NBA head: Player's flat Earth tease was commentary on fake news
Commentary: Before the NBA All-Star Game, Adam Silver explains what he believes Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving was doing by suggesting the Earth is flat.
Technically Incorrect offers a slightly twisted take on the tech that's taken over our lives.
"It's OK guys, the Earth hasn't been deflated."
As the NBA All-Star carnival rolled into New Orleans, there was only one big topic: Is the Earth flat?
After the Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving insisted on a podcast that it was, he was not alone among NBA All-Stars.
The Golden State Warriors Draymond Green also leaned toward Irving without quite falling over. In an interview he said "I don't know. I haven't done enough research but it may be flat."
Goodness, that would explain so much. Green, though, invoked his iPhone to show how easy it is these days to concoct false images.
"I can make a round picture with my iPhone today on the panorama camera and make it look round," he said. "So, I don't know. I'm not saying I think it's flat or round. I don't know but it could be."
What on earth might be going with these flat-out denials of the Earth's roundness?
NBA commissioner Adam Silver offered this beam of light in a press conference: "Kyrie and I went to the same college [Duke]. He may have taken some different courses."
So the Earth is the same shape as a basketball? It's likely. For Silver added: "In all seriousness, he was trying to be provocative and I think it was effective. I think it was a larger comment on the sort of so-called fake news debate that's going on in our society right now...personally I believe the world is round."
Neither Irving nor the Cavaliers immediately responded to a request for comment.
There is, however, a schism between those who cling to observable facts and those who prefer any statements that confirm their own beliefs. Apple CEO Tim Cook believes fake news is 'killing people's minds."
If this was Irving's contribution toward showing how ravingly silly society has become, he deserves a bow.
Then again, in last night's three-point contest, Irving failed to win. Too many of his shots had an awkward trajectory. Did those shots look flat to you?
Virtual reality 101: CNET tells you everything you need to know about VR.
Technically Incorrect: Bringing you a fresh and irreverent take on tech.