It's the ultimate in goal post moving as well which is why I refuse to engage in the discussion anymore. Try asking them why objects in space that you can observe through a home-built telescope are round and watch the mental gymnastics as they try to either use some "fish-eye lens" nonsense or try to explain why God would make the Earth flat but the things orbiting it round.
It is sometimes asked that if the visible celestial bodies are spheres, why isn't the Earth a sphere? The logic that the Earth must be a sphere because the celestial bodies that we see are spheres is only one possible interpretation. It could also be logical that all bodies need a plane of existence to exist upon or over, like all other bodies of human experience. Pebbles in a stream have a stream bed. Basketballs have a basketball court. The game Water Polo consists of a court with a flat bottom and balls which float on a medium. It does not follow because those objects are round, that the courts must also be round.
It's true that we can't necessarily say that the earth must be round because all other celestial bodies are round.
But we do ask why WOULDN'T the Earth be round if all other celestial bodies are round?
A sphere happens in nature so much because it's the shape that naturally forms when atoms congregate around a point (in this case, the gravitic core). Atoms are attracted and get as close as they can, "falling" toward the center. If there's a place that's closer that they can go, that's where they go. Eventually, all empty space around the center is filled up, forming the sphere.
It's why most of our cells tend to form spheres as well. The most energy-efficient system of transporting materials and nutrients will be in a sphere. This also accounts for why cells generally can't get too big: it becomes impossible for the organelles to effectively keep up, since expanding the surface area of a sphere disproportionately and dramatically increases its volume.
So if all observable free matter in the universe observably forms spheres, then it's a reasonable assumption to make that Earth would be no different. It's true that it isn't a flawless assumption, but it's a fair generalization that requires justification to reject.
If Earth isn't forming a sphere like literally all other matter we can see and when recreating similar testable conditions, then what's different about Earth that makes it worthy of exemption?
It's the ultimate in goal post moving as well which is why I refuse to engage in the discussion anymore. Try asking them why objects in space that you can observe through a home-built telescope are round and watch the mental gymnastics as they try to either use some "fish-eye lens" nonsense or try to explain why God would make the Earth flat but the things orbiting it round.
https://wiki.tfes.org/The_Cosmos -
It's true that we can't necessarily say that the earth must be round because all other celestial bodies are round.
But we do ask why WOULDN'T the Earth be round if all other celestial bodies are round?
A sphere happens in nature so much because it's the shape that naturally forms when atoms congregate around a point (in this case, the gravitic core). Atoms are attracted and get as close as they can, "falling" toward the center. If there's a place that's closer that they can go, that's where they go. Eventually, all empty space around the center is filled up, forming the sphere.
It's why most of our cells tend to form spheres as well. The most energy-efficient system of transporting materials and nutrients will be in a sphere. This also accounts for why cells generally can't get too big: it becomes impossible for the organelles to effectively keep up, since expanding the surface area of a sphere disproportionately and dramatically increases its volume.
So if all observable free matter in the universe observably forms spheres, then it's a reasonable assumption to make that Earth would be no different. It's true that it isn't a flawless assumption, but it's a fair generalization that requires justification to reject.
If Earth isn't forming a sphere like literally all other matter we can see and when recreating similar testable conditions, then what's different about Earth that makes it worthy of exemption?