The Dumb Earthers

If you poke around enough you may be shocked to discover that a large number of people around the world believe that the Earth is flat. They have what they call "evidence" to prove their position (although, as in most cases of extreme cognitive dissonance gone askew, they choose to ignore the mountains of relevant evidence in favor of their custom made arguments that are designed to fit their desired model/outcome).

So how is it that people with enough brain cells to tie shoes and turn door knobs can be so easily swayed to believe something that is so profoundly untrue?

The answer: Cognitive Dissonance!

The brain defends its view of reality (understanding of the world around) by creating reality tunnels that fit the desired model. The end result is already achieved and only specific information is allowed in to support that ideal. Any other information is dismissed, modified, or explained away as a conspiracy or a delusion. When within the trap the mind truly experiences the false information and outcome as real. Then the brain must defend this reality by creating a justification as to why anything that conflicts with it is wrong.

Psychology expert Kendra Cherry describes Cognitive Dissonance this way:

"What Is Cognitive Dissonance? Psychologist Leon Festinger proposed a theory of cognitive dissonance centered on how people try to reach internal consistency. He suggested that people have an inner need to ensure that their beliefs and behaviors are consistent. Inconsistent or conflicting beliefs leads to disharmony, which people strive to avoid."

A common argument offered to the sane world by the Dumb Earthers is that their belief has evidence and the "belief" that the Earth is a globe is only based on conspiratorial lies given to us by NASA, and that the Earth being a globe is merely a "belief" based on what we have been told. Well, actually, they are stating exactly the problem with their argument, I suppose that is some subconscious projection.
They seem to think that this is a "belief vs belief" scenario and they urge us to "do the research". Well the research has been done and is exhaustive, and EVERY SINGLE POSITION they offer to support the flat Earth idea has been logically debunked. Science has taken an open position to understand reality, whereas the Dumb Earthers have taken a closed position and select their evidence to fit the closed position.
I do not believe the Earth is a globe, I UNDERSTAND that the Earth is a globe. There's a big difference.

With access to information available at the present time (2016) there should not be a single person on Earth who believes the Earth is flat, but there are many who do. That's because our psychological flaws and deficiencies will carry on far beyond our ability to control or correct them.

I will admit that while it is easy to understand that the Earth is a globe, it is not always easy for the weak-minded to understand the functions of their mind or to understand the what/why/how of beliefs.

“The church says the earth is flat; but I have seen its shadow on the moon, and I have more confidence even in a shadow than in the church.”
― Ferdinand Magellan

Don't accidently walk of the edge, my friends!

Tickets For Two To Kepler 452b

Let's go to Kepler 452b.

But lets consider how long this will take. Kepler 452b is 1,400 light years away.
Getting to Kepler 452b with current space technology would take a very long time, and the trip wouldn't be survivable. But lets say the ship was durable and could carry the resources necessary (food, water, air, etc) to make the journey safely. Our current propulsion systems would get us there in about 22,500,000 years. That's so long, that assuming we had a cryochamber to sleep for millions of years during the journey, we would arrive there and awaken to find that humans back on Earth would be long gone and that they invented warp speed and colonized Kepler 452b and had lived there through eons of civilization and had since gone extinct there too. We might find statues of nations which had risen and fallen. We would find records of lifetimes we could not imagine. We would find great art and new masters and tales of new heroes that would rival the mythology of ancient Earth.
We might find a habitable world, or a world that was once habitable or never habitable, or a world that's habitat had been destroyed by the chaotic twists and turns of human civilization. We might even find intelligent non-human beings there.

We might also find the remains of some very strong people. Humans would have evolved great strength under the high levels of gravity on Kepler 452b. Humans would weight double their weight on Earth and would evolve strong bones, muscles, and hearts to handle it. We would find quite different creatures than what the weak and sickly humans were back on Earth.
We would also not be able to walk around when we arrive. After millions of years of space sleep and having frail human anatomy, we wouldn't be out for an easy stroll.

Suppose we don't have a space ship and chose to "walk" to Kepler 452b. If we walked at a brisk 225,000,000 years per light year, it would take us over 315,000,000,000 years!