09/04/2015 at 06:29

Most diamonds are not formed from compacted coal. They are “born” at a depth of about 200 km, and coal deposits are located, as a rule, at a depth of about three kilometers.

Bats are not blind. Yes, they navigate in space using echolocation, but they also see quite well.

Blondes and redheads won't disappear over time. Recessive genes that are responsible for hair color can be passed on from generation to generation through non-blonds and non-redheads.

Hair and nails do not continue to grow after death. This impression arises due to the fact that the skin of a deceased person shrinks.

It is impossible to determine by the color of snot whether the disease is bacterial or viral. The color of this substance can vary from transparent yellow to dense green in patients with a variety of diseases.

Pure water is not a very good conductor of electricity. The reason why a person can get an electric shock through water is because it contains minerals, dirt and other particles that conduct electricity.

You can't get a wart from frogs and toads, but shaking hands with a person who has warts is very possible. Warts in humans arise from the papillomavirus, which occurs only in humans.

Ostriches do not bury their heads in the sand, even when scared. Thus, if they sense danger, they tend to fall to the ground and pretend to be dead.

From a lack of oxygen, the blood does not turn blue; on the contrary, it acquires a darker red color. The veins simply appear blue when visible through the skin.

Sugar does not make children hyperactive. Several studies found that children's activity levels were similar when consuming sugary and sugar-free sodas.

Clicking your knuckles may irritate your co-workers, but you won't get arthritis. The real causes of osteoarthritis are age, injury, excess weight and genetic predisposition.

Just because a product is natural doesn't mean it doesn't contain pesticides. However, the levels of pesticides in both organic and non-organic food are too low to be of concern (at least that's what the USDA says.

Stress does not play a big role in the development of chronic hypertension. Severe stress can cause a temporary increase in blood pressure, but in general it is not the main cause of hypertension. Significantly more? Genetics, smoking and poor nutrition play a major role.

Lightning can strike the same place twice. It hits some tall buildings up to 100 times a year.

Lemmings do not commit mass suicide. However, during periods of migration, they do sometimes fall off cliffs if the area is unfamiliar to them.

A person is not born with all the brainpower that he or she possesses as an adult. There is evidence that, in at least several parts of the brain, the process of formation of nervous tissue continues into adulthood.

One gene is not the same as one protein. Many genes make many different proteins, depending on how the gene's messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) is located in the cell. Some genes do not make proteins at all.

Goldfish have a pretty good memory. They can remember certain things for months.

Although Aristotle was one of the greatest philosophers of all time, he was also prone to misconceptions about the female body. For example, he refused to distinguish the vagina from the urethra, and also believed that women were actually men whose genitals remained inside their bodies during the process of conception. In other words, women, in Aristotle's view, were deformed men. This is why he believed that women are not capable of producing sperm, and therefore they are passive participants in the process of “producing” children.

In Aristotle's Declaration, as ridiculous as it may sound, it was said that women have fewer teeth and sutures on the skull than the opposite sex. The greatest of philosophers used such excuses to justify chauvinism in every aspect of life.

We sometimes confidently insist on what is false, and nothing can convince us. Nevertheless, there are indisputable facts, and they, as we know, are stubborn things.

We offer you well-known literary misconceptions.

The lonely sail is white,

Like a swan's wing

And the clear-eyed traveler is sad;

There is a quiver at your feet, an oar in your hands.

Oh! Doesn't live with us

A genius of pure beauty;

Only occasionally does he visit

Us from heavenly heights.

A.S. Pushkin at one time highlighted the phrase “Genius of pure beauty” with italics, indicating that this is a quotation. The italics disappeared from later editions.

Another misconception is that Othello did not strangle Desdemona, but stabbed her with a dagger. Those who have mastered Shakespeare like to brag about this fact to those who have not read him. Meanwhile, Othello stabbed Desdemona only in the translation by B. Pasternak, who generally liked to “tweak” the classics to his taste. In the original Othello stifles his wife, and this at all times meant “strangle”. So those who haven’t read Shakespeare are right.

Do you know any literary misconception? Share with us!

Science is called upon to penetrate into the essence of natural phenomena and present people with a correct picture of the world. And most modern people are accustomed to trusting official science, considering generally accepted scientific theories to be truisms. In fact, as history shows, the development of science to this day is more a path of trial and error than a direct path to the truth. This post contains examples of common misconceptions and errors in science.

The ancient Greek philosopher and scientist Aristotle was, without a doubt, a great man. He became the founder of logic and summarized his contemporary knowledge about the world. For many centuries, Aristotle was an unquestioned authority in science and philosophy. The works of Aristotle were studied not only in ancient times, but also in the Middle Ages. But at the same time, his authority also served to preserve the misconceptions that were set forth there.

For example, Aristotle believed that heavy bodies fall faster than light ones, and in order for a body to move at a constant speed, a force must be applied to it. More than one and a half thousand years passed before these misconceptions were refuted by Galileo and Newton.

2. The search for the philosopher's stone

The study of substances and their transformations has a long history. But the craving of scientists of the past for chemical experiments had slightly different motives than today. For thousands of years, alchemists conducted experiments with the transformation of substances in order to discover the philosopher's stone, in the existence of which they were firmly convinced.

The philosopher's stone, according to their ideas, had the following properties. First, it allowed base metals (such as lead) to be converted into gold. Secondly, when taken orally, they prolonged life and cured diseases. Finally, the philosopher's stone could help plants grow at astonishing speed, so that they would bear ripe fruit within a few hours.

Obsessed with the idea of ​​finding the philosopher's stone, alchemists conducted many experiments and studied all possible substances that came to their hands. The philosopher's stone, of course, was never discovered, but the works of the alchemists were not in vain - they formed the basis of modern chemistry.

3. The theory of four liquids

The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates is known as the “father of medicine,” to the development of which he truly made an invaluable contribution. Trying to explain the cause of human diseases, Hippocrates formulated a theory according to which the balance of four fluids - blood, mucus, yellow and black bile - is of primary importance for human health. If any of the fluids is lacking or in excess, this becomes the cause of the disease.

This theory dominated medicine for more than 2,000 years, until the 19th century. Guided by it, doctors, for example, tried to treat many diseases with the help of bloodletting, in other cases they gave them plenty of water, fed them with food that stimulated the production of bile, etc.

4. Theory of spontaneous generation

For a long time, scientists and philosophers were convinced that living things could spontaneously arise from non-living things. Of course, they knew how animals and plants reproduce, but they were sure that small organisms - insects, worms, mice, fish, etc. could spontaneously arise from damp soil, garbage and dirt. The writings of medieval scientists contain many examples of the spontaneous generation of living beings.

True, even in the Renaissance, the theory had opponents who tried to prove by experiment that no “spontaneous generation” occurs if the nutrient medium is boiled and hermetically sealed, which means that the larvae of life enter it from the outside. But the majority did not take such arguments into account, and the theory of spontaneous generation prevailed until the 19th century, until it was finally refuted by the carefully staged experiments of Louis Pasteur and others.

5. Phlogiston theory

In the 17th century, chemists tried to explain combustion processes. The most suitable explanation, from a point of view, was the following - all flammable substances contained a certain element - phlogiston, and during combustion it was released and evaporated. At the same time, many simple flammable substances were mistakenly considered complex, and vice versa. At the beginning of the 18th century. all major chemists shared the theory of phlogiston and tried to discover it. Various gases, such as hydrogen, were taken as phlogiston. The phlogiston theory dominated chemistry for about 100 years, until oxygen was finally discovered, the combination of which with flammable substances actually caused combustion.

