In a surprising turn of events, a well-known flat-earther conceded that his long-held conspiracy theory was incorrect after embarking on a 9,000-mile journey to Antarctica.

YouTuber Jeran Campanella traveled to the southernmost continent to witness a 24-hour sun - a phenomenon that would be impossible if the Earth were flat.

“I realize that I’ll be called a shill for just saying that and you know what, if you’re a shill for being honest so be it - I honestly believed there was no 24-hour sun… I honestly now believe there is. That’s it,” added Campanella.

Campanella still didn’t fully embrace the globe Earth model: “I won’t say the Earth is a perfect sphere,” then said, after first admitting he was wrong.

The expedition was part of the Final Experiment project, organized by Colorado pastor Will Duffy, who “hopes to end the debate over the shape of the Earth.”

The expedition was part of the Final Experiment project, organized by Colorado pastor Will Duffy, who “hopes to end the debate over the shape of the Earth.”

He arranged an expedition in which four flat Earthers and four “globe Earthers” were flown to Antarctica to witness the continent’s midnight Sun. Antarctica’s Midnight Sun is one of many proofs that the Earth is spherical. It can only occur on a tilted and rotating sphere, and the axial tilt during summer positions the South Pole to face the Sun continuously for 24 hours.

Flat Earthers often claim that the Antarctic Treaty of 1959 prevents civilians from visiting the southernmost continent in an attempt to hide the true shape of planet Earth. However, Pastor Duffy wanted to demonstrate that this wasn’t the case.

“I created The Final Experiment to end this debate, once and for all. After we go to Antarctica, no one has to waste any more time debating the shape of the Earth,” Duffy declared in a statement. “This is, of course, assuming that the entire “experiment” isn’t just an elaborate prank designed to fool us ‘globe Earthers.’ It seems highly unlikely, but we’ll keep you posted if anything changes – not that we’re trying to sound conspiratorial or paranoid.”

  • FeloniousPunk@lemmy.today
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    1 day ago

    When many different people tell you that you are a fucking moron, at some point you need to listen and reassess.

    • HumanPenguin@feddit.uk
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      1 day ago

      Darwin would have to disagree.

      Heck a large part our planets science history were considered morons when they proposed ideas.

      This guy trully is a moron. But the human races history of collective judgement is far from good.

  • lud@lemm.ee
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    1 day ago

    Seems excessive to go to Antarctica to get 24 hour sun. Just go to upper Sweden or something.

    • gex@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      They believe the south pole is the edge of the earth, so a 24 hour earth is only possible in the north pole

    • spicehoarder@lemm.ee
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      1 day ago

      It help to also demonstrate that the stars are oriented differently in the southern hemisphere

      • Uruanna@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        Not when the Sun is blocking them 24 hours a day though. Sorry, stars are closed, come back in 6 months.

  • intensely_human@lemm.ee
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    2 days ago

    Flat earth theory is flat ocean theory. It can be tested with a telescope on an tripod and any land mass at least 10 miles away over the ocean.

    One doesn’t need to go to the ends of the map to disprove flat earth. Just far enough to see whether the surface of the ocean is curved or not.

    • HumanPenguin@feddit.uk
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      Because its 2024. The mentally insane have way more ability to be heard then ever.

      Prior to the 2000s they never had much option to talk to each other.

    • stinky@redlemmy.com
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      2 days ago

      They’re not insane. Insane people can’t work, form meaningful relationships, engage in debate or emotionally regulate. If you’re too lazy or too ashamed to try to figure out where their strong mis-belief comes from you’re no better than they are.

  • GaMEChld@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    The Earth is not a perfect sphere, nor is it argued to be. It is an oblate spheroid. It bulges at the equator due to the spinning. Additionally, if it were perfectly spherical, we wouldn’t have changes in elevation, mountains, etc.

      • PM_Your_Nudes_Please@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        Yup. The earth is definitely not round, but we only really notice the hills and valleys because of the scale. The earth may not be smooth when you’re a tiny organism living on it, but it is smooth when you’re looking at it from a much larger perspective.

    • KneeTitts@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Well the problem with flat earthers has never been lack of evidence, its mental illness and gulibility

      • GaMEChld@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        Oh sure, but it’s good to point out their stupidity from multiple angles. Instead of trying to refute them, I’m attacking the very premise. It’s fun pointing out that the “side” they are arguing against isn’t even making the claims they are making.

  • Nastybutler@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    All I know is that if I was a hiring manager for any position above fry cook, my first question for potential hires would be to ask if they believe the earth is round. If they answer “no” it would save me a lot of time.

    • GreenKnight23@lemmy.world
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      can’t ask people about their personal beliefs directly. you could form it from a series of questions though.

      • are you willing to travel across the globe for client needs?
      • how many flights would it take you to get from here to x if you flew around the planet?
      • what shape is our planet?
      • Skates@feddit.nl
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        are you willing to travel across the globe for client needs?

        No, I have a fear of planes and enjoy spending time with my family after work. Is this required to get this assistant manager job at your McDonald’s branch?

        how many flights would it take you to get from here to x if you flew around the planet?

        Sorry but I already told you I’m afraid to fly, please stop talking about it. Do you ask white people the same type of questions?

        what shape is our planet?

        I’ll be contacting a lawyer about this.

        • GreenKnight23@lemmy.world
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          yeah, I wouldn’t care if you think we lived on mars for any job at a McDonnell’s. asking would be super pointless. If you were interviewing for a position in corporate accounting, different story.

          also, by bringing race into the discussion itself would immediately end further questioning and the interview would be over.

          I actually interviewed a person who did this, and they pretty much asked exactly what you asked. I politely ended the interview and told them we might reach out for another interview. we did not because they tainted the relationship by implying they were not getting appropriate treatment without knowing how other interviews were handled.

          I’m a very difficult interviewer and I push applicants very hard, because the positions they will be holding are high stress high impact. I need to see how they deal under immense pressure and sometimes people take it personally. I get it, emotions run high and people snap back. that’s not who I’m looking for. I want high functioning employees that can perform their duties under stress.

          generally I stay far away from personal questions other than ice breakers like, favorite TV show right now, what kind of projects do you like to work on, if you had a super power what would it be.

          I can read people very well and usually find the right people for the position.

        • GreenKnight23@lemmy.world
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          2 days ago

          is the earth round can be construed the same way as, “is Jesus real?”.

          it’s different than asking “what shape is our planet” because the onus to answer is on the interviewee. A similar question for religion would be, “who is Jesus”. note the term “is” leading an individual to provide their own opinion of who Jesus is vs “was” describing who Jesus was historically.

          facts have nothing to do with personal beliefs, which are protected by the first amendment. you cannot ask someone about their personal beliefs and then reject their application based on those beliefs.

          you can however ask them for factual evidence that may lead to them to give up personal prejudices freely. hence giving them an open-ended question that allows them to elaborate on who they are(individual) instead of what they are(position).

          • frostysauce@lemmy.world
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            2 days ago

            is the earth round can be construed the same way as, “is Jesus real?”

            Not legally in the US. And not… factually anywhere.

          • HumanPenguin@feddit.uk
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            2 days ago

            is the earth round can be construed the same way as, “is Jesus real?”.

            No it can’t. One is a proven fact with huge testable evidence. The other is a faith with no testable evidence.

            Also one is not a religion and not in anyway protected by law.

            • Kornblumenratte@feddit.org
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              1 day ago

              As far as I read their comment, @[email protected] did not intend to compare science and religion, but to discuss interview techniques, using geography and religion as examples.

              “Is the earth round?” and “Is Jesus real?” are both closed questions that can only be answered with “yes” or “no”.

              “What is the shape of the earth?” and “Who is Jesus?” are both open questions that call for a statement.

              I don’t get their argumentation, why open questions are preferable to closed ones because of the first amandement, but agree nonetheless. Closed questions cut off the interviewee and are a very bad interview technique.

  • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    2 days ago

    Campanella still didn’t fully embrace the globe Earth model: “I won’t say the Earth is a perfect sphere,” then said, after first admitting he was wrong.

    Lol whatever lets you save face, bud… But FYI, scientists don’t believe this either.

  • jaybone@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    The debate over the shape of the earth???

    Obviously you can come up with an explanation for the 24 hour sun. These people just aren’t trying hard enough.

    • HumanPenguin@feddit.uk
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      And they will. Most will say this guy is a sell out/bullied. Given, they genuinely claim world powers are preventing people going.

      It is sorta interesting that the difficulty of getting somewhere. Has a history of creating false stories. If you look at the1400-1600s maps of Africa. Created by Europeans. Humanity has a natural desire to invent the impossible when evidence is not clearly visible.

