**2018: Flat Earther's Genius New Idea: We Live In A Magical Pac-Man World..**

**2018: Flat Earther's Genius New Idea: We Live In A Magical Pac-Man World..** A conference of flat Earth believers met in the UK to hash out new ideas and pat themselves on the back for single-handedly disproving NASA. One of the new genius theories to come out of the conference is that we live on a Pac-Man world where planets and objects are instantly transported to the other side of the world as they pass through the warp tunnel. The Birmingham, UK convention of hundreds of flat Earth believers included people who work in education and IT. Strangely, many of them flew in airplanes to the UK perhaps with their eyes closed the entire flight, only to land safely back on their flat Earth. Despite discovering that the Earth is indeed round (oblate spheroid to be exact) thousands of years ago, there is an increasing number of people who claim to believe the Earth is flat. While the group can all agree on their mutual disbelief of NASA, they have differing opinions on what exactly a flat Earth entails

Some at the conference were convinced the Earth is blockaded on all sides by a giant wall of ice, others believe there is an invisible dome closing in the Earth. The best idea yet, that we live in a Pac-Man world. If you've played Pac-Man recently you'll remember that when the ghosts or Pac-Man reaches the edge of the maze, with one step they are instantly transported to the other side of the maze, just like magic. https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace/2018/05/02/flat-earthers-genius-new-idea-we-live-in-a-magical-pac-man-world/?sh=15106ac51e5f https://www.lockhaven.edu/~dsimanek/crea-fe.htm https://youtu.be/_bHqBy92iGM Flat Earthers and the Double-Edged Sword of American Magical Thinking. posted by Jason Kottke Jun 12, 2018.. Alan Burdick recently wrote a piece for The New Yorker about the “burgeoning” flat Earth movement, a group of people who believe, against simple & overwhelming evidence, that the Earth is not spherical but flat. If you are only just waking up to the twenty-first century, you should know that, according to a growing number of people, much of what you’ve been taught about our planet is a lie: Earth really is flat. We know this because dozens, if not hundreds, of YouTube videos describe the coverup. We’ve listened to podcasts — Flat Earth Conspiracy, The Flat Earth Podcast — that parse the minutiae of various flat-Earth models, and the very wonkiness of the discussion indicates that the over-all theory is as sound and valid as any other scientific theory. We know because on a clear, cool day it is sometimes possible, from southwestern Michigan, to see the Chicago skyline, more than fifty miles away — an impossibility were Earth actually curved. We know because, last February, Kyrie Irving, the Boston Celtics point guard, told us so. “The Earth is flat,” he said. “It’s right in front of our faces. I’m telling you, it’s right in front of our faces. They lie to us.” John Gruber remarked on Burdick’s piece by saying: In recent years I’ve begun to feel conflicted about the internet. On the one hand, it’s been wonderful in so many ways. I’ve personally built my entire career on the fact that the internet enables me to publish as a one-person operation. But on the other hand, before the internet, kooks were forced to exist on the fringe. There’ve always been flat-earther-types denying science and John Birch Society political fringers, but they had no means to amplify their message or bond into large movements. Another way to put this is that all the people who bought those News of the World-style magazines from the grocery checkout — UFO sightings! Elvis lives! NASA faked the Moon landing! new treatment lets you live 200 years! etc.! — were able to find each other, organize, and mobilize because of the internet. And then they decided to elect one of themselves President. I recently downloaded the audiobook of Kurt Andersen’s Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History and am looking forward to listening to it on my summer roadtrip. Here’s part of the synopsis: In this sweeping, eloquent history of America, Kurt Andersen shows that what’s happening in our country today — this post-factual, “fake news” moment we’re all living through — is not something new, but rather the ultimate expression of our national character. America was founded by wishful dreamers, magical thinkers, and true believers, by hucksters and their suckers. Fantasy is deeply embedded in our DNA. Over the course of five centuries — from the Salem witch trials to Scientology to the Satanic Panic of the 1980s, from P. T. Barnum to Hollywood and the anything-goes, wild-and-crazy sixties, from conspiracy theories to our fetish for guns and obsession with extraterrestrials — our love of the fantastic has made America exceptional in a way that we’ve never fully acknowledged. From the start, our ultra-individualism was attached to epic dreams and epic fantasies — every citizen was free to believe absolutely anything, or to pretend to be absolutely anybody. Gruber’s point about the internet being a double-edged sword appears to be echoed here by Andersen about American individualism. Sure, this “if people disagree with you, you must be doing something right” spirit is responsible for the anti-vaxxer movement, conspiracy theories that 9/11 was an inside job & Newtown didn’t happen, climate change denialism, and anti-evolutionism, but it also gets you things like rock & roll, putting men on the Moon, and countless discoveries & inventions, including the internet. I first noticed our national lurch toward fantasy in 2004, after President George W. Bush’s political mastermind, Karl Rove, came up with the remarkable phrase reality-based community. People in “the reality-based community,” he told a reporter, “believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality … That’s not the way the world really works anymore.” A year later, The Colbert Report went on the air. In the first few minutes of the first episode, Stephen Colbert, playing his right-wing-populist commentator character, performed a feature called “The Word.” His first selection: truthiness. “Now, I’m sure some of the ‘word police,’ the ‘wordinistas’ over at Webster’s, are gonna say, ‘Hey, that’s not a word!’ Well, anybody who knows me knows that I’m no fan of dictionaries or reference books. They’re elitist. Constantly telling us what is or isn’t true. Or what did or didn’t happen. Who’s Britannica to tell me the Panama Canal was finished in 1914? If I wanna say it happened in 1941, that’s my right. I don’t trust books — they’re all fact, no heart … Face it, folks, we are a divided nation … divided between those who think with their head and those who know with their heart … Because that’s where the truth comes from, ladies and gentlemen — the gut.” Whoa, yes, I thought: exactly. America had changed since I was young, when truthiness and reality-based community wouldn’t have made any sense as jokes. For all the fun, and all the many salutary effects of the 1960s — the main decade of my childhood — I saw that those years had also been the big-bang moment for truthiness. And if the ’60s amounted to a national nervous breakdown, we are probably mistaken to consider ourselves over it. https://kottke.org/18/06/flat-earthers-and-the-double-edged-sword-of-american-magical-thinking Flat-Earthery, British Style: A new poll estimates flat-Earth belief in the U.K. at 1 percent... It ought not to come as a surprise that there are flat-Earthers in the U.K., especially in Cambridgeshire, where the founder of the modern flat-Earth movement, Samuel Birley Rowbotham (1816–1884), became convinced that the planet was not a globe. After he expounded his views in Zetetic Astronomy, published under the pseudonym “Parallax,” a parade of his followers—including John Hampden, who debated Alfred Russel Wallace about the shape of the Earth; Lady Blount, who wrote a wish-fulfillment novel featuring flat-Earthery; and Samuel Shenton, who established the International Flat Earth Research Society—kept the flat Earth in the British public eye. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/flat-earthery-british-style/ Circle Or Sphere? Inside The UK's First 'Flat Earth' Conference We met the conspiracy theorists colonising the crazier corners of the Internet, seducing and converting the credulous. https://www.esquire.com/uk/culture/a22725244/inside-the-uks-first-flat-earth-conference/ Flat Earth, Ancient Aliens, and Science Denial.. A First-Year Tutorial offered fall 2021, taught by Leo Rodriguez, assistant professor of physics In this tutorial section, students will perform a critical study/analysis of popular new age (meta) physical theories concerning the geometric shape of our home planet, its architectural archeology and genesis. The idea of hard science and its methods will be introduced. Scientific methods will be applied in the analysis of the validity of popular new age (meta) physical theories. Students will devise and conduct testable and reproducible experiments, in class and in the field, to test relevant hypotheses and thus deduce their own conclusions about the physical world. https://www.grinnell.edu/academics/experience/tutorial/fall-2021/flat-earth-ancient-aliens-and-science-denial https://nypost.com/2017/12/26/conspiracy-theorists-convinced-earth-is-hollow-and-filled-with-aliens/ Flat Earth meltdown: 'Earth is not a planet' and other bizarre Flat Earth theories FLAT EARTH theorists are trying to convince the world of their bizarre ways by flooding social media with claims the Earth is not a planet. https://www.express.co.uk/news/weird/1312546/Flat-Earth-theory-Earth-not-planet-globe-conspiracy-theory Poor flat-earthers! Few modern intellectual movements have been so widely scorned and misunderstood (or unable to understand sarcasm). Among Christians, religious tolerance and ecumunism seem to break down at the edge of the earth. The preceding quotation suggests the contempt which most “scientific creationists” feel for the flat-earthers. (ecumenism, movement or tendency toward worldwide Christian unity or cooperation.) Though flat-earthism is as well supported scripturally and scientifically as creationism, the creationists plainly do not want to be associated with flat-earthers. In a public debate with creationist Duane Gish, paleontologist Michael Voorhies suggested that the Creation Research Society resembles the Flat Earth Society. According to a report of the debate published in the creationist newsletter Acts & Facts, Gish replied “that not a single member of the Creation Research Society was a member of the Flat Earth Society and that Voorhies’ linking of the two was nothing more than a smear.”2 (hahahahahhahahahah!) Gish’s remarks brought a rejoinder in a subsequent issue of The Flat Earth News from an outraged letter writer (identified only as “G.J.D.”) who had read the Acts & Facts report. “G.J.D.” contested Gish’s claim that no members of the Flat Earth Society belong to the Creation Research Society, concluding, “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about, as I belong to both, and I am writing to him to let him know that he is wrong.”3 https://youtu.be/2tp0UNcjzl8 https://www.lockhaven.edu/~dsimanek/crea-fe.htm https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/flat-earthers-what-they-believe-and-why/ Some physicists believe we're living in a giant hologram — and it's not that far-fetched.. Matter of fact it's less fetched than the flat earth theory.. (I don't even know why they call it a theory and -where is it? The theory itself.. I can find lots of stuff about it - but it - I can not find.) A Physicist Has Calculated That Life Really Could Exist in a 2D Universe DAVID NIELD 27 JUNE 2019. Our entire living reality happens in a three-dimensional Universe, so naturally it's hard to imagine a universe with just two dimensions. But, according to new calculations, a 2D universe could actually support life, too. https://www.sciencealert.com/a-physicist-has-calculated-that-life-really-could-exist-in-a-2d-universe Life could exist in a 2D universe (according to physics, anyway) Physicists and philosophers have long claimed that life can form only in a universe like ours, with three dimensions of space and one of time. That thinking may need to be revised. https://youtu.be/yzZmw7QSBIs https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/06/20/102942/life-could-exists-in-a-2d-universe-according-to-physics-anyway/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/fernandezelizabeth/2020/01/21/could-our-universe-be-2-dimensional-black-holes-offer-a-clue/?sh=1484326dfc9a 2D universe maybe be able to flat earthers. https://futurism.com/the-byte/theory-2d-universe-living-creatures Researcher shows physics suggests life could exist in a 2-D universe https://phys.org/news/2019-06-physics-life-d-universe.html How Ridiculous Ideas Gain Traction. We're Looking at You, Flat Earth The spherical shape of Earth is what we like to call around here “settled science.” But nowadays, pit even a 2,500-year-old truism against the evangelism of Internet algorithms, and you got yourself an actual “debate,” no matter how inane. https://www.kqed.org/science/1951190/flat-earth-believers-actually-love-science-they-just-like-conspiracies-more Flat-Earth martyr or victim? ‘Mad’ Mike Hughes dies in DIY rocket crash.. 