By Terry Tang
In ancient Greece, India, China and many other early civilizations believed that Earth was flat due to the wide belief that the world seemed endless, but flat. Reputable poets like Homer accepted this theory. They all believed at the end there was a cliff that would just lead to an endless eternity.
It wasn’t until the 6th century when the belief that the Earth was flat was gradually debunked, but somehow the theory the Earth was flat came back in 1970s and 80s due the an influx of Flat Earth Society groups.
Flat Earth Society President Samuel Shenton was a flat Earth believer and had a group of followers which eventually was called the Flat Earth Society in the 1950s.
The Flat Earth Society is a group which are dedicated to believing that the earth is flat and there are several groups that date back to the 20th century. Their beliefs are often fueled by the bible, the idea of space travel is a conspiracy theory, and that we actually never reached the moon at all.
Charles Kenneth Johnson took over as president of the Flat Earth Society when Samuel died and managed to bring the Flat Earth Society up to 3,000 members. His wife Majory was also a Flat Earth believer.
“Johnson’s wife Marjory believed that the Earth must be flat, because otherwise she would have spent her childhood in her native Australia hanging upside-down by her toes,” according to Smithsonian.com.
Piedmont Hills students have different beliefs compared to the Flat Earth Society.
“(Space Travel) seems plausible. I think anything is possible in the future, even time traveling. I just do not believe the same as they do. Until proven wrong by science, I will stay in the old theory that the Earth is round,” said senior Thienkim Luu.
What do you think? Is the Earth flat or round?