6. Caloric theory

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the dominant theory with which physicists explained thermal phenomena was the theory of caloric. It was assumed that all bodies contain caloric - a certain weightless substance, the amount of which determines the degree of heating of the body, and upon contact, caloric can transfer from one body to another. Despite the fact that a number of scientists doubted the theory of caloric and expressed the correct opinion that heat is due to the movement of the particles that make up the body, these arguments were not taken into account by the majority. From the theory of caloric a whole branch of physics grew - thermodynamics. Only at the end of the 19th century was it clearly shown through experiments that the theory of caloric was erroneous, and the nature of heat was really connected with the movement of the particles that make up the body - molecules and atoms.

Most likely, in the near future, many of the modern scientific theories will be recognized as erroneous and replaced, but it is too early for us to judge this.

Actions to understand the essence of the world and explore hitherto unseen horizons are impossible without negative aspects and mistakes. Scientists must experience failure and be mistaken in their judgments, because this is how everything works in life. It was errors and refutations of well-known facts that contributed to the development of modern science. Here are some amazing ideas of scientists of distant centuries, which over time became false.

Four "humors" of the human body

Ancient doctors and scientists believed that the human body consists of 4 liquids with different morphological characteristics: phlegm, blood, yellow and black bile. If their balance in the body was disturbed due to any negative factors, the person got sick. That is why, trying to bring the body into balance, ancient doctors practiced bloodletting until the end of the 19th century.

With the development of medicine and the discovery of microbiology, doctors began to look for other ways to save lives, making new scientific breakthroughs every year. And “humors” were the name given to liquids in a person, which translated from ancient Greek means “humor.”

Miasma theory

Doctors believed that the cause of various diseases was miasma (rotting products and toxic substances penetrating from the soil and sewers directly into the air). With the development of microbiology, the miasma theory was confirmed and explained almost all diseases, including typhoid fever, cholera, and plague.

But at the same time, the judgment gave rise to a number of curious medical solutions and unique inventions. During the Middle Ages, most doctors prescribed treatment with bad odors to patients as a way to get rid of illness (patients were asked to breathe intestinal gases, for example), believing that like can be treated like. In their opinion, putrid and unpleasant odors that provoke diseases can also cause an improvement in the condition, up to complete relief from the disease.

Genetic differences between human races

Until the mid-20th century, scientists believed that DNA changed depending on a person's race. Recent studies have shown that genetic differences between most African peoples are significantly higher than between representatives of the European race and African Americans.

Ulcers appear due to stress and anxiety

This judgment is extremely incorrect. Scientists have proven that the disease develops as a result of the vital activity of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, and not because of a person’s negative experiences. One of the group of microbiologists deliberately took a dose of microorganisms to prove to the entire scientific community their connection with inflammation of both the mucous membranes and the skin.

Phrenology

This is one of the most illogical pseudosciences, which suggests that a person's inner world and character depend on distinctive external features. Followers of pseudoscience claim that information about a person’s psychotype can be easily found out by measuring the parameters of the skull and analyzing its structure.

Telegony

Another pseudoscience that claims that offspring can inherit the genes of the female sexual partners with whom she had sexual contact before the moment of conception by the father. The doctrine was widespread among the Nazis. Ardent fans believed that an Aryan woman, after sexual intercourse with a non-Aryan man, was not able to give life to a purebred Aryan.

In the science of past centuries, there was a theory that the cause of most diseases is miasma (harmful substances and decay products that fall from the soil and wastewater directly into the air). Until the advent of extensive research in microbiology at the end of the 19th century, the version of miasma was the most common explanation for almost all ailments, including typhoid fever, malaria and cholera. In the process of developing this theory, science gave rise to a number of extremely interesting medical solutions and devices. During the Middle Ages, doctors sometimes prescribed bad odor treatments (such as inhalation of intestinal gases) to their patients. Apparently, they believed that if unpleasant odors can cause illness, then they can also overcome it.

Truth and error in scientific knowledge briefly. The concept of truth. Truth and error. Basic characteristics of truth

Truth is objective-subjective in nature. Its objectivity lies in the independence of its content from the knowing subject. The subjectivity of truth is manifested in its expression by the subject, in the form that only the subject gives it.

Truth is an endless process of developing existing knowledge about a specific object or the world as a whole. To characterize the procedural nature of truth, the concepts of objective, absolute, relative, concrete and abstract truth are used.

The absoluteness of truth means, firstly, complete and accurate knowledge about an object, which is an unattainable epistemological ideal; secondly, the content of knowledge that, within certain boundaries of knowledge of the object, can never be refuted in the future.

The relativity of truth expresses its incompleteness, incompleteness, approximateness, and binding to certain boundaries of comprehension of an object.

There are two extreme points of view on the absoluteness and relativity of truth. This is dogmatism, exaggerating the moment of absoluteness, and relativism, absolutizing the relativity of truth.

The connection of truth with certain specific conditions in which it operates is indicated by the concept of concrete truth. For knowledge, the conditions for revealing the truth of which are not sufficiently complete, the concept of abstract truth is used. When the conditions of application change, an abstract truth can turn into a concrete one and vice versa.

In the process of cognition, a subject can accept untrue knowledge as truth and, conversely, truth as untrue knowledge. This discrepancy between knowledge and reality, presented as truth, is called delusion. If we are convinced that this knowledge is a delusion, then this fact becomes the truth, albeit a negative one.

51. The problem of the criterion of truth in philosophy

The main goal of knowledge is to achieve scientific truth. In relation to philosophy, truth is not only the goal of knowledge, but also the subject of research. We can say that the concept of truth expresses the essence of science. Philosophers have long been trying to develop a theory of knowledge that would allow us to consider it as a process of obtaining scientific truths. The main contradictions along this path arose in the course of contrasting the activity of the subject and the possibility of his developing knowledge corresponding to the objective real world. But truth has many aspects, it can be considered from a variety of points of view: logical, sociological, epistemological, and finally, theological. Taking into account the current trends in philosophy, taking into account the uniqueness of individual statements expressing the subjective opinion of a particular scientist, truth can be define as an adequate reflection of objective reality by a cognizing subject, during which the cognizable object is reproduced as it exists outside and independently of consciousness. Consequently, truth is included in the objective content of human knowledge. But once we are convinced that the process of cognition is not interrupted, then the question arises about the nature of truth.

A misconception is a person’s erroneous opinion about anything. Misconceptions, erroneous conclusions, or logical contradictions are all fallacies. Every person has a large baggage of false ideas and beliefs that he has to carry with him.

Having understood the definition of delusions, I want to know how a person can get rid of them. It’s very simple, you need to rewrite the incorrect information in your head into the correct one. Is it difficult to do? Very, and sometimes it is simply impossible. A person who has lived most of his life with strong convictions rarely gives up on them, even after realizing that they are false. Suffice it to recall Copernicus, who was burned for his bold discovery. It was easier for people to admit that the scientist was crazy than to reconsider their view of the world. Misconceptions are not the best companions, and you need to get rid of them. But to fight the enemy, you need to know him by sight. So let's continue to look into the issue.

1. Stones cannot fall from the sky, they have nowhere to come from! (Paris Academy of Meteorite Sciences, 1772).

2. $100 million is too much to pay for Microsoft (IBM, 1982).

3. In the future, computers will weigh no more than 1.5 tons (Popular Mechanics magazine, 1949).

4. I have traveled the length and breadth of this country, talked with the smartest people, and I can guarantee you that data processing is just a fad, the fashion for which will last no more than a year (Prentice Hall editor, 1957).

5. But what... could be useful in this thing? (question at a discussion of the creation of a microchip in the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968).

6. No one should ever need to have a computer in their home (Ken Olson - founder and president of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977).

7. A device such as a telephone has too many disadvantages to be considered as a means of communication. Therefore, I believe that this invention has no value (from discussions at Western Union in 1876).

8. This wireless music box cannot have any commercial value. Who will pay for messages that are not intended for a private person? (business partners of David Sarnov in response to his proposal to invest in a radio project, 1920).

9. Yes, who the hell is interested in actors' conversations? (Warner Brothers' reaction to the use of sound in motion pictures, 1927).

10. We don't like their sound and, in general, guitar quartets are a thing of the past (Decca Recording Co., which rejected the recording of The Beatles album, 1962).

11. Heavier-than-air aircraft are impossible! (Lord Kelvin - physicist, President of the Royal Scientific Society 1895).

12. Professor Goddard does not understand the relationship between action and reaction; he does not know that reaction requires conditions more suitable than a vacuum. The professor appears to be severely lacking in the basic knowledge taught in high school (New York Times editorial on Robert Goddard's revolutionary work on the rocket, 1921).

13. Drilling the earth for oil? Do you mean you have to drill into the ground to find oil? You have gone mad (response to Edwin Drake's 1859 draft).

14. Airplanes are interesting toys, but they do not represent any military value (Marshal Ferdinand Foch, professor of strategy at the French General Staff Academy).

15. Everything that could be invented has already been invented (Charles Dewell - Special Commissioner of the American Patent Office, 1899).

16. Louis Pasteur’s theory of germs is a funny fantasy (Pierre Pache – professor of psychology at the University of Toulouse, 1872).

17. The stomach, chest and brain will always be closed to the intervention of a wise and humane surgeon (Sir John Erik Eriksen - British physician appointed surgeon-in-chief to Queen Victoria, 1873).

18. 640 kilobytes of memory should be enough for everyone (Bill Gates, 1981).

19. I think that in the world market we will find demand for five computers (Thomas Watson - director of IBM, 1943).

Video Scientific Misconceptions - Physicists and Lyricists

Many scientific myths are spread by scientists themselves. When creating their memoirs or interviews, they supplement them with some stories or unnecessary details. Some of these myths are created towards the end of their creators’ lives: Poincaré and Gauss spoke about their research only towards the end of their lives, and Newton spoke about the apple for the first time a year before his death. There are refutations of some scientific myths by scientists themselves, journalists or popularizers of science.

1. Bath of Archimedes

Myth: Archimedes discovered his law while lying in the bath.
Refutation: In fact, the water displaced by Archimedes does not say anything about the famous buoyant force, since the method described in the myth only allows you to measure the volume. This myth was propagated by Vitruvius, and no one else reported the story.

2. Newton's apple

Myth: Newton discovered the law of gravity after an apple fell on his head.
Rebuttal: A year before his death, Isaac Newton began telling his friends and relatives an anecdotal story about an apple. Nobody took her seriously, except for Newton’s niece Katerina Conduit, who spread this myth.

3. Perpetual motion machine

Myth: It is possible to create an engine that allows you to obtain useful work greater than the amount of energy supplied to it.
Refutation: According to the law of conservation of energy, all attempts to create a perpetual motion machine of the first kind are doomed to failure, and according to the Second Law of Thermodynamics, all attempts to create a perpetual motion machine of the second kind are doomed to failure.

4. Alfred Nobel's beloved woman

Myth: The Nobel Prize is not awarded to mathematicians because Alfred Nobel's wife cheated on him with a mathematician.
Disclaimer: Alfred Nobel never married. And although he had a mistress, Sophia Hess, the mathematician Mittag-Leffler had no claims to Sophia Hess. The prize is not given to mathematicians because Nobel believed that prized discoveries and inventions should be of direct benefit to everyone. That is, the prize was created for inventors, and mathematics was excluded as an abstract science.

Myth: Other civilizations visit Earth in flying saucers.
Refutation: Astronomers have not noticed any signals from other civilizations. In the visible space of several hundred light years, no planets suitable for life were observed.

6. LHC (Large Hadron Collider)

Myth: Accelerating particles at the LHC can create a black hole, antimatter and a time machine that will grow and destroy the Earth.
Disclaimer: The experiment is safe. The arguments are proven laws of physics, experimental data from nuclear physics and astrophysical data (collisions of particles with even greater energy occur in space, but this does not lead to mythical consequences).