'Homemade SteamPunk Astronaut' and Flat Earther Mike Hughes died when his steam-powered rocket crashed shortly after takeoff. It was the third launch for Hughes in one of his homemade rockets and part of his eventual plan to be able to determine for himself, up in the sky, if Earth was as flat as he proclaimed to believe. "He went way up in the sky," Chapman said. "I'm not sure how high. But his goal was 5,000 feet. Then it did an arc and then came straight down and nose-dived into the desert floor like a lawn dart about half a mile away from the launch pad." Visual daytime observations show that the minimum altitude at which curvature of the horizon can be detected is at or slightly below 35,000 ft, providing that the field of view is wide (60 degrees) and nearly cloud free.Dec 1, 2008. WATCH: Rocketman: Mad Mike's Mission to Prove the Flat Earth.. A showcase of questionable dreamers in the spirit of "American Movie," Rocketman is a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the true story of Michael "Mad Mike" Hughes, an aging stuntman who made headlines around the globe with his attempt to prove the flat Earth by building a homemade rocket on a mission to launch himself into space. Mike Hughes died after crashing his homemade rocket-balloon into the California desert while trying to prove that the Earth is flat. It’s not. Nevertheless, Hughes died chasing “proof” of a viral conspiracy theory he championed for years. The 64-year-old was the lone occupant of a steam-powered rocket that blasted off from the desert near Barstow, Calif., on Saturday afternoon, in a failed effort to fly high enough to photograph the “flat” planet. Directors Michael Linn, Toby Brusseau Starring Michael Hughes, Waldo Stakes, Pat Marchese Genres Comedy, Documentary, Adventure, Tragedy. https://youtu.be/hrAdayUh6-4 Pre-launch Interview: https://www.cc.com/video/u1brxf/tosh-0-cewebrity-profile-flat-earth-rocket-man https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mad-mike-hughes-daredevil-and-flat-earth-theorist-killed-in-rocket-crash-2020-02-22/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace/2018/03/27/flat-earth-rocket-man-finally-blasts-off-in-homemade-rocket-to-prove-earth-is-flat/?sh=5350795b9b6f https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/otilliasteadman/mad-mike-hughes-rocket-death-flat-earth Flat Earthers and their role in the rise of conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theories seem to be more popular than ever - how did this happen in an increasingly scientific world? The reasons are simple: #1 It's what happens when lots of time and money is spent educating the best and brightest and almost nothing on the rest.. #2 It's what happens when teachers give passing grades to students who don't deserve to pass a basic science class.. #3 It's what happens when students fail to develop advanced reading skills by high school. HOW MUCH A PERSON READS IS DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL TO THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF ANY GIVEN SUBJECT MATTER.. #4 It's what happens when our mistakes are old enough to vote. https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/the-rise-of-the-flat-earthers/ https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/14/science/nasa-flat-earth.html https://youtu.be/2lu7qs1sFlg Importance of Reading Comprehension Although many adults' can read, the act of reading and the act of comprehending what you read are two very different things. Reading requires the fluent parsing and blending various phonetic sounds to create words. Reading Comprehension, on the other hand, involves thinking about the words that were just read and deriving a meaning, for just those words and the text as a whole! In simpler terms, reading comprehension is the ability to read, understand, process, and recall what was just read. https://www.mathgenie.com/blog/importance-of-reading-comprehension Why is Reading Important? https://www.worksheetcloud.com/blog/why-is-reading-important/ The Purpose of Reading. The purpose of reading is to connect the ideas on the page to what you already know. If you don't know anything about a subject, then pouring words of text into your mind is like pouring water into your hand. You don't retain much. For example, try reading these numbers: 7516324 This is hard to read and remember. 751-6324 This is easier because of chunking. 123-4567 This is easy to read because of prior knowledge and structure. Similarly, if you like sports, then reading the sports page is easy. You have a framework in your mind for reading, understanding and storing information. Improving Comprehension. Reading comprehension requires motivation, mental frameworks for holding ideas, concentration and good study techniques. Here are some suggestions. Develop a broad background. Broaden your background knowledge by reading newspapers, magazines and books. Become interested in world events. https://www.iwu.edu/advising/students/reading_comprehension.pdf Physicists will find it shocking, but there are plenty of people around the world who genuinely believe the Earth is flat. Rachel Brazil explores why such views are increasingly taking hold and how the physics community should best respond. https://physicsworld.com/a/fighting-flat-earth-theory/ THE PSYCHOLOGY OF EXTRAORDINARY BELIEFS https://u.osu.edu/vanzandt/2019/03/10/flat-earth-theory-3/ THE FLAT EARTH ECOSYSTEM Dr Beckett notes that the flat Earth community uses various social media platforms in distinct, overlapping ways in order to create a kind of ecosystem around their beliefs. “Youtube becomes a content hub, Facebook becomes an administrative one-stop shop for that hub, and Twitter continually pushing out the messaging,” she says, likening Youtube to a sort of alternative documentary channel for flat earthers. “It’s a really interesting beast … they can have their daily or weekly TV show in the same way that we go to David Attenborough.” It’s a more powerful social media tool than Facebook or Twitter because it’s a “high context” platform, Dr Beckett says, where users can stream themselves with an immediacy and intimacy that’s lacking from text or image-based platforms. https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/why-do-some-people-believe-the-earth-is-flat https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/jun/28/why-bad-ideas-refuse-die https://www.theguardian.com/global/2018/may/27/is-the-earth-pancake-flat-among-the-flat-earthers-conspiracy-theories-fake-news Are flat-earthers being serious? Here's a look at what flat-earthers believe and why they think our planet is a disc surrounded by an icy wall. https://www.livescience.com/24310-flat-earth-belief.html The belief that the Earth is flat has been described as the ultimate conspiracy theory. According to the Flat Earth Societies' leadership, its ranks have grown by 200 people (mostly Americans and Britons) per year since 2009. Judging by the exhaustive effort flat-earthers have invested in fleshing out the theory on their website, as well as the staunch defenses of their views they offer in media interviews and on Twitter, it would seem that these people genuinely believe the Earth is flat. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna49595415 Flat Earthers: What They Believe and Why https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/flat-earthers-what-they-believe-and-why/ https://theconversation.com/how-to-reason-with-flat-earthers-it-may-not-help-though-95160 https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/14/science/nasa-flat-earth.html https://www.vox.com/2018/4/28/17292244/flat-earthers-explain-philosophy Conspiracy theorizing and religious motivated reasoning: Why the earth ‘must’ be flat Flat Earth ideology is arguably the paragon of science denial and one of the more famous historical examples of conflict between religion and science. How is it that some people can believe this idea in the face of modern scientific evidence? The latest reemergence of Flat Earth ideology also appears to embrace conspiracy theorizing, disputing the Apollo Moon landings and accusing NASA of falsifying video footage and the Earth-from-space photography. To what extent, then, is accepting a flat Earth (and rejecting a spherical one) an attempt to reduce cognitive dissonance in the minds of flat-Earthers emerging from conflict between scientific consensus on the shape of the Earth and literalist interpretations of the Bible, and to what extent is this belief driven by extreme distrust of information provided by government institutions? Moreover, do Flat Earthers view themselves as skeptical consumers of scientific information, in similarity with climate skeptics? This study examined if (1) Biblical literalism and conspiracy ideation predict belief that the Earth is flat, and (2) people with higher conspiracy ideation (including those who hold Flat Earth beliefs) view themselves as more rational and logical than suspicious. Here, two samples were analyzed and compared: one recruited from a national online marketing panel (N = 513) and a sample of participants recruited from the first annual Flat Earth International Conference (n = 23). Results showed no significant difference in religiosity and belief in evolution between the two samples; however, the Flat Earth sample was significantly higher in conspiracy mentality. Results here also indicate that Flat-Earthers consider themselves significantly more skeptical and logical than the national sample. https://ttu-ir.tdl.org/handle/2346/82666 Understanding Flat Earthers. REFLECTING UPON SOME STRIKING 2018 SURVEY findings, Skeptics Guide to the Universe host Steven Novella wrote that he was "stunned that there are seemingly average people walking around today with the firm belief that the world is actually flat." That astonishing fact does indeed cry out for explanation. He wanted to know, "What Drives the Flat-Earthers?" (1) That's an interesting question--and a complicated one. I've spent a fair bit of time reviewing the history of Flat Earth claims for Junior Skeptic and various other articles. (2) Reviewing the literature is a good first step. If we want to grapple with claims, it helps to know what those claims are and how they have developed over time. However, this may not answer the "Yes, but why?!" question. As one reader challenged me: I was hoping to see something about why there are people who invest so much in it that they form a Flat Earth Society.... Something else is going on. Finding that something else was what I hoped the writer would do, but he didn't give me that. I conceded this point: Yes. Explaining what people say and asking whether they are correct are the easy tasks; finding out what's really going on is harder. Much of my work involves straightforward description and assessment. However, I'm intensely interested in that harder question. I want to understand weird beliefs. With that in mind, I'd like to try to expand upon Novella's preliminary thoughts. I think that digging deeper might help to expose some of the root systems from which paranormal, pseudoscientific, and fringe claims grow. Who Are These People? When 8215 U.S. adults were asked "Do you believe that the world is round or flat?" in a February 2018 YouGov survey, only 84 percent of respondents felt certain that the world is round. Five percent had doubts, two percent affirmed a flat Earth, and seven percent weren't sure. (3) (There is reason for some caution about the YouGov survey. Scientific American blog contributors Craig A. Foster and Glenn Branch were unable to reconcile discrepancies between the reported results and data supplied by the pollster. (4)) This and other surveys support the idea that around one or two percent of Americans and Britons believe in a Flat Earth. (5) This suggests that several million Americans believe in a Flat Earth. Tens of millions more are open to the idea or unsure what to believe. It's been widely reported that YouTube and social media are propelling Flat Earth beliefs to new heights of popularity (or at least visibility). Twentieth century Flat Earth advocates were generally lonely figures who struggled to attract any serious consideration for their ideas. Today, there is a growing, thriving Flat Earth community. These Flat Earthers comprise a broad cross-section of people, "all of them unfailingly earnest and lovely" in the experience of The New Yorker's Alan Burdick. (6) I recommend the 2018 documentary Behind the Curve to humanize this oddly familiar community. The film reveals Flat Earthers as generally... https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA609836035&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=10639330&p=AONE&sw=w&userGroupName=anon%7Eed599453 Differential susceptibility to misleading flat earth arguments on youtube YouTube has been influential in propagating Flat Earth Ideology, but not everyone is equally susceptible to the effects of watching these videos. In an experiment with a participant pool restricted to regular YouTube users, we found that lower science intelligence and higher conspiracy mentality increase individuals’ susceptibility to flat Earth arguments on YouTube. In fact, these two dispositional variables interact: whereas people with lower conspiracy mentality do not find the arguments compelling at any level of science intelligence, among those with higher conspiracy mentality, perception of argument strength decreases as science intelligence increases. Moreover, perceptions of argument strength varied on the thrust of the clip’s argument (science-, conspiracy-, or religious-based), with the religious appeal being perceived as weaker and inspiring more counterarguing than the science clip. We discuss implications for both the knowledge deficit hypothesis and for the differential susceptibility to media effects model. