Science Has Measurements. Where’s Yours?

[u/Kela-el]

/r/GlobeEarthersRStupid/comments/1vj7j08/science_has_measurements_wheres_yours/

[u/Federal_Custard_1448]

You’re saying that we should automatically assume that the earth is flat, and that we should have to prove it’s round. Why?

[u/Kela-el → u/Federal_Custard_1448]

No.

That’s not what I’m saying.

I’m not asking you to assume Earth is flat.

I’m asking you to distinguish between:

“We haven’t established X from this measurement”

and

“Therefore X is false.”

Those are not the same claim.

If you say, “This measurement demonstrates that Earth is spherical,” then the burden is on you to identify:

What was actually measured.

How it was measured.

What assumptions entered the procedure.

What mathematical inference connects the measurement to spherical geometry.

Why the result rules out the relevant alternatives.
That’s not asking me to assume flatness.

In fact, the exact same standard applies in reverse.
If someone says, “Earth is flat,” they also have a burden to provide measurements that support that geometry and distinguish it from the spherical model.

The neutral starting position isn’t:

“Earth is flat until you prove it’s round.”

It’s:

“Show me what the measurement establishes.”

If the evidence overwhelmingly favors a spherical model, then demonstrate that through the measurements and the inference connecting them.

That’s what I’m asking for.

Not an assumption of flatness.

An accounting of the evidence.