7. Comet Coin

Myth: A (small) coin thrown from a tall building can kill a pedestrian.
Refutation: The aerodynamic properties of the coin do not allow it to accelerate to a “dangerous” speed, so the maximum is a slight wound or scratch, even if the coin flies from the Ostankino tower.

8. Five Second Rule

Myth: This rule states that food dropped on the floor and picked up in five seconds does not have time to become infected with harmful bacteria.
Refutation: Unfortunately, research (and simple logic) confirms that bacteria will appear on food immediately after contact with a contaminated surface.

9. Chewing gum

Myth: It takes the human body seven years to digest swallowed chewing gum.
Rebuttal: Chewing gum takes less time to digest than, say, a bowl of granola. This myth was specifically spread by doctors in order to reduce the risk that a child might choke when swallowing gum.

10. Zero gravity

Myth: There is no atmospheric gravity in space.
Refutation: Gravity is everywhere, the force of attraction affects all people equally. Astronauts in orbit float in weightlessness only because they constantly fall with their ship to Earth. They just do it in a horizontal plane. Gravity decreases with distance, but never completely disappears.
And, by the way, it is also a misconception that there is a vacuum in space. In fact, interstellar space is filled with all kinds of atoms and particles, it’s just that the distance between them is slightly greater than on Earth.

11. Sex, sex, sex

Myth: Males think about sex every 7 seconds.
Refutation: Numerous opinion polls, studies, etc. show that this figure is clearly overestimated, the average man thinks about sex once every 2-3 hours, which is interesting - in Asia, men think about sex more often than in Europe.

12. Nerve cells

Myth: Nerve cells do not regenerate.
Refutation: Although the human brain grows most actively and goes through the main stages of formation precisely at an early age, cell division does not stop in adults. Research shows that neurons successfully grow and change until death. So the nerves are restored, and everyone has a chance to grow wiser.

13. Water funnel

Myth: The water funnel in the southern hemisphere of the Earth rotates in a different direction than in the northern hemisphere.
Refutation: The speed of the Earth's rotation is not enough to influence the direction of water flow even in the smallest sink. As you can see from personal experience, the movement and shape of the water funnel in the sink depends only on the features of the “relief”, and certainly not on global reasons.

14. Lightning

Myth: Lightning never strikes the same place twice.
Refutation: Known misconception. In fact, this happens quite often, since lightning strikes mainly at the highest points in the territory, so multiple lightning strikes have been recorded on the same trees, and there’s nothing to say about lightning rods - skyscrapers in New York receive an average of 25 strikes annually.

15. The Great Wall of China

Myth: The Great Wall of China is the only man-made object visible from space and the Moon.
Rebuttal: There are different variations of this statement, but they are all equally false. Astronauts can see many man-made objects from low orbit. For example, the Egyptian pyramids or even the runways of large airports. In fact, seeing the Great Wall of China without knowing exactly where it is is much more difficult than many other objects. And it’s definitely impossible to see the wall from the Moon.

By Berloga

2.Which of the following examples relates to scientific knowledge?

1) Myths about heroes
2) wisdom “The slower you drive, the further you will go”
3) observation: when moving away, the size of the object decreases
4) theory of relativity

3.Rational cognition, in contrast to sensual,

1)Updates knowledge about the world around you
2) Forms a visual image of the object
3) Carried out in the form of sensations, perceptions and ideas
4)Uses logical reasoning

4.Which of the following examples relates to everyday knowledge?

1) law of the falling sandwich
2) law of value
3) the law of the photoelectric effect
4) law of demand

5.Knowledge through the means of art necessarily involves the use

1) abstract concepts
2) artistic images
3)scientific instruments
4)abstract models

6.Are the following judgments about the diversity of forms of human knowledge true?
A. The experience of everyday life is one of the ways to understand the world.
B. Both scientific knowledge and knowledge obtained in everyday life are characterized by theoretical validity of conclusions

1) only A is correct
2) Only B is correct
3) both judgments are correct
4) both judgments are incorrect

Help please 10th grade

2) Only scientific knowledge includes 1. established facts 2. experimentally substantiated conclusions 3. logical

inferences

4.observation results

3) What is an example of scientific knowledge

3.business time-fun hour

4. morning is wiser than evening

4) Which of the following examples relates to scientific knowledge?

1.Myths about heroes

3. Observation: when moving away, the size of the object decreases

4.relativity theory

5) Rational knowledge, as opposed to sensory

1.updates knowledge about the world around us.

2.forms a visual image of the item

3. carried out in the form of sensations, perceptions and ideas

4.uses logical reasoning

6)Which of the following examples relates to everyday knowledge?

1.law of the falling sandwich

2.law of value

3.law of photoelectric effect

4.law of demand

7) Knowledge through the means of art necessarily involves the use

1.abstract concepts

2.artistic images

3.scientific instruments

4.abstract models.

8) Are the following judgments about the diversity of forms of human knowledge true?

A. Experience of everyday life is one of the ways to understand the world.

B. Both scientific knowledge and knowledge obtained in everyday life are characterized by theoretical validity of conclusions.

1.only A is correct

2. only B is correct

3.both judgments are correct

4.both judgments are incorrect

9) Are the judgments about the truth correct?

A. The path to absolute truth goes through relative truths.

B. Relative truth is complete, unchangeable knowledge.

1.only A is correct

2. only B is correct

3.two judgments are correct

4.both judgments are incorrect

10) In which of the three forms does Rational cognition manifest itself?

1. sensation, perception, representation

2.concept, presentation, conclusion

3. the concept of judgment, inference

4. idea, judgment, sensation.

11) Name any two differences between educational knowledge and scientific knowledge and illustrate each with examples.

12)cognition as opposed to communication

1.is a manifestation of human activity

2.allows the use of speech

3.promotes personality development

4.can be customized.

The process of understanding the world, exploring new horizons and penetrating into the very essence of the most complex natural phenomena is impossible without trial and error. Science must fall and make mistakes, because that’s how everything works. The whole point is to disprove what we think we know well enough. If we can't find evidence to the contrary, so be it. And if we can, then a whole new world awaits us! Here are 25 examples of the most common misconceptions of the scientific world of past centuries and even years. Perhaps today there is something that you believe in unquestioningly, and tomorrow this stereotype will be included in a new list of errors and hoaxes.

25. Four “humors” of the human body

Photo: Jakob Suckale / English Wikipedia

Ancient doctors and scientists believed that the human body consists of 4 fluids - phlegm, yellow bile, black bile and blood. If the body did not produce a healthy ratio of these vital juices, the person became ill. For the same reason, the method of treatment by bloodletting until the end of the 19th century was considered the most effective way to bring the balance of fluids back to normal. Then the golden age of microbiology began, and medicine was able to take a different path, saving more lives through scientific breakthroughs.

But why humor? In ancient medical theories, the fundamental human fluids were called humors (an ancient Greek word translated as humor). It was believed that each type of humor or humor corresponds to a certain temperament. This is probably where the ambiguous meaning of the words “bile” and “ulcer” appeared in the Russian language.

24. Miasm Theory


Photo: pixabay

In the science of past centuries, there was a theory that the cause of most diseases is miasma (harmful substances and decay products that fall from the soil and wastewater directly into the air). Until the advent of extensive research in microbiology in the late 19th century, the theory of miasma was the most common explanation for almost all ailments, including typhoid fever, malaria and cholera.

In the process of developing this theory, science has generated a number of extremely interesting medical solutions and devices. During the Middle Ages, doctors sometimes prescribed bad odor treatments (such as inhalation of intestinal gases) to their patients. Apparently, they believed that if unpleasant odors can cause illness, then they can also overcome it.

