The concept of a flat earth has been around since the beginning of time; prior to Aristotle’s findings of a spherical earth, everyone believed in a flat earth. However, despite Aristotle’s research and evidence, there has always been a handful of people who were skeptical of a round earth.
The topic of a leveled earth was recently brought into the spotlight by the Twitter feud which eventually turned into a rap battle between rapper B.o.B and scientist Neil DeGrasse Tyson. The 27-year old rapper tweeted out more than fifty pictures and tweets regarding his belief in a flat earth, and many people voiced their agreement on this topic as well. Tyson responded by tweeting out his disagreement, and the altercation soon turned into an intense Twitter feud. Subsequently, both adversaries released diss tracks aimed towards each other.
Similarly, there are many people who refuse to concur with certain events throughout history. For example, there have been numerous accounts of people who refuse to believe in many historical events such as 9/11 and even the Holocaust; according to a poll on Huffington post, a quarter of Americans don’t believe in the Holocaust.
Undergraduate Angela Lee at Santa Monica College shared her opinions on the general disagreement between people on controversial topics. “I have always believed that due to the diverse nature of America, each American would have their own beliefs and opinions, regardless of how erratic their ideas are. Personally, I believe that the idea of a flat Earth is appalling; we have already proved this idea to be false hundreds of years ago.”
No matter how generally accepted an idea may seem, there will always be two sides to an idea. The recent controversies of the Earth’s form is a good reminder of how people may always disagree with one another.
-Grace Kim