Disregarding all Biblical and/or scientific evidence/theories, how do you really know?
2007-09-30 06:18:06 · 35 answers · asked by Prof Fruitcake 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I can see the horizon.
I can see the shape of the Earth's shadow on the moon (during eclipses, and the last one was lovely)
I have to account for it when I am laying out large buildings.
(Plumb and level must be corrected for so the layout must be from the center of the building.)
I sometimes have had to use star or solar sighting to do layout. I also used to use celestial navigation methods once in a while. You get a good idea about how round the earth is from that.
On tall buildings, before laser and optical plumbing methods were common we had to allow for the Coriolis effect on our plumb bobs.
I guess in addition to the fact that we can sail or fly around the darn thing those points convince me pretty well.
I have read some of the stuff from The Flat Earth Society. Their debates are interesting but far to complicated. They also fail to make any new predictions that contradict common knowledge or are testable. As a result I only consider them as entertainment.
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I really like Thai D's point about great circle navigation.
2007-09-30 06:43:51 · answer #1 · answered by Y!A-FOOL 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The most certain way to see for yourself that the earth is round is to go to the ocean and watch a ship sail away. You'll notice that as it sails towards the horizon it gets lower and lower, eventually sinking below the horizon. This proves that either the world is curved, (the reason the ship disappears is because it is traveling on a downward curve,) or that every ship that sails into the ocean sinks.
The other way you can prove it to yourself is to travel around the world. Eventually you'll end up back where you started.
2007-09-30 06:26:42 · answer #2 · answered by mike p 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
1. I sailed around it on a generally westerly heading.
2. I saw photos of it taken from space (although you might say those are scientific, I say they are just photos).
3. I can observe the curvature of the earth even on land or from flight.
4. I have observed the earth's shadow in lunar eclipses. It is round from all angles on earth to date. If earth were not round, the shadow would vary.
2007-09-30 06:27:38 · answer #3 · answered by BAL 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I have stood on the shore of the Pacific Ocean and watched large ships appear over the horizon.
If the earth were flat, the only way they could appear in that manner would be if they were traveling underwater, and began surfacing as they neared land; aircraft carriers can't do that.
2007-09-30 06:33:36 · answer #4 · answered by Champion of Knowledge 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
How about personal observation? I took a flight out of Anchorage, Alaska many years ago and actually saw the curvature of the earth once we reached a certain altitude. I don't know what lines of latitude or longitude we were at, but it sure was a beautiful sight to see.
2007-09-30 06:24:43 · answer #5 · answered by Wired 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
1. Ships disappearing in the horizon.
2. No edge of the earth.
3. Sunsets and sunrises.
2007-09-30 06:31:31 · answer #6 · answered by krishnokoli 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Lunar eclispe. If you ever see one, they make the moon look very three dimensional.
And, that the shortest distance between two points far away, isn't a straight line on a map, it's on a curve. airlines wouldn't fly their jets on curves if they cost more money.
But it would be very cool to get above the atmosphere and see for myself that the earth is indeed an oblate spheroid. I porbably won't get that anytime soon, though.
2007-09-30 06:25:19 · answer #7 · answered by serious troll 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I've been in a plane and the earth curves at the horizon. That might not prove it being a sphere, but it sure as heck isn't flat then. :) :) Plus, you can see the top of a sail of a ship before you see the rest of it if it is coming towards you from the sea.
2007-09-30 06:21:58 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 0⤋
it is very easy...
go somewhere really high... like a mountain that there is not other mountain around it (all flat land surrounding it) when you look you see that earth is a continues curve. you can also do this when you are travelling on the sea. another way is to observe the movement of the sun, stars, etc. you will find out that throught out the year the movement is continues.
2007-09-30 06:31:58 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Well I could say watching ships sail away and seeing the masts disappear below the horizon when I know they haven't sunk.
I don't need to though - most people are satisfied with images of the Earth from space revolving. Also, common sense. I mean come on.
2007-09-30 06:21:46 · answer #10 · answered by Leviathan 6 · 8⤊ 0⤋