A NOVEL ESTIMATOR OF EARTH'S CURVATURE (ALLOWING FOR INFERENCE AS WELL)
成果类型：
Article
署名作者：
Bell, David R.; Ledoit, Oliver; Wolf, Michael
署名单位：
University of Zurich
刊物名称：
ANNALS OF APPLIED STATISTICS
ISSN/ISSBN：
1932-6157
DOI：
10.1214/23-AOAS1802
发表日期：
2024
页码：
585-599
关键词：
摘要：
This paper estimates the curvature of the Earth, defined as one over its radius, without relying on physical measurements. The orthodox model states that the Earth is (nearly) spherical with a curvature of pi /20,000 km. By contrast, the heterodox flat-Earth model stipulates a curvature of zero. Abstracting from the well-worn arguments for and against both models, rebuttals and counter-rebuttals ad infinitum, we propose a novel statistical methodology based on verifiable flight times along regularly scheduled commercial airline routes; this methodology allows for both estimating and making inference for Earth's curvature. In particular, a formal hypothesis test resolutely rejects the flat-Earth model, whereas it does not reject the orthodox spherical-Earth model.
来源URL：