I can hear it now... "Oh no, not this again!" And, "Don't go there, Mr. Currier!" But seriously... Why are you so certain that you know the true shape of the earth? What is the highest point on the earth? How do you know that? On what basis do you claim to know either the shape of the earth or the highest point on it?
Click on the following link for a short video from a recent ABC evening news broadcast that reports some new findings on these two issues:
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=2983361
(I apologize in advance for the advertisement you'll probably be forced to watch.)
Questions & Issues to Consider:
Is this report enough to make you revise your knowledge claims about the shape of the earth and it's highest point? If your answer is "Yes," explain why. What would you say is the basis for your claim to know the new knowledge claims? If your answer is "No," explain why not. What would it take to convince you to change your knowledge claims on the shape of the earth and its highest point?
What do you think about the definition of "highest point" the reporter uses in the piece? Explain/elaborate.
What do you think about the following knowledge claim (including the basis for it) made near the end of the report: "And while from space you can't see the earth's bulge (it's too little), it's there...."
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17 comments:
I do think that the earth has "changed" shape, into a sphere. That video, which was so funny by the way, made a lot of good points. It had evidence to show that in both directions Earth is 26 miles longer in width than in heigth. This proves that it isn't a perfect circle, like we all thought it was. It also shows that the mountain in ecaudor is higher if and only if you put in this extra 13 miles. I would have to agree that the earth is not a perfect circle from these findings, but more of a sphere.
Well I have never really thought as the world to be truly round. It just never made since to me that it could be. The mass of the Earth is being pulled on by other large masses and that to me has always been my own personal opinion. Mathematically it makes since to me. And as for highest point, I guess it would depend on your point of reference. Couple of examples would be, if you are in space you do not even notice the “bulge” and here on Earth we are not affected by it and in fact base all height measurements by comparing to sea level, and if you are at the top of Mt. Everest you can’t see any mountains higher than you, therefore you assume you are at the highest point. Everything has a point of view from different points of reference, therefore what you my hold true is not what someone else would. Around here little kids believe Mt. Hood is the highest point, and with the world always changing is it not possible that there is a new highest point that we do not know about?
I would definitely agree with that. The other day when I was flipping through my calc textbook, I noticed a little thingy in it that said that the earth is slightly aspherical, blah, blah, blah. For me the shape of the earth wasn't new information, but I'd never considered the possibility that that bulge could make something else higher than Everest. I'd still say climbing Everest is a bigger accomplishment that the other mountain, since it is still harder to get to...
I really only base my knowing that the earth is a sphere on pictures I've seen and globes. So this information, from a credible news source, obviously would change my belief on how the earth is shaped. Just like science, knowledge is always changing with new ideas and evidence.
Brent said:
Just like science, knowledge is always changing with new ideas and evidence.
I was thinking about the definition of knowledge as justified true belief. So, if some "knowledge" is later proven false, was it ever knowledge to begin with, or was it only belief?
it wont actually let me watch that video, but i'm just going to comment anyway...
How do I know the earth is really round??
I guess I don't. I've never just walked to China or Australia so I can't tell if the ground changed in some definite large curve or a sharp edge. If I flew to Japan, would i see the earth curving below me?
In the absence of personal experience, I suppose I just need to believe the widely accepted theory until they can disprove it like they did when they thought the earth was flat (unless they never did disprove it and it really is flat? Not likely, though.) I'd hate to say I'm just blindly believing but I suppose I am because it's not as though I can just go to space and check it out, can I?
I think that in my freshman science class my teacher told us that it is not perfectly round, it is kind of squeezed into more of an egg shape.... I never believed him because i was always told "the earth is round". But yeah makes sense that the earth can change some shape over years due to gravity. But it is funny how it is easier to believe somethign that you have been told all your life by regular people and tv even if it is just a speculation, and how hard it is to believe a scientist or even a video. I am skeptical of everything if it doesn't fall under my beliefs that i was taught as a kid. It's weird.
Victoria Tasbaltayeva
I wonder how people found the earth to be round before going out into space and having all of those satellite images? i can see how people were easily fooled into believing the earth was flat. i bet i would too.
