Measured Flat (book)
| Type | Electronic Noise |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Nathan Oakley Voices in Slappy's Head |
| Rating | Comedy |
| External link | Measured Flat |
| Book Cover |  |
Book summary
Anyone hoping for the long-awaited measurements showing that the Earth is indeed flat will be sorely disappointed. The rest of us will be completely unsurprised at the complete lack of any measurements of flatness.
Instead, we are treated to an extension of Oakley's rantings on his YouTube channel, Flat Earth Debate (FED). On this channel he regularly whines and complains about participants to his shows and the videos he tries to review. In the book he gives them all pseudonyms which are quite recognisable to regular visitor of FED.
The cows on the front cover presumably allude to the Father Ted quote "These are small, but the ones out there are far away". Flerfs say that the sun sets by disappearing into the distance, just as these smaller cows are disappearing out of sight. As anyone can see for themselves, the sun stays the same angular size as it sets.[1] Is Oakley trying to tell us something? He elaborates on this in Chapter 7: Earth Curve.
This is not an easy read. The grammar and spelling are so bad at times that reading becomes akin to wading waist deep in morasses. For example, we have on p116 (selected at random):
Even when we whistle passed the Earths requirement for flat Earth measurements of its surface level and allow a globe claimant to ignore their own flat Earth measurements required to beg the sphere earth question by building a world with a geometric (straight), tangent based, mathematical horizon and reify this world akin to Narnia into existence alongside them, they still violate their geometric reification bending that which cannot be bent, a tangent [sic].
It is not clear if additional full stops would have helped with the clarity of this or any other paragraph he pens. Notice also Oakley's grand, underlying begging-the-question requirement that earth measurements, by the nature of its flatness, must be flat. So, respect to anyone who could wade through this mess of a book; enjoy some the details that follow.
Science Doesn't Prove Anything
A Case of the First Law of Flerf
Early in Bachelor of Science courses, students are introduced to a little philosophy of science when considering forming a hypothesis. To be scientific, a hypothesis must be testable and falsifiable, as argued by philosopher Karl Popper[2][3]. Strictly speaking, a hypothesis can never be proved; that would make it unfalsifiable.
You do not have to go very far before coming across a scientist, famous or not, talking about how they have proved this and that. This is informal talk. Most working scientists and teachers of science probably don't think too much about the philosophical background of their work. Why would they? This is, of course, grist to the flerf science-denying mill.
Which brings us to Chapter 5: Hijacking Science. Flerfs insist on narrow definitions of science and the scientific method, based probably on poor memories of what they last did at high school. Thus, if you don't have an independent variable to vary, they think it's not science. While experimental control is of course important for sound scientific investigations, it's only a part of science.
So, in Chapter 5 (page 20) we read:
When the scientific method is applied, we prove things.
We are then treated to assertions that mainstream science is in fact pseudoscience; the real champions of science are flerfs, few of whom seem to have any scientific background whatsoever.
Oakley provides two references to support his idea about proof. Unfortunately, they say the complete opposite. He cites a blog from Brown Health University which says very early on:
There is no such thing as scientific proof. There are, however, clinically relevant research results[4]
He then cites an appendix to an article at the University of Rochester (NY) website. Early on, this says:
It is often said in science that theories can never be proved, only disproved. There is always the possibility that a new observation or a new experiment will conflict with a long-standing theory.[5]
A very fine public display of the First Law of Flerf.
Video Reviews of Measured Flat
McToon on YouTube
SciManDan on YouTube
| SciManDan on YouTube I Read the Worst Flat Earth Book Ever Written |
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|---|---|
| McToon on YouTube Oakley's Book: So Much Worse that I Thought |
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| Creaky Blinder on YouTube I Read OAKLEY'S Flat Earth BOOK So You Don't Have To |
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References
- ↑ Horizontally at least. Refraction close to the horizon compresses the vertical size from about 32 to 26 minutes of arc.
- ↑ The Logic of Scientific Discovery. Karl Popper, originally published in German is 1934
- ↑ https://www.simplypsychology.org/karl-popper.html Karl Popper: Theory of Falsification. Simply Psychology
- ↑ https://www.brownhealth.org/be-well/how-identify-nutrition-misinformation-and-pseudoscience How to Identify Nutrition Misinformation and Pseudoscience. Brown Health University
- ↑ http://teacher.pas.rochester.edu/phy_labs/appendixe/appendixe.html APPENDIX E: Introduction to the Scientific Method