During a conversation on a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, Canadian screenwriter and director Roger Avary made several provocative statements about the nature of Earth.
Avary approached the subject carefully, stating: “The biggest con spiracy theory that freaks everybody out is flat earth. Now I don’t know what the earth is, but experientially through the testimony of the eyes, it is flat. And there is very little chance that I will ever in my life or most of us will ever in our life experience anything other than what is effectively a flat earth.”
He elaborated on aviation and navigation, claiming: “Laser sighting across large bodies of water or navigation maps for air travel, you know, for pilots is always the presumption of a flat earth. It’s always in the pilot manuals and on maps.”
When pressed about corrections pilots must make for curvature, Avary responded: “If you’re flying a jet at low altitude, you’re not making corrections for curvature even though you’re going fast enough where you should be.”
Regarding space imagery, Avary expressed skepticism: “Those are all cartoons,” he said about satellite photographs of Earth.
When discussing footage from the International Space Station, he stated: “The International Space Station is actually not high enough to see curvature and what you’re seeing is lens distortion.”
Avary went further, questioning fundamental concepts of space itself: “I’m not even certain that space exists,” he said, adding that the moon might be “a plasma effect, a lenticular effect of some kind. So that it’s not a real thing.”
He defended his position by emphasizing personal experience: “My experience in the world, the testimony of your eyes, you will never experience a globular earth. You can’t. So all I’m saying is that through experience that the testimony of your eyes you will never experience a globular earth.”
He emphasized this was about lived experience versus accepted science: “It falls to faith. What does all of that really matter?”
When confronted with evidence of Earth’s curvature and the mechanics of gravity, Avary suggested alternative explanations.
Avary stated: “You can prove the exact same thing through density and buoyancy.” He referenced flat earth proponent Eric Dubay, saying, “He’s written a book called A Hundred Proofs. And in order to prove something, you also have to prove things wrong.”
