Keller @ Large: Has Idiot Culture Taken Full Control Of Us?

BOSTON (CBS) - I'm a little late getting to this, but one of my all-time favorite NBA players, Shaquille O'Neal, has joined a couple of current NBA stars in alleging – apparently with a straight face – that the world is flat, not round.

"The Earth is flat, yes it is," Shaq said in a recent interview. "I drive from Florida to California all the time, and it's flat to me. I do not go up and down at a 360-degree angle, and all that stuff about gravity…You mean to tell me that China is under us? It's not. The world is flat."

OK Shaq, but what about the past fifty years or so of photos from space proving that the world is round?

"Satellite imagery could be drawn and made up," observes Shaq, who is joined in this belief by another rocket scientist, Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors, who says: "I can make a round picture with my iPhone today on the panorama camera and make it look round."

There has been speculation that these guys are just pulling our legs, and I certainly hope that's true. Because if it isn't, it suggests that idiot culture has taken full control of us, and isn't letting go.

Idiot culture is a term I use for the concepts of totally ignoring science, documentation and other forms of objective evidence in favor of hare-brained theories that scratch some kind of itch.

Idiot culture makes up its own facts, shares them with others, and angrily rejects factual rebuttal.

Idiot culture is a way of life for some, and it appears that for some reason, they feel increasingly emboldened to promote their lifestyle to others.

Count me out. Shaq, I love ya, but I really need to hear you were kidding about this.

Otherwise, you're headed for the idiot culture hall of fame.

Listen to Jon's commentary: