Rowbothamism
“Rowbothamism” is a term coined by Peter Markley to help expose the revisionist history of flerfs.
Flerfs identify their view with ancient cosmologies. However in reality, when their view began with Samuel Rowbotham in the 1800s, it was completely new and unique in history due to its denial of sunset.
Due to this, when religiflerfs use the term “Biblical cosmology”, this is misinformation.
Pronunciation
Accounts seem to vary (even among UK English speakers) on whether the “TH” in “Rowbotham” is the dental fricative (like in “thin”), or a “T” sound with a silent H.
In a livestream discussion about this, Peter Markley and Michael Toon agreed to split the difference by:
- Peter using the “TH” sound like in “thin” and
- Michael using the “T” sound like in “bottom.”
History of the term
| Date | Event | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Jul 2019 | In his debut flat earth debunking video, Peter Markley explained the concept but did not yet use the term “Rowbothamism.” | YouTube clip |
| Dec 2023 | Peter used the term once in a debate with Kaleb Davis. | YouTube recording |
| June 2024 | Peter brought significant research to support the term as a main strategy in his MDD debut vs. Flatzoid. Flatzoid’s illogical response resulted in a meme. | YouTube live |