I believe that the earth is round, simply because I'm relying my information on other prominent scientist who supposedly know what they're doing. But as this belief of mine is being questioned, I came to think that maybe the reason why everyone is so caught up on the concept that the world is round is because we are comfortable with that fact. For centuries on, it has been established that the world is not flat, but rather is round and because of this preconception and this assumption that has been passed on for centuries, many are comfortable with this fact, which is why I think that I believe this claim.
I most definately think the people in the video are trying to, not change our view of the world as being round, but change our belief that the world is a sphere. I think there could be some validity to their explanation, but I wouldn't consider the highest point of the Earth to be the top of the highest mountian. I think that the very top layer of the atmosphere would be the highest part of the Earth. I suppose that isn't really the idea they are discussing in the video but I really enjoy cheddar cheese. I didn't really ever hear of anyone saying that the Earth was a perfect circle in the first place. I've only heard it being refered to as round, as opposed to flat or square.
The video made some interesting points about the shape of the earth. We have all been taught that the shape of the earth is round and the claims that the earth is flat is ridiculous. However, how easily should we accept this new idea that the earth is actually a spheroid? The narrator said that we cannot see this supposed bulge from space so how do we know that this is true? The report implies that we should trust the authority of the scientists making the findings. Another interesting point is that the mountain in Ecuador is the highest point in the world. In my opinion the highest point in the world is from wherever the ground is. What do others think?
the problem is not if the earth is actually round or not. as we have seen throughout history people believe in something wether it is true or not. in fact not that many ears ago the conception of earth was totally different and as well the conception of the organization of the universe. first earth was considered to be a flat square and then after columbus proved that earth is actually round or at list a geometrical figure that includes a diameter, everyone thought that since we are the sons of god then earth should be at the center of the universe. after galileo and after a couple thousand years we decided that earth was a sphere and that it was a planet that goes around the sun. why? becaause it makes more sense to scientist in which our society decided to believe in. why do we believe in them? because they have matematical proves of it or so they claim. it is not different from when everyone believed that earth was in the center of universe because they believed in god. we, th commun people dont hae any way to find out ourselves so we believe what make sense to everyone else.
The segment used distance into space as the stipulation to find highest point, and with that stipulation, the mountain in Ecuador was the highest. In the atlas that I'm looking at right now, it says "Highest Points (from sea level)," and then lists them off. The atmosphere at the top of Everest would still be much more harsh on people than at the top of the mountain in Ecuador.
Will this "new" revelation change what mountain people believe is the highest in the world? Probably not, but it will force stipulations such as "Highest Point (from sea level)".
that video i thought was pretty good and amusing... but to get to the issue at hand, i find it easy to believe that the earth is not a perfect circle... because to the best of my knowledge... no human can draw a perfect circle, and neither can computers. so i wouldnt find it logical for nature to be able to do. and most people can see why people in the old days thought that the world was flat. but if you think about it... the data and proof was always there to prove that the world was circular.
for example:when you watch a ship go over the horizon, along with getting smaller and smaller, it also seems to go down. and also, the way that people discovered the earth was round, was that two guys...one placed a stick in the ground at the equater and and measured the shadow of the stick at designated times. the other guy was in greece and did the exact same thing. they then compared data, and deduced that if the world was flat, the data would be the same, but the data wasnt. anyway... this happend long before colombus set sail.
This question relates to previous discussions in class: how do you truly know something? Unless you figure out the truth on your own, than you don't know. Most of the time people, (parents, teachers, etc.), tell you things that you are suppose to consider the truth. An example of this could be saying that Europe exists. Unless you have personally been to Europe, how would you know? How do you know if the earth is really round? You really will never know for sure unless you explore the truth yourself.
I would definitely change my beliefs about the highest point on the earth after watching that video. Although,I'm pretty sure that I was taught that Mt. Everest was the highest mountain and not necessarily the highest point on the earth. The reason I would blindly trust a two minute video is because the importance that it has on my everyday or eternal life is minimal. Whether it is or isn't the top of the world, doesn't change very much unless I suddenly decided I had to get as close to the stars as possible. As for the earth being a little bit squashed, definitely makes logical sense to me. We shouldn't be able to "see it" because of the size and geography of the planet. In this case it would be pretty silly to rely on sight for a conclusion, especially since I have no way of getting into space. Basically the only way that I can check if they are telling the truth is if it makes sense. Since their logic doesn't fall through, I will start spreading the word about the new highest point.
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