Can someone explain this ?

[downbeatplumb]

I can explain it.

1:He is comparing science with poetic, imprecise language which you can make mean anything.

2:Ancient greeks knew the earth was spherical and worked out its size.

The concept of a spherical Earth dates back to ancient Greek philosophy from around the 6th century BC,[1] but remained a matter of philosophical speculation until the 3rd century BC when Hellenistic astronomy established the spherical shape of the earth as a physical given. The Hellenistic paradigm was gradually adopted throughout the Old World during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages