HighlanderNorth
Flashlight Enthusiast
I somehow ran into this wikipedia list of "common misconceptions". It was very interesting, because it flies in the face of many things that most people are told or taught. I was aware of some of these, including 2 of the following three. But some of them surprised me.
Earlier this year, we Americans celebrated Columbus day. This topic brings up a few misconceptions. 1. Chris Columbus didnt actually discover America. First of all, what he did discover were Caribbean islands. Obviously some of the natives there might have disputed the idea that he discovered THEIR islands! As far as America proper, ie. the continent of N. America, it was discovered by Leif Ericsson hundreds of years earlier, and there appears to be ruins of a settlement in Newfoundland from that time.
2. Secondly, it is taught that the "flat Earthers" fought hard to undermine Columbus' plans of finding a shorter trade route to India/Asia, because they thought he'd just fall off the end of the 'flat' earth. Well, actually, they didnt believe in a flat Earth. The reason the naysayers were against his plans, was that they inherently knew that Columbus' estimate of the distance to India was VERY, VERY underestimated. They somehow estimated that the real distance was many times greater than what Columbus was claiming. They were right, because the actual distance to India, had North America not been there to block his route, was literally 6 times further than he estimated, which meant that if he had not been stopped by "the new world", he would have never made it to Asia, he would have run out of supplies long before.
3. On the same "flat Earth" theme, its not accurate when people say that most people of the middle ages believed in a flat earth. As far back as the Greek empire, some people had already figured out that the earth was roughly spherical, and as time went on, it was accepted that the earth was not flat.
4. This one wasnt mentioned in the wikipedia list, but it definitely held up science for at least 100-150 years or so. It was a false theory of a naturally occurring element called "Phlogiston". Belief in this non existent element was called the Phlogiston theory.
Those are but a few of the many interesting misconceptions. But there are many more not listed in wikipedia as well.
Earlier this year, we Americans celebrated Columbus day. This topic brings up a few misconceptions. 1. Chris Columbus didnt actually discover America. First of all, what he did discover were Caribbean islands. Obviously some of the natives there might have disputed the idea that he discovered THEIR islands! As far as America proper, ie. the continent of N. America, it was discovered by Leif Ericsson hundreds of years earlier, and there appears to be ruins of a settlement in Newfoundland from that time.
2. Secondly, it is taught that the "flat Earthers" fought hard to undermine Columbus' plans of finding a shorter trade route to India/Asia, because they thought he'd just fall off the end of the 'flat' earth. Well, actually, they didnt believe in a flat Earth. The reason the naysayers were against his plans, was that they inherently knew that Columbus' estimate of the distance to India was VERY, VERY underestimated. They somehow estimated that the real distance was many times greater than what Columbus was claiming. They were right, because the actual distance to India, had North America not been there to block his route, was literally 6 times further than he estimated, which meant that if he had not been stopped by "the new world", he would have never made it to Asia, he would have run out of supplies long before.
3. On the same "flat Earth" theme, its not accurate when people say that most people of the middle ages believed in a flat earth. As far back as the Greek empire, some people had already figured out that the earth was roughly spherical, and as time went on, it was accepted that the earth was not flat.
4. This one wasnt mentioned in the wikipedia list, but it definitely held up science for at least 100-150 years or so. It was a false theory of a naturally occurring element called "Phlogiston". Belief in this non existent element was called the Phlogiston theory.
Those are but a few of the many interesting misconceptions. But there are many more not listed in wikipedia as well.