>chinks thought the earth was flat until the 17th century

Reminder there are people in this day and age who unironically think the Earth's flat

>>3351207
As noted in the book Huainanzi,[63] in the 2nd century BC Chinese astronomers effectively inverted Eratosthenes' calculation of the curvature of the Earth to calculate the height of the sun above the earth. By assuming the earth was flat, they arrived at a distance of 100,000 li (approximately 200,000 km). The Zhoubi Suanjing also discusses how to determine the distance of the Sun by measuring the length of noontime shadows at different latitudes, a method similar to Eratosthenes' measurement of the circumference of the Earth, but the Zhoubi Suanjing assumes that the Earth is flat.[64]

>>3351215
because it is dummy

There are still some Americans who don't believe in evolution or deny climate change.

I guess us Europeans are the only smart people on this planet. Kinda sad if you think about it.

>>3351244
>only smart people
>think that 70 iq subsaharans will "integrate" in a post industrial complex economy.
Lol.

You don't really need to know what the universe actually looks like to calculate the route of heavenly bodies. Before Kepler europeans astronomers believed all planets and the sun are circeling earth. But yet they were able to calculate the route they are taking with great precision. They just assumed they are taking more elegant routes, with a lot of pirouettes and loops, instead of the boring epileptic route they are actually taking. In fact, their methods were much more precise than Kepler's which is why a lot of people thought Kepler is taking bull. It took several centuries before europeans were able to match the precision of the old world view.