Note 20 — Chapter III · IDENTITY

The argument about the hull of a ship disappearing first is not convincing, since it would equally well prove that the surface of the earth was, for example, corrugated on a large scale. If the common-sense of the reader were supposed to dismiss the possibility of water clinging to such corrugations, it might equally be supposed to dismiss the possibility of water clinging to a spherical earth. Traditional geography books, no doubt, gave rise to the opinions held by Lady Blount and the Zetetic Society.