4D universe.
They only just believe that the Earth is a sphere.
Ask them why the people in Australia don't fall off.
They do not know.
Many think that the spin of the Earth is the cause of gravity on Earth.
Most think there is no gravity in space.

[BlueTiger]

Most think there is no gravity in space.

I had a good friend, well educated tell me the reasons satellites stay in orbit is that they are above the earth's gravity.

[orinetz]

Try showing them a three dimensional gravity simulator. You need more than verbal descriptions to explain this kind of concept. I will even salute you for being able to make verbal description at all, even when I am speaking to myself. I will need to use my hand to explain the concept to myself.

Anyway if you need a visualization tool that you can run directly from your browser, just google up "orinetz orbit simulator".

[Jens]

Most of the things we know are not really obvious. Many centuries ago it was common to think of the stars as bright lights that were suspended over the earth on a scaffolding of some sort. It sounds silly to us, but I think that if a child were not told about stars, he/she might assume that to be the case. I remember when one of my daughters was maybe 4 years old, she asked, "why does the moon follow me when I move"? It's simple when you understand, but otherwise it's not intuitive at all.