All aboard the Flat Earth cruise – just don’t tell them about nautical navigation

The Guardian ^ | 01/10/19

[Simon Green]

A group of people who believe the Earth is flat have announced their “biggest, boldest, best adventure yet”: a Flat Earth cruise scheduled for 2020.

The cruise, organized by the Flat Earth International Conference, promises to be a lovely time. Flat earthers – who include the rapper B.o.B. and reality television person Tila Tequila – will be able to enjoy restaurants, swimming pools and perhaps even an artificial surf wave.

There’s just one problem for those seeking to celebrate the flatness of the Earth. The navigational systems cruise ships, and other vessels, use rely on the fact that the Earth is not flat: theoretically puncturing the beliefs of the flat Earth crowd.

“Ships navigate based on the principle that the Earth is round,” said Henk Keijer, a former cruise ship captain who sailed all over the globe during a 23-year career.

“Nautical charts are designed with that in mind: that the Earth is round.”

Keijer, who now works as a forensic marine expert for Robson Forensic, said the existence of GPS, the global positioning system, alone is proof that the Earth is a sphere, not a flat disc. GPS relies on 24 main satellites which orbit the Earth to provide positional and navigational information.

“The reason why 24 satellites were used is because on the curvature of the Earth,” Keijer said.

“A minimum of three satellites are required to determine a position. But someone located on the other side of the Earth would also like to know their position, so they also require a certain number of satellites.

“Had the Earth been flat, a total of three satellites would have been enough to provide this information to everyone on Earth. But it is not enough, because the Earth is round.”

[Salamander]

I see what you did there.

:D

[House Atreides]

The earth is not perfectly spherical - it is somewhat... flattened.
*************************************
True. It WANTS to be FLAT. ;-)

[Salamander]

Considering the topic, maybe Kansas should should have told to hang on, after all.

[Salamander]

It identifies as a disk?

[Salamander]

If it IS flat, what does the underside look like?

[House Atreides]

It identifies as a disk?
***********************
It’s transitioning.

[Salamander]

Heh

[NorthMountain]

If you’re going over the edge, like in the album cover ... what happens then? Float off into nothing? Get eaten by the Great Turtle? IIRC, the edge of

[NorthMountain]

IIRC, there were unclimbable mountains around the edge of Discworld.

[Salamander]

If I'm gonna go with Crazy Theories, I prefer "The World Is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky" Trekkie Crazy, myself.

[Salamander]

If I'm gonna go with Crazy Theories, I prefer "The World Is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky" Trekkie Crazy, myself.

[Salamander]

I have NO idea why the dupe.

/OMG they’re watching me!!!

[NorthMountain]

He wasn't crazy. The "High Priestess" was a hottie ...

[AndyJackson]

Nautical charts are designed with that in mind: that the Earth is round

Uh, hello. No need to invoke any of that. We can just use GPS.

[a fool in paradise]

Guardian engaging in internetz trolling internetz trolls.

Stupid fake news.

[a fool in paradise]

And the “media” thinks Climate Deniers and Christians are just as ignorant.

[ThunderSleeps]

Let them go on their cruise to the ends of the Earth.

Eventually they'll come around...

:-)

[ThunderSleeps]

I believe the term is “oblate spheroid” ... which coincidentally might describe my middle-age midsection, but I’m working on it...

[KarlInOhio]

Did you see the recent lunar eclipse?

[Quality_Not_Quantity]

The earth is not perfectly spherical - it is somewhat... flattened.

I was going to accuse you of being somewhat pedantic, but then...I saw what you did there.

Well played.