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15213269.2019.1669461 The Flat Earth on YouTube. Abstract: An active contemporary discourse on YouTube revolves around the idea that the Earth is flat instead of round, and how Flat Earth cosmology is related to contemporary political, religious and cultural issues. Thousands of such videos have been produced, gathering multiple millions of views. Flat Earth discourse sometimes crosses into other public discourse, but YouTube remains singularly important in promoting Flat Earth belief and encouraging development of its supporting arguments. The videos at the source of this stir are highly ambiguous. I argue that this phenomenon represents fusion of multiple influences unique to YouTube, including conspiracy theory, climate change denial, science documentaries, clickbait, viral videos, trolling, Russian propaganda, and young-Earth religious fundamentalism. The phenomenon cannot be properly understood without recognizing the distinct contribution of all of these elements. Contents: The Flat Earth on YouTube https://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/download/8251/7693?inline=1#p1 Themes in Flat Earth videos https://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/download/8251/7693?inline=1#p2 A timeline of Flat Earth on YouTube https://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/download/8251/7693?inline=1#p3 Discourse dynamics of Flat Earth https://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/download/8251/7693?inline=1#p4 On 2 December 2017, retired limousine driver and amateur stunt man “Mad” Mike Hughes publicly declared his intent to launch himself in a homemade, steam-powered rocket using a converted mobile home as a ramp. The flight, canceled due to weather and mechanical failures, was intended to carry him 1,800 feet in the air over Amboy, California; his principal sponsor was a YouTube channel Research Flat Earth (channel ID UCXa5atseqfc03pzESmb1nKg). Hughes and his sponsor are not alone in believing that the Earth is flat. Rather, they represent a community of people who primarily communicate through YouTube. This community produced the first Flat Earth International Conference 9–10 November 2017 in Raleigh, North Carolina. In 2016, celebrity rapper B.o.B. and reality television star Tila Tequila declared their Flat Earth belief on Twitter, challenging their audiences to refute their views by posting video evidence online. To an outside observer it could appear that all of these these events were publicity stunts with no broader relevance, yet to anyone aware of it, their Flat-Earth communications were clearly influenced by an active YouTube discourse and intended to contribute to it. One might still question the relevance of the events. After all, Flat Earth belief is widely taken to be synonymous with a completely wrong world view. Flat Earthers are a tiny minority, and modern technologies like the Global Positioning System, telecommunications satellites, and even the Internet are inconsistent with such beliefs. When people want to discredit scientific theories or other ideas, they compare them to Flat Earth belief; Darwinian evolution was notably promoted this way (Gould, 1995; Russel, 1991). For the YouTube discourse, these issues are relevant, but much more is involved. Contemporary social media exhibits a range of phenomena in which adherence to objective truth is strained. Social media underpins a robust industry in “fake news”, which is sometimes satirical, sometimes malicious, and sometimes simply sensational (Allcott and Gentzkow, 2017; Berkowitz and Schwartz, 2016; Fenton and Freedman, 2018; Lazer, et al., 2017; Sydell, 2016; Pennycook and Rand, 2017). Some of these stories involve conspiracy theories that become news events, such as the “pizzagate” shooting at a Washington D.C. pizzeria (Dean, 2017; Debies-Carl, 2017; Miller, 2015). Russian disinformation is a major component of some stories (Aro, 2016; Khaldarova and Pantti 2016; Sindelar, 2014; Zelenkauskaite and Niezgoda, 2017), and trolling (Chen, 2016; Fichman and Sanfilippo, 2016) and toxic discourse (Gallagher, et al., 2018; Hoggan and Litwin, 2016; Massanari, 2017; Risam, 2015) are endemic to most social media forums. Against this background, Flat Earth belief in mainstream media might seem unremarkable. READ MORE HERE: https://firstmonday.org/article/view/8251/7693 What is Conspiracy Theory Addiction? A conspiracy theory can be defined as the belief that a secret, but influential organization or individual is responsible for a circumstance or event. People often think that these beliefs are rare or sometimes absurd, but research shows they may be more common than we thought. A study found that about 50% of Americans believe in at least one conspiracy theory. Conspiracy theories come in all forms, but most theories involve political and social events. Some examples include the belief that certain celebrities are immortal vampires, and controversial topics such as the belief that a small group of people are planning to overthrow the government. Often, one theory will have accompanying and sometimes contradictory conspiracy theories which can be dangerous if not challenged. On the other hand, it can be noted that some conspiracy theories have been proven to be true. With the increased popularity of conspiracies and exposure to information, it is possible to harm your mental health and relationships by developing a conspiracy theory addiction. Conspiracy theory addiction is a behavioral addiction that can have a hidden impact on the way you perceive events and has been linked to having more negative attitudes. Rather than helping one cope with their negative feelings, the belief in conspiracy theories can create a cycle of distrust and disempowerment. As a person encounters different sources, it is important to be able to analyze the information and distinguish between false theories and real threats. People who strongly believe in conspiracy theories and become addicted may experience some of the following: Feeling anxious or fearful for no particular reason. Feeling a loss of control. A need to make sense of complex topics or unrelated events, even with little or no topical knowledge. Low self-esteem. Strong urge to make connections between a series of unrelated events or behaviors. Belief in paranormal explanations for scientific phenomenon. A sense of not belonging or isolation. A great alienation, disengagement, or disaffection from society If the presence of the previous feelings and behaviors significantly impact a person’s ability to function in their daily lives, they may have a conspiracy theory addiction. Why Do People Believe in Conspiracy Theories? Conspiracy theories occur when people create links between one or more unrelated events, emerging from the need for the human brain to find “patterns”. New research also shows that people with certain personality traits such as low self-esteem are more likely to have a conspiracy theory addiction. Researchers have studied the different reasons why people believe in conspiracy theories and many of the explanations include the following factors: A need for understanding and consistency. A need for control. A need to belong or feel special. Need for Understanding When a person experiences distress over uncertainty or witnesses a large-scale event, the mind will start to look for explanations that connect the dots. Those with lower analytical abilities and less tolerance for uncertainty are more likely to believe a conspiracy