More flat earth nonsense - mountains as tree stumps

[Strathos]

This is one of these things that you kind of wish was true since it would be so freaking cool, yet it's obviously not. Still kind of funny.

There are probably some people on this forum willing to defend this idea, though...

 

[Ophiolite]

They are barking up the wrong tree. We have to root out this nonsense and not bough to such unscientific thinking. I'll leaf it there for the moment.

 

[AV1611VET]

Someone's been listening to Däniken too long.

 

[Oldmantook]

I've seen that video before and it's bizarre. However to discount the flat earth based upon that one video is equally bizarre as there are much better reasons to believe in a flat earth.

 

[majj27]

"First, let's assume Devil's Tower is a massive tree stump."

I'm going to have to stop this guy right there, because this isn't a sensible idea. This is something stolen straight out of Tolkien.

 

[pat34lee]

There are probably some people on this forum willing to defend this idea, though...

Maybe not defend it, but at least no dismiss it out of hand.
Why would you say it is impossible for them to be trees?
Or could they be man-made?

 

[Shemjaza]

This is one of these things that you kind of wish was true since it would be so freaking cool, yet it's obviously not. Still kind of funny.

There are probably some people on this forum willing to defend this idea, though...

I've seen a few of this guys videos, they're entertainingly put together.

He doesn't seen to have any discernment at all, every weird conspiracy theory is given total credulity even if it it completely incompatible with other beliefs he has promoted on video.

 

[Shemjaza]

I've seen that video before and it's bizarre. However to discount the flat earth based upon that one video is equally bizarre as there are much better reasons to believe in a flat earth.

I'll agree, that the usual "It looks flat to me" and "I can't feel it spinning" are better reasons to believe in a flat Earth then "what if mountains are really big tree stumps", but I still don't think they are any "good" reasons to believe in a flat Earth.

 

[Strathos]

Maybe not defend it, but at least no dismiss it out of hand.
Why would you say it is impossible for them to be trees?

1. Trees can't grow that high due to the limits of their water transport systems and gravity. There is no material on earth strong enough to keep them from collapsing under their own weight.
2. Geologists have studied these formations and know for a fact that they are not petrified wood. They also understand the processes that form them.
3. There are no fossilized root systems under these formations, and neither have any trunks, branches, leaves, or any other parts of these supposed megatrees ever been discovered.
4. If one accepts the idea, as presented in these videos, that the trees were cut down by giants, it fails to explain the lack of skeletal remains, tools, or anything else indicating the existence of such creatures.

And that's just for starters.

 

[mmksparbud]

I've been to Devil's Tower---how anyone can think it is a tree stump is beyond me. A tree that size would have had to have a pretty enormous root system---of which there are none. And post #9 has already mentioned that and the fact there are absolutely no remains of any leaves or other branches around. Standing in the midst of this thing, the last thing I thought of was a tree stump. I guess I have no imagination.


Tree Bark

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• Devils tower: The above photo is the only one that even comes close
  
  

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[Oldmantook]

I'll agree, that the usual "It looks flat to me" and "I can't feel it spinning" are better reasons to believe in a flat Earth then "what if mountains are really big tree stumps", but I still don't think they are any "good" reasons to believe in a flat Earth.

Here's an easy one. Most likely when you were growing up you were told and even by observation - that boats/ships disappear over the horizon because of the curvature of the earth. Yet, if you had a telescope or even a camera with a high power zoom you would be able to still see the ship. The ship had not "disappeared" over the horizon because the earth is flat.
I don't know any airline pilots but if you do, ask him/her if pilots adjust for curvature of the earth when flying over the oceans. Oceans are flat and level but according to the globe earth model, they must follow the curvature of the earth. Therefore in order to maintain a steady altitude say at 30,000 feet a pilot would have to consistently be pushing on the yoke in order to just maintain that altitude.
Even if you don't know any pilots, just ask yourself you can feel the upward tilt of the plane upon takeoff and you can feel the plane level off when it reaches its cruising altitude. After cruising altitude is reached the only time you can feel the nose of the plane tilt downward is when the pilot begins to make descending movements as the plane nears its destination.

 

[Ophiolite]

This is something stolen straight out of Tolkien.

So you think it's some form of Entertainment?

 

[Ophiolite]

Maybe not defend it, but at least no dismiss it out of hand.
Why would you say it is impossible for them to be trees?
Or could they be man-made?

Look at the hexagonal jointing in the pictures provided by mmksparbud: classic structural cooling effect found in basic igneous rocks shallow depth. (Google Giant's Causeway to find another well known example.)

Look at the composition of the feature:
"The Devils Tower phonolite is coarsely porphyritic with a gray to olive gray aphanitic groundmass. Phenocrysts consist of anothoclase, aegerine-augite, and sphene in a trachytic groundmass of albite, microcline, analcime, aegerine, nepheline and nosean."*
That fits neatly into the composition of known igneous rocks, but has no relationship to the character of any petrified wood.

*Centennial Field Guide Volume 2: Rocky Mountain Section of the Geological Society of America 1986 p162

 

[juvenissun]

Maybe not defend it, but at least no dismiss it out of hand.
Why would you say it is impossible for them to be trees?
Or could they be man-made?

Because they thought they know geology, as taught by newspapers.

If it is compared to a tree trump, then there would be tree branches and leaves. I see it is actually a pretty good scenario to what a volcano looks like.

 

[AV1611VET]

Maybe another aborted Tower of Babel?

 

[Shemjaza]

Here's an easy one. Most likely when you were growing up you were told and even by observation - that boats/ships disappear over the horizon because of the curvature of the earth. Yet, if you had a telescope or even a camera with a high power zoom you would be able to still see the ship. The ship had not "disappeared" over the horizon because the earth is flat.
I don't know any airline pilots but if you do, ask him/her if pilots adjust for curvature of the earth when flying over the oceans. Oceans are flat and level but according to the globe earth model, they must follow the curvature of the earth. Therefore in order to maintain a steady altitude say at 30,000 feet a pilot would have to consistently be pushing on the yoke in order to just maintain that altitude.
Even if you don't know any pilots, just ask yourself you can feel the upward tilt of the plane upon takeoff and you can feel the plane level off when it reaches its cruising altitude. After cruising altitude is reached the only time you can feel the nose of the plane tilt downward is when the pilot begins to make descending movements as the plane nears its destination.

The first point isn't true. With a clear enough day it is possible to see things dip over the horizon. If this were true, why can't you see the sun with a telescope at night?

The second point is a misunderstanding of how aircraft and gravity works. When a plane is travelling it isn't travelling in a perfect straight line, it is travelling perpendicular to the pull of gravity towards the centre of the Earth's gravity. This means you wouldn't need to adjust altitude because the plane will be pulled down.

I live in the southern hemisphere and have traveled on planes, I would have noticed if the distances between southern hemisphere locations were almost twice as far away from each other. Then there is also the fact that we see different stars in the southern vs norther hemisphere, yet consistent across all the south.

 

[Strathos]

Maybe another aborted Tower of Babel?

Well, it is called the "Devil's Tower"

 

[AV1611VET]

If this were true, why can't you see the sun with a telescope at night?

Because it went "underneath" the earth.

 

[Shemjaza]

Because it went "underneath" the earth.

But people on the other continents can still see it.

(I know you are kidding. No man as much of a fan of Pluto couldn't believe in round planets.)

 

[AV1611VET]

But people on the other continents can still see it.

Good point! I didn't think of that.

(I know you are kidding. No man as much of a fan of Pluto couldn't believe in round planets.)

I was just trying to answer from their perspective.