Delusion - Hijacked Minds - Hidden Motives - Shattered Realities - Mad Science – The Flat Earth and Fringe Beliefs

"Mad Mike" Hughes died in February 2020 when his homemade rocket crashed during an attempt to prove Earth is flat. His death became a rallying cry for the modern Flat Earth movement, which emerged through YouTube algorithms and online echo chambers. The episode examines how intelligent people reject overwhelming evidence—ships disappearing hull-first, lunar eclipses, satellite observations—because the belief fulfills psychological needs: distrust of authority, special knowledge, community belonging. Cognitive biases like confirmation bias and identity protective cognition make the delusion immune to facts. Flat Earth isn't about Earth's shape—it's about finding meaning, purpose, and identity through collective belief that survives despite reality.
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This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI