Thoughts on the Flat Earth folks
November 12th, 2017 at 7:51:20 PM permalink | |
Dalex64 Member since: Mar 8, 2014 Threads: 3 Posts: 3687 |
Dude... What?!? http://oldtelephones.com/blog/2012/04/25/mark-twain-and-the-telephone/ "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts." Daniel Patrick Moynihan |
November 12th, 2017 at 7:59:46 PM permalink | |
Evenbob Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 146 Posts: 25010 | \] Do you know how to read, dude? "But the invention that cost Twain the most was one in which he did not invest in: Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone. When Bell personally offered Twain a chance to invest in his telephone, Twain responding by telling him that he wasn’t interested because he had been burnt once too often on inventions." He thought it was a joke, that nobody except housewives ordering groceries would find any use for it. Bell all but begged Twain to invest, but he put all his money into a self setting type machine instead. He thought the phone would be a colossal dud. If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose. |
November 13th, 2017 at 1:48:59 AM permalink | |
rxwine Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 188 Posts: 18633 | Eh. That's not really right either. Twain made jokes about how awful the telephone was as an invention for mankind to abuse each other with, but he passed on investing because he had already been burned several times in similar unknown speculations. Had it happened before those bad investments he might have gone for it. His jokes about it are funny though.
You believe in an invisible god, and dismiss people who say they are trans? Really? |
November 13th, 2017 at 2:22:14 AM permalink | |
odiousgambit Member since: Oct 28, 2012 Threads: 154 Posts: 5055 |
I dispute that, so give me chapter and verse. To my knowledge there are only a few places where "firmaments" and things like that are mentioned, requiring someone to make certain screwy arguments such as there being no firmaments to a sphere. PS, now you have me looking for myself. You could make the argument that the Bible says the Earth does not rotate, citing "immovable" but even that could be disputed. Naturally, anyone who wants to delve deep into this sort of thing is headed for the insane asylum. I'm Still Standing, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah [it's an old guy chant for me] |
November 13th, 2017 at 2:40:33 AM permalink | |
Pacomartin Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 1068 Posts: 12569 |
It may be older but there is no mention of it outside of Greek philosophy in 6th century BCE. But you are correct that Eratosthenes estimated Earth's circumference around 240 BC. Ptolemy actually lived in 2nd century BCE. |
November 13th, 2017 at 5:34:17 AM permalink | |
Dalex64 Member since: Mar 8, 2014 Threads: 3 Posts: 3687 |
That's what I was pointing out. He passed on it because he was burned on other investments, not because he knew it would be a "colossal dud" and also was among the first to have a telephone. "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts." Daniel Patrick Moynihan |
November 13th, 2017 at 6:27:23 AM permalink | |
Wizard Administrator Member since: Oct 23, 2012 Threads: 239 Posts: 6095 |
Indeed.
As you can see, according to the bible, the earth is a circle, not a sphere. Knowledge is Good -- Emil Faber |
November 13th, 2017 at 7:04:29 AM permalink | |
Dalex64 Member since: Mar 8, 2014 Threads: 3 Posts: 3687 |
But I take that one as a metaphor. https://christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-c017.html as for that grasshoppers quote, I suppose it depends on what they meant by 'circle' they simply may not have had any words that differentiated circles and spheres, perhaps much like the word "round" "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts." Daniel Patrick Moynihan |
November 13th, 2017 at 8:02:53 AM permalink | |
odiousgambit Member since: Oct 28, 2012 Threads: 154 Posts: 5055 | Indeed you can extrapolate from things in the Bible and arrive at what was imagined - certainly that heaven was poised over earth, and for that matter it was a concept of heaven that doesn't have much to do with modern concepts of the sky or outer space. But the point is that Biblical literalists are really inventing this objection to the modern notion of earth and the heavens - a plain statement that 'the earth is flat' is just missing. I don't count these two verses as providing a necessary objection to a spherical earth if a person's faith demanded that there be no sustaining anything contradicting the Bible. That was good, though, finding them, and I did ask! And I will repeat again that to delve deep into all this is a wish to wind up in the nuthouse. I'm Still Standing, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah [it's an old guy chant for me] |
November 13th, 2017 at 8:05:17 AM permalink | |
Nareed Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 346 Posts: 12545 |
Ptolemy I, Alexander's general who stole Alexander's corpse and mummified it in Alexandria, lived then. The next half dozen or so Egyptian kings were all Ptolemies, until Cleopatra, with Caesar's help, did away with her brother Ptolemy and seized power for herself (under Roman supervision). After her death alongside Mark Anthony, Egypt became a mere province of Rome. Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER |