Organizers told CNN that about 600 others went too. This week, the businessman attended the third annual Flat Earth International Conference, held at an Embassy Suites hotel in suburban Dallas, Texas. Weiss’ preferred community is those who share his life-altering belief. “It’s just not something I resonate with.” “I have no problem with anybody that wants to believe we live on a ball. Now, Weiss finds it tedious to associate with the majority of people – though he “unfortunately” still has some friends who believe in a round Earth. “It literally whips the rug out from underneath you.” “I absolutely freaked out,” Weiss tells CNN in a phone interview. Ever since he tried and failed to find proof of the Earth’s curve four years ago, he’s believed with an evident passion that our planet is both flat and stationary – and it’s turned his world upside down. “Would you wake up in the morning and want everyone to think you’re an idiot?”īut Weiss is a flat Earther. The flat-earth theory, however, claims that this is a literal undistorted map of Earth.“I don’t want to be a flat Earther,” David Weiss says, his voice weary as he reflects on his personal awakening.

Like any 2-D map of a globe, everything has to be distorted to fit on a plane. This is actually a real map of the globe Earth using a view called 'Azimuthal equidistant projection'.

The most common map of the flat Earth is shown below. Although not all flat-earthers are religious, it is extremely common. The flat-earth theory is basically a very literal interpretation of the Book of Genesis. Modern flat-earth theory is heavily intertwined with religion, most commonly biblical creationism. It consists only of the Earth and whatever is immediately around it anything beyond that is part of the heavens or other supernatural realm. The flat Earth version of the Universe is much smaller and simpler.

They don't just believe the Earth is flat, they believe the Universe as explained by scientists doesn't even exist. Importantly, almost all flat-earthers reject the entire idea of outer space as we know it.

Why do flat earthers exist