theory. This is because conspiracy theories can often provide explanations for events that seem confusing or frightening and believers can assume that they are being intentionally deceived. People are also naturally inclined to search for information that confirms their existing beliefs, this is known as a confirmation bias. The ability to easily share and spread information over the internet has increased belief in certain conspiracy theories. Someone with a conspiracy theory addiction may seek out information to support something they already think is true, rather than seek out new information or challenge their beliefs. A need for understanding and consistency can lead to addictive behaviors such as spending excessive time on the internet and ignoring relationships and responsibilities. Need for Control Conspiracy theory addiction can also be caused by the need to feel safe and in control. When the human mind feels threatened, identifying what is causing the danger can be a way to cope with anxiety. One study found that people are more likely to believe in conspiracies if they are feeling anxious. Another study found that people who feel psychologically and/or socio-politically disempowered are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories. People who have a conspiracy theory addiction may be drawn to them as a way of making sense of the world and feeling more in control. Researchers who have studied why people believe in conspiracy theories have found little evidence that believing in these theories actually help reduce anxiety or satisfy the need to feel in control. People who have a conspiracy theory addiction are less likely to engage in actions that could improve their autonomy and sense of control. The long-term effects of conspiracy theory addiction may leave people feeling more disempowered and anxious than before. Need to Belong Conspiracy theory addiction can also form as a defense mechanism, especially in those who feel alienation and disaffection from society. Typically, those with a strong belief in conspiracies have a distrust in authority, lower self-esteem, low levels of interpersonal trust, and feel that they are the “heroes” in the story, while those who are conspiring against them are the “enemy.” As modern society becomes more complex and information is more easily spread, some people feel left behind in trying to keep up. When a person feels disadvantaged, they will often find ways to boost their own self-perceptions. Risks Conspiracy theory addiction can have long-term negative effects on an individual. Although belief in conspiracies are often motivated by the need to understand, be in control, and feel socially connected, these aren’t the results that are being gained. In fact, some studies have shown that believing in conspiracies can reinforce feelings of confusion, isolation, and loneliness. The cycle of addiction becomes destructive as negative feelings contribute to the belief in conspiracies, and the belief in conspiracies result in negative feelings. Conspiracy theory addiction not only causes a cycle of distrust, but it discourages people from participating in their social worlds. Someone who lacks a sense of control may stop viewing themselves as a valuable contributor to society. Overcoming Conspiracy Theory Addiction An issue often faced when trying to disprove conspiracy theories is that people who believe in them also tend to suspect that others are involved in covering up the “truth.” People will often try to argue or ridicule those who believe in conspiracies but this behavior often results in deepening the person’s commitment to their beliefs. Although certain factors that contribute to belief cannot be easily or quickly changed, researchers have found that promoting messages of self-control and empowerment can reduce conspiratorial thinking. In one study, researchers found effectiveness in encouraging believers to pursue their goals using the “promotion-focused” approach. Those who are promotion-focused are less likely to believe in conspiracies and more likely to believe they have the power to control their future. Someone who has a conspiracy theory addiction may want to seek help from a counselor who can help them work towards personal goals and increasing a sense of personal empowerment. Creating an action-oriented mindset can help discourage belief in conspiracies and encourage self-responsibility and control. Conspiracy theory addiction can cause long-term psychological and social harm to an individual. Therapy that centers on personal goals and strategies to achieve these goals can have a powerful impact on improving a sense of control and empowerment. If you’re interested in treatment for conspiracy theory addiction, call a dedicated treatment provider today. https://www.addictioncenter.com/drugs/conspiracy-theory-addiction/ https://improvinglivescounseling.com/conspiracy-theory-addiction/ Paranoia and Conspiracy Theories https://www.mentalhelp.net/blogs/paranoia-and-conspiracy-theories/ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/may/02/why-we-are-addicted-to-conspiracy-theories https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/28/health/psychology-conspiracy-theories.html What Is the Importance of Reading Comprehension After School? https://greatspeech.com/what-is-the-importance-of-reading-comprehension-after-school/ The Reading Brain: How Your Brain Helps You Read, and Why it Matters BY MARTHA BURNS, PHD Reading can be your superpower. If you’re reading this, you’re probably an accomplished reader. In fact, you’ve most likely forgotten by now how much work it took you to learn to read in the first place. And you probably never think about what is happening in your brain when you’re reading that email from your boss or this month’s book club selection. And yet, there’s nothing that plays a greater role in learning to read than a reading-ready brain. As complex a task as reading is, thanks to developments in neuroscience and technology we are now able to target key learning centers in the brain and identify the areas and neural pathways the brain employs for reading. We not only understand why strong readers read well and struggling readers struggle, but we are also able to assist every kind of reader on the journey from early language acquisition to reading and comprehension—a journey that happens in the brain. We begin to develop the language skills required for reading right from the first gurgles we make as babies. The sounds we encounter in our immediate environment as infants set language acquisition skills in motion, readying the brain for the structure of language-based communication, including reading. Every time a baby hears speech, the brain is learning the rules of language that generalize, later, to reading. Even a simple nursery rhyme can help a baby's brain begin to make sound differentiations and create phonemic awareness, an essential building block for reading readiness. By the time a