By Jaclyn Weiner
B.O.B stirred up controversy on Twitter./Flickr.
B.o.B. recently took to Twitter to declare that the Earth is flat. Over the course of multiple tweets, B.o.B provided some reasons why he is unconvinced of the fact that the Earth is round, including multiple pictures that he believes prove this theory. B.o.B’s comments inspired criticisms from many, such as the well-known astrophysicist, cosmologist and author Neil deGrasse Tyson, who pointed out the irresponsibility of such statements made by public figures and the rise of this type of anti-intellectualism in America.
Anti-intellectualism is the mistrust of intellectuals and the recession of intelligence, reason and curiosity. Throughout history, there have often been times when scientists and academics have been mistrusted. Individuals have been persecuted over their scientific theories and intellectual thoughts, regardless of research or other marks of credibility.
This had been due to the view of academics as privileged elitists that lack the common sense and street smarts that most “common” people possess. B.o.B clearly depicted this mindset when he told his 2.3 million followers that, “they want me to be a ‘good little rapper’ and sing and dance and don’t question things…” and “I’m going up against the greatest liars in history … you’ve been tremendously deceived.”
This mistrust of academics and scientific theories is perpetuated by this “us” versus “them” mentality that comes with large political divides. Scientific theories, such as global climate change, have been so closely tied to specific political parties and groups that it has become easy to dismiss legitimate scientific discoveries as parts of the “liberal agenda.” This has contributed to breeding a society where the loudest voices are believed, rather than the voices of true experts.
As trust in academics and scientific researchers has lessened, people’s trust in celebrities has increased. This makes it possible for celebrities to spread false ideas without having any true knowledge. Neil deGrasse Tyson expressed the harmfulness of this societal setup when discussing B.o.B’s flat Earth comments.
“In a free society, you can and should think whatever you want and if you want to think the world is flat, go right ahead,” said deGrasse Tyson, “but if you think the world is flat and you have influence over others, as would successful rappers or even presidential candidates, then being wrong becomes being harmful to the health, the wealth and the security of our citizenry.”
B.o.B is not even the only celebrity championing this flat Earth theory. Tila Tequila, television personality, singer and model, chimed in on the whole flat-Earth issue on Twitter in early January. Her reasons for believing this include that you cannot find a picture with a horizon with a curvature, that airplanes could not land without crashing if the Earth was a spinning globe and that all the NYC buildings stand straight up. She also claimed that all NASA’s pictures of Earth are fake CGI and that the outer edges of our flat Earth have huge ice caps so that no one can escape.
We hardly need celebrities spreading more ignorance throughout our country and the world in a time when the National Science Foundation reveals that one in four Americans are unaware the Earth revolves around the sun, when the National Research Council reports that only 28 percent of high school science teachers consistently follow the National Research Council guidelines on teaching evolution and when a University of Texas study finds that 25 percent of public school biology teachers believe that humans and dinosaurs inhabited the earth simultaneously.
Ignorance runs rampant. We need to make efforts to not only educate Americans, but teach Americans how to properly educate themselves. We need to stop taking what we hear online, on TV or even during our everyday lives, at face value. B.o.B was correct when he said that we should question things. It is important to be skeptical, but we should be more skeptical of what people like B.o.B are saying than experts with legitimate scientific research backing up their statements.
Jaclyn Weiner, FCRH ’18, is a Communications and Media Studies major from Wantagh, New York.
I guess Jaclyn Weiner must be feeling a bit silly by now for having written this. It would be wise to do a little fact checking and research before assuming so blindly that the earth is a sphere. This will be the subject that opens the masses to seeing the powers that be, perhaps for the first time in their lives. People must take a side on this, with the knowledge of NASA “photos” being paintings, which is now proveable, especially since we have a whistleblower too regarding it. Believing the sphere means that person is either ignorant, or is the enemy.
‘We need to stop taking what we hear online, on TV or even during our everyday lives, at face value. ‘
Yet you do and have, every time nasa or someone from the ‘scientific establishment’ has told you anything about ‘outer space.’
