  It has been known for some time that the usual inference drawn from the
observed near-flatness of the large-scale Universe - namely the existence of a
cosmological "flatness problem", which is then taken as a partial, but key
motivation for assuming the existence of an ultra-short, inflationary expansion
of the very early Universe - is in itself deeply problematic. The present
contribution consolidates the earlier results regarding the absence of a
cosmological flatness problem of the sort that could potentially be resolved by
inflation, by clearing up some common misunderstandings and by presenting some
arguments in more detail.
