
He reasoned that if the moon were round, then the Earth must be round as well. However, to make things simpler, we’ll refer to it as a “sphere” or “spherical” throughout this article.) Over the moon: Early theories from Pythagoras and AristotleĪround 500 BCE, the Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras had an idea. Earth is actually an oblate spheroid or ellipsoid, meaning a sphere that’s ever-so-slightly flattened at the top due to its rotation.

Looking for at least one reason to prove this? We can do you one better - here are seven. Now, the question is: Is it possible that after all this time, Earth is actually flat? If you were to step into a large field, for instance, you’d know that you’re standing on a flat surface, and as you walk towards the end of the field, it doesn’t feel like you’re walking on a curved or rounded surface.

Waitasecond, how do we know that the earth is actually ball-shaped? If we were to believe our senses, it wouldn’t be surprising for us to think that it’s flat. If you can read this article, there’s a pretty decent chance that you’re reading it somewhere on Earth - that big, beautiful ball that we humans call home.