If you have done your own experiments and research to form your conclusions then fair enough, but most people who now see the earth is a fixed, motionless plane around which all the heavenly bodies move went looking for repeatable experiments that proved the earth was a spinning globe and didn’t find any.
All we found were cgi and composite images of earth, and a moon landing set.
I’m sure if ancient Greeks could figure out how to test that the earth was round, even modern trailer park man can figure it out. Try harder. Or are we supposed to be convinced the earth is flat because you have no scientific aptitude to actually derive a legitimate test to determine whether it’s round?
By the way, shouldn’t you have moved on to how Katy Perry is JonBenet Ramsey by now? This flat earth thing is so two months ago.
It’s indeed scary to realize signs and hidden symbolisms which point to cults of people such as the Masons, are in power and decision making positions… but education and the worship of world knowledge will always render followers of information.
People whom are offended by my personal opinion only prove their lack of understanding and humility. Yet i take no offence in them… they too are but a part of this enigma called ‘life’.
Stop saying what you are or whom you believe in and just be what you are… then all the claimants will stick out like sore thumbs.
Carolina G.
Interesting comments
They have discovered gravity waves hence the proof gravity exists
I will check out your blog.
When 25% of Americans don’t even know the earth orbits the sun, and nearly 50% of them think the earth is 10,000 years old, it’s easy to see how these ridiculous theories spread there. And yes, this is almost exclusively a Conservative American thing, you don’t see these anti-scientific groundswells in other countries. The U.S is a shocking example of a developed country imploding intellectually.
Considering well over 90% of blacks vote liberal, I have hard time believing B.o.B. is a “conservative.” How about avoiding politics and just realizing this is a scientifically uneducated vs. scientifically educated issue, as it obviously is?
Ignorance runs rampant. Obviously the writer of the article is talking about himself due to his lack of research. DeGrasse Tyson is a juggling clown, maybe that’s why he needs his pear! Nasholes!
I don’t want to sound like an uneducated American, but I have a few unanswered questions. Apologies in advance for offending anyone with my stupidity, sometimes I just can’t help myself.
Force of Gravity = G * [Mass(Earth)*Mass2)/distance^2 ]
What happens as an object gets closer to the core of the earth and distance approaches zero. Does the Force of Gravity go to infinity?
In 1798, the Cavendish Experiment derived the equation of Gravitational Constant (G).
G = 2π^2LθR(e)^2/T^2M. The angle θ is the angle the bar turns between two heavy masses. How was he able to calculate this value without the precision of laser measurements?
Can the force of gravity (pull) be replaced by the force of atmospheric pressure (push) at 14.7 PSI? Why doesn’t gravity work on the water stuck in a straw when your finger is pressed on the top end of the straw?
Prof. Dr. Ereditato Antonio of CERN did an experiment where his team found that neutrinos travel faster than the speed of light. Doesn’t this overturn Einstein’s special theory of relativity? Oh yea, Dr. Antonio was forced to resign and retract the results. Scratch this one. Sorry, sorry, sorry, my mind is just stuck on stupid tonight. I don’t know what got into me. I’m gonna go back to being a potato couch and watching the Real Housewives.
“What happens as an object gets closer to the core of the earth and distance approaches zero. Does the Force of Gravity go to infinity?” Yes the force between two masses increases the closer the two masses get to one another, but the mass of the Earth is not concentrated in one infinitely small point of nearly zero volume (that would mean it has a density approaching infinite.) The mass of the Earth is spread out over the entire volume of the Earth. This is covered in basic college physics and sometimes at the high school level. As for your other comments, I won’t bother, because not understanding what is literally taught in elementary physics sort of disqualifies you from discussing some of the most advanced physics modern science is researching (such as that at CERN.)
My search started last May… NASA showed a picture of a rodent on Mars… I have a BS degree and get the joke… The earth is geocentric stationary and flat… NASA lies… The Truth hurts but The Truth will make you free…
All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.
Arthur Schopenhaur.
The establishment is scurrying like roaches, to cover their huuuuge lie up. The expensive receipt on your wall, that depicts your ability to regurgitate generalized information/misinformation back to a professor at the end of the week is not what I would call, being “intellectual”. It means you are good little slave, and you do as your told. Common sense, your own senses, and ability to reason deductively, will lead you to understand that there is no molten magnet of metal in the center of a ball they have never been to, causing the imaginary “gravity” that makes things stick to the bottom of a ball spinning a thousand miles per hour, but allows bugs and birds to fly around, and fish to swim freely in the water, upside down……..hahahahaha.
On the comedy show, that THE POWERS THAT USED TO BE tried to use to ridicule B.O.B, with a watered down bald half black dude, with no soul, rhythm or a shred of humor, and then pulled out their other trained professional bafoon, that the public could easily digest, NASA’s own comedian, Neil the MORON Tyson, made lame penis innuendoes, and then a very thinly veiled threat to the rapper, reminding him of what happens to musicians, and presidents, when they step out of line. FUCK YOU NEIL. The fact that the comedy show gave it oxygen, news shows take the time to ridicule, the presidents teleprompter, and that stupid fuck “Young Turk” gives it air time, tells me something LOUD AND CLEAR. WE HAVE STRUCK GOLD and they can not undo it. Once you spend a half of an hour checking on it for yourself, you can not let go. Nobody will address the real issues, like the curvature, or the phases of the moon at the midpoint of the year never changing. Nah, they talk shit and ridicule, and the other spineless lames, cling on to fit in and be accepted.
I have been looking at this issue recently,and I don’t understand the motive that the establishment would have for insisting that the world is round if it isn’t.what gain does the establishment receive for misleading the public about the shape of the earth? I have been on the coast, and have seen boats sailing towards me, and the top of the boats always appear first, and then the rest comes into view.To me, that indicates that there is a curve to the surface.I have also been on a jet, and if the world was flat, how is it that I couldn’t see the ocean or the edge of the earth? I guess I never really questioned the issue before, but the evidence that I have seen with my own eyes seems to indicate a curve to the earth. I just don’t understand the motivation that the governments of the world would have to hoax everyone. When I look at the moon, it appears to be shaped like a globe.I live far away from any cities, and the moon is very clear in the sky.You can clearly see that it is a globe. Isn’t it? That alone makes me think the earth is round.I just don’t understand the reason for any deception.Is it a conspiracy of the world globe manufacturers? The major world governments have millions of ways to get money from the people.Why would they spend time creating a fictional space program when they could get money out of the public in much easier ways?(Taxes)Please tell me what the motivation is behind the deception?
Do research first yourself then ask those that have these questions… The Truth needs no defense…only lies are defended.
You guys are trying way too hard, but nothing you can do or say will change the fact that the earth is round. I’m sure once commercial space travel is available in the coming years and anyone can see the earth from space for themselves, you’ll all act like you were never flat earthers to save yourself the utter embarrassment of looking like delusional conspiracy nuts for thinking the earth was flat when we’ve known and been able to prove for over 2,000 years that it’s round; but you and I both know you will always be psychotic. Sadly you can’t live with your own psychosis and have to try spreading it so that it infects others. Shame on you.
I refuse to believe that anyone who is educated enough to read & write, seriously believes this anti-science, flat-Earth nonsense. These ppl (including B.o.B) are simply trolls begging for attention. The notoriety he got for that stupid tweet is amazing. Some ppl get off on blowing ppl’s minds with stupidity. Are we the stupid ones for believing ppl are actually this dumb? God I hope so…
That’s a nice little word salad you put together their shit for brains.
Evolution is a theory
Gravity is a theory
The big bang is a theory
Black holes are a theory
Quantum mechanics is a theory
The extinction of dinosaurs is a theory
YOU JUST HAVE TO HAVE A LITTLE FAITH!
As with most ignorant people, you don’t know what a theory means in scientific terms.
Did you actually even do any research of your own on this topic? How come I doubt it…?