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THE EARTH IS FLAT

Some things in life are self-evident. The grass is green, the sky is blue, the sea is wet and the earth is globe-shaped.

Or is it?

According to an American gentleman known as ‘Mad’ Mike Hughes, the earth is flatter than a pancake.

And Mad Mike is not alone in his outlandish belief. Since the 1800s, a group called The Flat-Earth Society has denied the earth is globe-shaped. Today, thousands of people still believe in the flat-earth theory.

Most of us do not need to be well-versed in physics or geography to accept the world is round like a ball. We know you cannot jump, skip or hop off the edge of the world because no such place exists.

Flat-earthers beg to differ. They claim there is an ice wall preventing us from reaching the end of the earth. They’ve described ‘round-earth theory’ as ‘Satan’s greatest trick.’ Hundreds of them gather at conferences to celebrate living on a flat plain. They say they’ve always had a ‘gutfeeling’ that the earth is flat. To them, it’s common sense.

They believe the idea we’re spinning through the universe on a ball is plain dumb.

Mad Mike is preparing to prove the earth is flat by launching himself into space on a homemade rocket. The 61-year-old plans to travel ten miles high and return with a picture. He has spent three years and $20,000 preparing for his big adventure. In his homemade rocket, he plans to zoom 500 mph through the skies above the Mojave

Desert.

Mad Mike believes that NASA is lying to us all. He

explained, “I don’t believe in science. I’ll shut the door on the ball earth.” He added, “It’s scary as hell, but none of us are getting out of this world alive. I like to do

extraordinary things that no one else can do.”

Outlandish and tailor-made theories can offer security and comfort in a chaotic and complex world. Such

theories seek to make sense of the madness. The flat earth theory is different. It offers no such benefits. It lifts the lid on a new kind of crazy.

Elon Musk recently tweeted, “Why is there no Flat Mars Society?” The Flat Earth Society replied, “Hi Elon, thanks for the question. Unlike the Earth, Mars has been

observed to be round.”

Who can argue with such twisted logic? More

importantly, should anyone bother? Mad Mike is

convinced that believers in a round earth are the ones who have lost their minds.

One reason that trying to change the mind of someone like Mad Mike seldom works out is something called the backfire effect. When trying to persuade someone that his or her view of reality is wrong, we often think the other person just needs to be educated. If we can just get out the facts, we can make the other person understand they are wrong. But according to the backfire effect, beliefs that are part of our identity don’t change so easily. Instead of changing minds, facts tend to cause us to dig our heels in and double down on the original belief. The more you prove them wrong, the more they think they are right.

For example, a scientific study used an MRI to scan people’s brains while they were being presented with facts that contradicted their core political beliefs. They found that the same part of the brain that processes physical threats was activated. It’s no wonder people are so resistant to contradictory facts. Our brains are not only trying to protect our bodies from danger, but our egos as well. According to one of the MRI researchers, “The response in the brain that we see is very similar to what would happen if, say, you were walking through the forest and came across a bear.”

Switching tracks from the lab to the forest, animal biologist Lynn Rogers believes we have nothing to fear from bears. And he’s not alone. His controversial views have divided the small rural community of Eagle’s Nest Township.

Rogers says that bears are misunderstood gentle

creatures. Some of the town have fallen under his spell and formed very close bonds with their wild animal

neighbors. They sleep next to them, go for walks with them and even feed them food out of their hands.

Rogers even feeds them with “bear kisses.” A bear kiss is where he holds a nut in his mouth and allows the bear to take it from him, mouth to mouth. Rogers regularly holds 3-day workshops where he teaches people how to

commune with bears.

Eagle’s Nest resident, Jeff Kelly is also a believer. He says he used to be a man ruled by fear. He feared flying, he feared singing in public, he feared rejection and failure.

His fears had stopped him from living life fully until one day his health led him to make a change. Before coming to Eagle’s Nest, he worked at a book factory that produced 8,000 books an hour. One day he awoke with a pain in his chest that he couldn’t explain. The doctors said he just needed to relax. He thought that the beautiful lakes and forests of rural Eagle’s Nest would be just the thing for him. So Kelly picked up and moved his wife and father-inlaw without a plan or a job. He soon found work as a maintenance man at Rogers’ research cabin. Surrounded by wild bears, Kelly was at first terrified. He brought his father-in-law to work and had him watch him from his truck just in case he was attacked. Rogers eventually took Kelly under his wing, teaching him all about bears.

Before long Kelly’s fear melted away and he began leaving food out in his own yard inviting wild bears onto his property. One day a bear nicknamed Solo, because she had lost an ear in a fight, appeared in his yard. Over time, Kelly gained Solo’s trust and she would come to visit him regularly. One day she even brought her cubs with her. Over time Solo got so comfortable that Kelly would lie his head on her back as she ate and the cubs would crawl all over him. Kelly says, “There’s a big weight that just falls off my shoulders.” His relationship with Solo showed him that his previous fear of bears and so many of his fears in life weren’t real.

Kelly’s relationship with Solo grew closer over time. She would come to sleep outside his open window with only a screen between them. In the winters when she would hibernate, Kelly would regularly walk over a frozen lake to visit her. He would sit outside her cave and talk to her while she slept.

Not everyone was so enamored with Rogers and his bear loving ways. Some in Eagle’s Nest thought it was crazy. The town was clearly divided and fought in town meetings. Each believed that their view of reality was obviously correct.

In 2007, a state wildlife agency was called over fears that Solo was a danger. They decided to kill Solo and the bear lovers put up a stink. The governor finally addressed the situation on the radio saying that Solo would not be killed, but she would be relocated. When some local pro-bear people got wind of the move, they decided they wouldn’t put up with it. They got to Solo’s cave ahead of the state wildlife agency and used pepper spray to drive the mother bear and her cubs from the cave. The confused bears awoke from their hibernation and were pushed into the forest by the pro-bear people, who wanted to lead them to safety. The only partially conscious bears climbed a tree. Sadly, Solo fell 20 feet onto rocks and didn’t survive.

Today, the people of Eagle’s nest still hold very different views of reality and they both believe the evidence is on their side. Rogers says that intolerance and fear killed a gentle bear and he will not let up on his work. He still feeds bears and so do a dozen other families in town. Kelly on the other hand, will not speak of Solo.

He says it’s too sad. He still believes that bears are safe, but he’s backing off in respect for his neighbors.

He says, “When I believe something that’s not true and I’m afraid, that fear is still real… so I need to respect the fear that they have, even though I disagree… I think that’s love.”