Dear flat earthers,
You might not realise it, but I do genuinely want to help you. I grew up in an environment where you question everything and take no one’s word for it, so I understand the instinct. I am a glober, but I don’t think you’re stupid — I just think you’re wrong. But this isn’t about that.
I’ve noticed something in your messaging that could use a little clarification.
This is about the claim that the Earth is stationary.
What do you mean by that?
Work with me a moment…
The Illusion of Rest
Right now, as I write this, I feel completely still. I might even describe myself as stationary. But what I haven’t told you is that I’m writing this on a moving train.
Given this detail, am I stationary?
- Inside the train, yes.
- To someone on the ground, no.
Both statements are true because “stationary” is not an absolute property. It only makes sense relative to a chosen frame of reference.
This is the part that needs clarification. When you say “the Earth is stationary”, stationary in what frame of reference?
The Earth is certainly not stationary relative to this train, or the Sun, or the stars, or the cosmic background. But no one was claiming it was.
If you mean “the Earth is stationary relative to the Earth”, then that’s not a scientific claim — it’s just a tautology. True, but meaningless and unhelpful.
If you mean “the Earth is stationary relative to the universe”, then we’re getting somewhere — but we’ll need to talk about what you think the universe is. In the mainstream scientific model, there are no absolute positions to be stationary in.
If you want to make a meaningful physical statement, you have to specify the frame of reference. Otherwise, “stationary” on its own doesn’t tell us anything about the world.
And just to be clear, I’m not trying to score points here. I’m trying to help you make your claim in a way that actually says something testable. It bothers me when someone makes a false assertion about science and then tears it down for being “wrong”, and I don’t want to be guilty of the same.
If you can tell me what frame of reference you’re using when you call the Earth stationary, then we can talk about evidence, observations, and measurements. Without that, we’re just talking past each other — and I think we both want better than that.
Credits
📸 “Moving Out” by Matthew Hurst. (Creative Commons.)
📸 “Cat-36” by Lynn Chan. (Creative Commons.)