Why Do Some People Believe the Earth is Flat and Accuse NASA of Lying

It is common sense to question everything, but it is a complete abuse to equate this with the concept of a 'theory'. This rhetoric only highlights a profound ignorance and a lack of understanding of what a scientific theory truly means. Why some people believe in the flat Earth and accuse NASA of lying, is a result of a wide range of cognitive biases, logical fallacies, and a general lack of critical thinking.

Ignoring the Vastness of Ignorance

Those who believe in a flat Earth and accuse NASA of lying are typically ridiculously ignorant about the magnitude of their own ignorance. They are entirely oblivious to how their own confirmation bias and motivated reasoning cloud their judgment. Instead, they accept any information that aligns with their pre-existing beliefs without question, while rejecting anything that contradicts them.

Flaws in Critical Thinking

Many of these people also have no understanding of what critical thinking entails. As a result, they wrongly believe that accepting information that supports their views and rejecting information that contradicts them is a form of critical thinking. In reality, this is the extreme opposite. True critical thinking involves an open-minded and systematic evaluation of evidence, while avoiding confirmation bias and motivated reasoning.

False Application of Common Sense

Often, people's belief in a flat Earth stems from a false application of common sense, which can be dangerously misleading. While common sense is valuable when we have a good understanding of a subject, it can lead to severe errors when applied to new or unfamiliar topics. For instance, applying 'common sense' to the concept of a spherical Earth can result in significant misjudgment.

Counterintuitive Knowledge

Counterintuitive knowledge, such as the Earth being spherical, is essential for our understanding of the world. However, it is not something that can be easily grasped or understood without proper education. Teaching these concepts in basic fundamental education can significantly help in avoiding such misguided beliefs. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people will never figure these things out on their own, constantly proceeding with distorted views based on limited information.

Ignorance and Intuition

Having a so-called 'very smart brain' does not necessarily equate to having much knowledge. A 'very smart brain' without proper information is like an unloaded gun - dangerous and inefficient. Conversely, a 'very smart brain' filled with misinformation and disinformation becomes even more dangerous, much like a gun loaded with blanks. Both lack of knowledge and misinformation can lead to poor decision-making and logical errors.

Conclusion: Addressing Ignorance

The key to addressing such beliefs lies in education. It is important to teach people the concepts of critical thinking, confirmation bias, and motivated reasoning in our basic fundamental education. Only through proper knowledge and understanding can we challenge and overcome our own ignorance. Failure to do so will continue to propagate misinformation and cement in place dangerous misconceptions.

Therefore, it is paramount that we, as a society, recognize the vast ignorance that exists and work towards educating ourselves and future generations. Ignorance, particularly self-inflicted ignorance, is one of the biggest threats to our understanding of the world and our ability to make informed decisions.