Cranks and the Internet

[Lionel Mandrake]

Cranks are people with bizarre ideas unsupported by evidence. Some of them proclaim that "Einstein was wrong!" Others are busy raising funds to counteract gravity or travel faster than light. I could go on, but you get the idea.

The internet makes it possible for cranks (and others) to find each other and get organized more easily than ever before. Consider, for example, the Flat Earth Society. According to Wikipedia, in the 1970s and 1980s (before the Internet), they published the Flat Earth News, with headlines like the following:

"Whole World Deceived... Except the Very Elect" (Dec. 1977)
"Australia Not Down Under" (May 1978)
"Sun Is a Light 32 Miles Across" (Dec. 1978)
"The Earth Has No Motion" (Jun. 1979)
"Nikita Krushchev Father of NASA" (Mar. 1980)
"Galileo Was a Liar" (Dec. 1980)
"Science Insults Your Intelligence" (Sep. 1980)
"World IS Flat, and That's That" (Sep. 1980)
"The Earth Is Not a Ball; Gravity Does Not Exist" (Mar. 1981)
Membership in the Flat Earth Society fell from an earlier peak of 3500 to around 200 in 1980.

In 2004, Daniel Shenton resurrected the Flat Earth Society, basing it around a web-based discussion forum. This eventually led to the official relaunch of the society in October 2009, and the creation of a new website, featuring the world's largest public collection of Flat Earth literature and a user-edited encyclopedia. Moreover, the society began accepting new members for the first time since 2001, with musician Thomas Dolby becoming the first member to join the newly reconvened society. As of July 2014, over 500 people have become members.

Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Earth_Society

You can also check out the Flat Earth Society's own website:
http://www.tfes.org

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. These people are idiots, and the internet allows them to find others like them!

I find it fascinating that such people and their crazy ideas continue to exist in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

[Lionel Mandrake]

2. I wonder about Thomas Dolby.

He may have joined the Flat Earth Society with tongue firmly embedded in cheek.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. We can only hope!