child is ready to read effectively, the brain has done a lot of work coordinating sounds to language, and is fully prepared to coordinate language to reading, and reading to comprehension. The reading brain can be likened to the real-time collaborative effort of a symphony orchestra, with various parts of the brain working together, like sections of instruments, to maximize our ability to decode the written text in front of us: The temporal lobe is responsible for phonological awareness and decoding/discriminating sounds. The frontal lobe handles speech production, reading fluency, grammatical usage, and comprehension, making it possible to understand simple and complex grammar in our native language. The angular and supramarginal gyrus serve as a "reading integrator" a conductor of sorts, linking the different parts of the brain together to execute the action of reading. These areas of the brain connect the letters c, a, and t to the word cat that we can then read aloud. Emerging readers can build strong reading skills through focused, repetitive practice, preferably with exercises like those provided by the Fast ForWord program. Independent research conducted at Stanford and Harvard demonstrated that Fast ForWord creates physical changes in the brain as it builds new connections and strengthens the neural pathways, specifically in the areas of reading. After just eight weeks of use, weak readers developed the brain activity patterns that resemble those of strong readers. And, as brain patterns changed, significant improvements for word reading, decoding, reading comprehension and language functions were also observed. It’s never too early to set a child on the pathway to becoming a strong reader. And it’s never too late to help a struggling reader strengthen his or her brain to read more successfully and with greater enjoyment. It’s all about the brain. Have you hugged your brain today? https://www.scilearn.com/the-reading-brain/ What Research Tells Us About Reading, Comprehension, and Comprehension Instruction The purpose of reading is comprehension — getting meaning from written text. Find out what else research tells us about the active process of constructing meaning, and how good readers consciously employing comprehension strategies. Without comprehension, reading is a frustrating, pointless exercise in word calling. It is no exaggeration to say that how well students develop the ability to comprehend what they read has a profound effect on their entire lives.1 A major goal of reading comprehension instruction, therefore, is to help students develop the knowledge, skills, and experiences they must have if they are to become competent and enthusiastic readers. Cognitive science: Over the past few decades, research has revealed a great deal of information about how readers get meaning from what they read and about the kinds of instructional activities and procedures that are most successful in helping students to become good readers. For many years, reading instruction was based on a concept of reading as the application of a set of isolated skills such as identifying words, finding main ideas, identifying cause and effect relationships, comparing and contrasting and sequencing. Comprehension was viewed as the mastery of these skills. One important classroom study conducted during the 1970s found that typical comprehension instruction followed what the study called a mentioning, practicing, and assessing procedure. That is, teachers mentioned a specific skill that students were to apply, had students practice the skill by completing workbook pages, then assessed them to find out if they could use the skill correctly.2 Such instruction did little to help students learn how or when to use the skills, nor was it ever established that this particular set of skills enabled comprehension. At about this time, a group of psychologists, linguists, and computer scientists began to focus research attention on how the mind works — how people think and learn. A goal of this new research movement, called cognitive science, was to produce an applied science of learning. In the field of reading, a number of cognitive scientists focused their attention on how readers construct meaning as they read. Specifically, they studied the mental activities that good readers engage in to achieve comprehension. From these studies an entirely new concept emerged about what reading is. According to the new concept, reading is a complex, active process of constructing meaning — not skill application. The act of constructing meaning is: Interactive — it involves not just the reader but also the text and the context in which reading takes place Strategic — readers have purposes for their reading and use a variety of strategies and skills as they construct meaning Adaptable — readers change the strategies they use as they read different kinds of text or as they read for different purposes While cognitive science research was producing valuable information about comprehension processes, reading education researchers were reporting important findings about what comprehension instruction looks like in the most effective reading classrooms. The convergence of these strands of research has provided a wealth of information about what good readers do as they read, about how good and poor readers differ, and about the kind of instruction that is needed to help students to become good readers. https://www.readingrockets.org/article/what-research-tells-us-about-reading-comprehension-and-comprehension-instruction The Simple View of Reading By: Linda Farrell, Michael Hunter, Marcia Davidson, Tina Osenga Teacher assessing student's reading skills The Simple View of Reading is a formula demonstrating the widely accepted view that reading has two basic components: word recognition (decoding) and language comprehension. Research studies show that a student’s reading comprehension score can be predicted if decoding skills and language comprehension abilities are known. https://www.readingrockets.org/article/simple-view-reading 10 Reasons Why People Who Read A Lot Are More Likely To Be Successful https://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/10-reasons-people-read-lot-likely-successful.html How Do Kids Learn to Read? What the Science Says https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/how-do-kids-learn-to-read-what-the-science-says/2019/10 How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School: Expanded Edition First released in the Spring of 1999, How People Learn has been expanded to show how the theories and insights from the original book can translate into actions and practice, now making a real connection between classroom activities and learning behavior. This edition includes far-reaching suggestions for research that could increase the impact that classroom teaching has on actual learning. Like the original edition, this book offers exciting new research about the mind and the brain