So do I. I agree we should approach this issue with an open mind, and test it for ourselves. The key however is knowing how to test it robustly.
You do that by finding something that would clearly act one way if the earth is round & circling the sun (standard cosmology), and a completely different way if the earth were flat & covered by a dome. That is your hypothesis. Then, you carefully measure that thing for yourself to determine which way it behaves. That is your test.
I have approached this issue from that perspective, and personally tested this in two simple ways, using two observations that would behave very differently in either case:
- Angle of the horizon when viewed from a hill overlooking the sea.
- Movement of the stars in the Southern Hemisphere.
In both cases I have confirmed unambiguously that the earth is round. But I know this now from my own observations, and don't have to trust anyone else on it. Incidentally, people have known this for over 2000 years because anyone who has taken the time to make such observations using rigorous methodology has come to the same conclusion, the observations I've made could have been done by anyone since Adam.
I have found that most people I talk to who insist the earth is flat and say that you need to test it for yourself, have not actually tested it for themselves and are actually believing the words of others.
Would you like me to explain how I tested this in more detail
@cubanito so you can do the same?