      They seem to ignore how, despite questioning the science behind spherical (ish) earth. They really have no possible explanation for how the universe created their own alternative. Not even a clearly debunkable one.

      It’s just like the mythical creatures drawn on the 1500s maps of Africa. It’s more about interesting stories than actual desire to understand.

  • Wahots@pawb.social
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    3 days ago

    Have any flat earthers ever flown to Asia from the western US? If the earth was flat, you couldn’t take a worldwide flight without flying off the edge if you kept travelling west :P

  • mayidar@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    Sorry for my ignorance but why didn’t they just go to the Arctic, it should be much cheaper and one don’t have to go straight to the Pole, northernmost parts of Canada, Alaska, or Europe would be enough to witness 24-hours sun. I personally was to the north of the Arctic circle and the polar day was lit. And it was as cheap and easy as buy one railway ticket from Moscow.

    • Colour_me_triggered@lemm.ee
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      3 days ago

      They considered Tromsø, but it was too expensive and too much of a tourist trap. Also I’m not sure how welcoming Russia is to Americans RN. I assume you didn’t go to Norilsk on holiday, so how was Murmansk?

      • mayidar@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        Actually, I was a biology student at that time and we had summer field practice near the White Sea. It was great, nature and atmosphere were wonderful, except mosquitoes, mosquitoes were everywhere and they were hungry. Though I’ve been to Murmansk later, and the city is decent, I mean, it’s still small, dying, and depressing, but it could be much worse. I was there literally for a day and can’t say much, but they had a very good regional museum and the first nuclear icebreaker is now an interesting museum too.

        • Colour_me_triggered@lemm.ee
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          Cool, I’ve met a few people from Murmansk and Arkhangelsk, but I’ve never actually been to Russia. Wouldn’t risk it now. One of my former colleagues said that he can’t go back to visit his family until the war is over, because they’ve made entering Russia on a damaged passport a jailable offence. He’s worried that he’d be sent to die in Ukraine if he tried to go home.

    • NoneOfUrBusiness@fedia.io
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      3 days ago

      In many flat earth models they envision the arctic as the center and Antarctica as the rim, in which case 24h daylight is possible in the former but not the latter.

      • Nastybutler@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        That is mind numbingly dumb. Do they think the sun hovers direct over the earth in the summer, then goes underneath in the winter? How would days and nights work anyway?

        • Coskii@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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          3 days ago

          The same way it currently does, but the sun is significantly closer and smaller, also is has a range of light, like a lamp shade that makes sure the sun isn’t always visible even though it’s always above the disc earth, as is the moon (and don’t even start trying to reason with the moons movements on a flat earth model, or explain either types of eclipse… It only gets worse the deeper you look)

          • Nastybutler@lemmy.world
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            2 days ago

            A lamp shade? That makes no sense (naturally) as you can watch the sun move in the sky and go behind a horizon, and the further north or south you go the angle of movement changes. Any person with two brain cells to rub together can poke holes in their theories, yet these nut jobs cling to them like religious fanatics to their holy texts.

            Why are people spending so much effort to try to convert them? Just let them wallow in their willful ignorance and shun them.

  • rottingleaf@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    Campanella still didn’t fully embrace the globe Earth model: “I won’t say the Earth is a perfect sphere,” then said, after first admitting he was wrong.

    Who the hell told him scientists consider it a perfect sphere? Maps for various satellite navigation systems are incompatible, among other things, because of different geoid approximations they use.

    And his sun experiment, obviously, didn’t require traveling to Antarctica itself, he could just as well travel half the way, I dunno. Make the antique experiment with sticks in sand.

    (I’ve spent half a year in a geodesy and cartography university before getting depressed after barely passing first exams and dropping out.)

    In any case, he’s a fine guy and smarter than many people. He at least only accepted real proof. Most people around think they are smarter than flat-earthers because of being in other group than the stupid one. They are not unless they can prove that position. Most of them can’t, and still consider others stupid for questioning dogma, which is the whole fscking reason we know things allowing to build refrigerators, airplanes, radios, computers, and that Earth is not flat too.

  • then_three_more@lemmy.world
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    Campanella still didn’t fully embrace the globe Earth model: “I won’t say the Earth is a perfect sphere,”

    This is correct. It’s an oblate spheroid, calling it a perfect sphere is an incorrect simplification.