kosmos: Modern flat Earth beliefs

Evidence: 100 • authority: 72

Anti-scientific beliefs in a flat Earth are promoted by a number of organizations and individuals. The claims of modern flat Earth proponents are not based on scientific knowledge and are contrary to over two millennia of scientific consensus based on multiple confirming lines of evidence that Earth is roughly spherical. Flat Earth beliefs are classified by experts in philosophy and physics as a form of science denial. Flat Earth groups of the modern era date from the middle of the 20th century; some adherents are serious and some are not. Those who are serious are often motivated by religion or conspiracy theories. Through the use of social media, flat Earth theories have been increasingly…

Evidence: 69 • authority: 72

A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable. The term generally has a negative connotation, as it can often be based in prejudice, emotional conviction, insufficient evidence or paranoia. A conspiracy theory is distinct from a conspiracy; it refers to a hypothesized conspiracy with specific characteristics, including but not limited to opposition to the mainstream consensus among those who are qualified to evaluate its accuracy, such as scientists or historians. As such, conspiracy theories are identified as lay theo…

Evidence: 58 • authority: 80

Flat Earth, spirits and conspiracy theories – experience can shape even extraordinary beliefs

Evidence: 58 • authority: 80

Flat Earth, spirits and conspiracy theories – experience can shape even extraordinary beliefs

Evidence: 49 • authority: 72

Ancient astronauts (also ancient aliens or paleocontact) are a pseudoscientific set of beliefs that intelligent extraterrestrial beings (alien astronauts) visited Earth and made contact with humans in antiquity and prehistoric times. Proponents of the theory suggest that this contact influenced the development of modern cultures, technologies, religions, and human biology. A common position is that deities from most (if not all) religions are extraterrestrial in origin, and that advanced technologies brought to Earth by ancient astronauts were interpreted as evidence of divine status by early humans. The idea that ancient astronauts existed and visited Earth is not taken seriously by academ…

Evidence: 49 • authority: 72

The white genocide, white extinction, or white replacement conspiracy theory is a white nationalist conspiracy theory that claims there is a deliberate plot to cause the extinction of white people through forced assimilation, mass immigration, or violent genocide. It purports that this goal is advanced through the promotion of miscegenation, interracial marriage, mass non-white immigration, assimilation of immigrants, racial integration, low fertility rates, abortion, pornography, LGBTQ identities, governmental land-confiscation from whites, organized violence, and eliminationism in majority white countries. Under some theories, black people, non-white Hispanics, South Asians, Southeast Asi…

Evidence: 49 • authority: 72

This is a list of notable conspiracy theories. Many conspiracy theories relate to supposed clandestine government plans and elaborate murder plots. They usually deny consensus opinion and cannot be proven using historical or scientific methods, and are not to be confused with research concerning verified conspiracies, such as Germany's pretense for invading Poland in World War II. In principle, conspiracy theories might not always be false, and their validity depends on evidence as for any theory. However, they are often implausible prima facie due to their convoluted and all-encompassing nature. Conspiracy theories tend to be internally consistent and correlate with each other; they are ge…

Evidence: 42 • authority: 80

Personal beliefs versus scientific innovation: getting past a flat Earth mentality