AOF Activities & Events

Fran Evanisko, professional geographer, bon vivant and current AOF president, will regale us about modern Flat Earthism and its fervent adherents, who have made a remarkable revival in recent years, and are eager to convince us of their stand.

Will he debunk them? Nah, because why bother? We are all on the same page there. Rather Fran will take us on a flat-earth magical history tour, explain the Dark Ages flat-Earth notion, and show us how modern flat-Earthers are sunk deeply in that same rut.

For example, a world-map repeatedly cited by flat-Earthers shows a disk-shaped Earth centered on the North Pole, with the edge surrounded by a 200-foot-high wall of ice. Supposedly this explains why no one has ever fallen off the edge or even seen it. That wall. That huge wall of ice.

But this particular flat-earth map has a very round-earth source. Fran will show where flat-Earthers got it, and how anyone who generates that image of the flat Earth already knows in his heart that the Earth is spherical.

In fact, Fran will use conventional transformation software to reproduce images for us as we watch.

Inspired by old religion and modern fringe economics, flat-Earthers hang onto the old explanations as if their lives depend on it. Who knows? Maybe their lives do depend on keeping the old explanations alive ... or do they have other, secret motives to keep certain people in the dark?  (Cue dramatic music.)

Geodesy [jee-ODD-uh-see] is a branch of math used to determine the exact position of geographical points, as well as Earth’s shape and size. Fran will illustrate how rational human beings have known the Earth to be spherical since around 300 BCE. Eratosthenes, that wise old Greek, estimated the circumference of Earth to within 15% of its actual size about 2,250 years ago.

Besides ...