that provides answers to a number of compelling questions. When do infants begin to learn? How do experts learn and how is this different from non-experts? What can teachers and schools do-with curricula, classroom settings, and teaching methods—to help children learn most effectively? New evidence from many branches of science has significantly added to our understanding of what it means to know, from the neural processes that occur during learning to the influence of culture on what people see and absorb. How People Learn examines these findings and their implications for what we teach, how we teach it, and how we assess what our children learn. The book uses exemplary teaching to illustrate how approaches based on what we now know result in in-depth learning. This new knowledge calls into question concepts and practices firmly entrenched in our current education system. Topics include: How learning actually changes the physical structure of the brain. How existing knowledge affects what people notice and how they learn. What the thought processes of experts tell us about how to teach. The amazing learning potential of infants. The relationship of classroom learning and everyday settings of community and workplace. Learning needs and opportunities for teachers. A realistic look at the role of technology in education. Download Free PDF here: https://www.nap.edu/download/9853 https://www.nap.edu/read/9853/chapter/6 The Neurobiology of Imagination: Possible Role of Interaction-Dominant Dynamics and Default Mode Network. This work aims at presenting some hypotheses about the potential neurobiological substrate of imagery and imagination. For the present purposes, we will define imagery as the production of mental images associated with previous percepts, and imagination as the faculty of forming mental images of a novel character relating to something that has never been actually experienced by the subject but at a great extent emerges from his inner world. The two processes appear intimately related and imagery can arguably be considered as one of the main components of imagination. In this proposal, we argue that exaptation and redeployment, two basic concepts capturing important aspects of the evolution of biological structures and functions (Anderson, 2007), could also be useful in explaining imagery and imagination. As far as imagery is concerned it is proposed that neural structures originally implicated in performing certain functions, e.g., motor actions, can be reused for the imagery of the virtual execution of that function. As far as imagination is concerned we speculate that it can be the result of a “tinkering” that combines and modifies stored perceptual information and concepts leading to the creation of novel “mental objects” that are shaped by the subject peculiar inner world. Hence it is related to his self-awareness. The neurobiological substrate of the tinkering process could be found in a hierarchical model of the brain characterized by a multiplicity of functional modules (FMs) that can be assembled according to different spatial and temporal scales. Thus, it is surmised that a possible mechanism for the emergence of imagination could be represented by modulatory mechanisms controlling the perviousness of “modifiers” along the communication channels within and between FMs leading to their dynamically reassembling into novel configurations. Keywords: imagination, imagery neural systems, functional module, volume transmission, wiring transmission, modifiers, astrocyte networks, exaptation/mis-exaptation Introduction: General premises The main topic of the present paper concerns the possible neurobiological substrate of imagery and imagination. Imagery and imagination are commonly conflated concepts and indeed the term imagination is often used to name the general faculty of image production (Thomas, 1999). Despite the two terms sharing obviously many semantic features, imagination usually indicates the faculty of creating mental images and constructs of a novel character, a capability that appears to be especially developed in humans. In this view, the more basic faculty of producing mental images of previously experienced material, i.e., imagery, provides elements necessary for imagination and is arguably present also in other species together with a primitive form of imagination, namely a rudimentary form of prospection, i.e., the faculty of creating a mental picture of a future or anticipated event. For the present purposes, we will adopt the following provisional definition of the two terms, based on a standard language reference (Webster’s Dictionary, second edition, Prentice Hall Press, NY, 1972) and the extant scientific literature: - Imagery: the production of explicit and implicit mental pictures or images. Implicit mental imagery occurs when perceptual information is accessed from memory (Kosslyn et al., 2001), giving rise to the experience of “seeing with the mind’s eye,” “hearing with the mind’s ear,” and so on. By contrast, perception (explicit mental image) occurs as a result of a form of energy impacting directly on the sensory surfaces of the organism, generally via a constructive process (see e.g., Thomas, 1999)1 - Imagination: the act or power of forming mental images of what is not actually present or has never been actually directly experienced. Notably, imagination not only has the potential to enrich the meaning of an experience and deepen understanding, by multiplying and expanding the perspectives from which a phenomenon can be considered, but it also allows anticipating the outcome of an action without actually performing it via a “simulation” process. At its peak, imagination is the very mental faculty underlying visionary and creative thought. The distinctive feature of imagination, therefore, rests on its capacity of creating new mental images by combining and modifying stored perceptual information in novel ways and by inserting this information in a subjective view of the world: hence it is related to his self-awareness. In other words, imagination is not simply the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the environment but rather a constructive process that builds on a repertoire of images, concepts, and autobiographical memories and leads to the creation (and continuous update) of a personal view of the world, which in turn provides the basis for interpreting future information. Summing up it could be proposed that imagination represents the ability by the human subjects of creating novel “mental objects” that are shaped by their own peculiar inner world2. Given the above general considerations, we would like now to turn more specifically to neurobiology with the following distinction: Article continues: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3662866/ IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, MARVEL COMICS' STAN LEE PROBABLY TRICKED MORE CHILDREN INTO LEARNING TO READ THAN ANYONE ELSE EVER HAS..