23. The Earth is the center of the Universe


Photo: pixabay

Thanks to Nicolaus Copernicus, today we know that our Earth is not the center of the universe. In the 16th century, the geocentric system of the world, according to which all the stars revolved around our planet, was replaced by the heliocentric one and then by the following modern cosmological models of the Universe. And that's not all... Modern scientists know much more than astronomers of past centuries, and we have the latest technologies that allow us to look far beyond the horizons of the imaginable. But the more a person learns about space, the more new questions arise!

22. Phlogiston


Photo: pixabay

This term first appeared in the mid-17th century, and its author was the German chemist and physician Johann Joachim Becher. The learned man suggested that this element is a superfine matter or fiery substance contained in flammable substances and released from them during combustion. In addition, in the 17th century, people believed that we breathe not to receive oxygen, but to exhale this same phlogiston from the body and not burn alive.

21. Neanderthals and Homo sapiens did not mate with each other


Photo: Matt Celeskey/flickr

For a long time, geneticists believed that modern people are descendants exclusively of the species Homo sapiens, and the DNA of Neanderthals has sunk into oblivion. However, in 2010, scientists managed to sequence (determine the sequence of amino acids and nucleotides) the genes of Neanderthals. It was then discovered that about 4% of people living outside Africa are partly descendants of those same Neanderthals, and traces of the DNA of this extinct species were found in them. It seems that our ancestors still communicated with Neanderthals much more closely...

20. Genetic differences between human races


Photo: shutterstock

In fact, there is no genetic difference between human races. Recent research, already in the 21st century, has even shown that there may be much more differences between African peoples than in general between some Europeans and Africans.

19. Pluto - planet


Photo: wikimedia commons

At first, Pluto was not considered a planet, but then it was still classified as this type of celestial body, calling it the 9th planet of the solar system. This was until 2006, when the International Astronomical Union updated and expanded cosmological terminology, and Pluto was again demoted, but this time to the rank of dwarf or minor planet under number 134340. A number of scientists continue to insist that this celestial body is a classical planet, so there is every chance that it will be returned to its previous status again. For those who are not in the know, the main difference between dwarf planets and classical ones is the ability of the astronomical object being studied to clear its orbit from cosmic debris, dust or planetesimals.

18. Ulcers appear due to stress and anxiety


Photo: pixabay

Wrong. The ulcer appears as a result of the activity of a special bacterium, and the researchers who proved this received the Nobel Prize in 2005. One of the scientists involved in the experiments deliberately ingested these microorganisms to prove their connection with inflammation of the skin and mucous membranes.

17. The earth is flat


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For many centuries this statement was considered a dogma and an ordinary fact. But if you think those days are behind you, you are wrong. For example, the Flat Earth Society still promotes the idea of ​​a flat Earth, and assures people that all satellite images are fake. Members of this organization deny generally accepted scientific facts and believe in conspiracy theories. Society is convinced that the Sun, Moon and other stars rotate above the surface of our flat planet, that gravity does not exist, that there is no South Pole, and that Antarctica is the Earth's ice belt.

16. Phrenology


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This pseudoscience states that a person’s inner world, character and sometimes even fate depend on physical appearance. Followers of phrenology believe that the most important information about a person’s mental properties can be obtained by measuring the parameters of the skull and analyzing its structure.

15. “Inviolable” laws of Newtonian physics


Photo: Varsha Y S, Varsha 2

Since 1900, when Max Planck published his landmark paper “Towards a Theory of the Distribution of Radiation Energy in the Normal Spectrum” at a meeting of the German Physical Society, quantum mechanics has completely changed our understanding of the world. At the quantum level, processes occur that are difficult to understand and explain using classical mechanics and Isaac Newton’s three famous laws...

14. California Island


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One of the sunniest states in the USA, California, was once considered a full-fledged island. No wonder there is an expression “California is an island in itself.” This metaphorical phrase was once used quite literally. This was the case until the end of the 18th century, when, during scientific expeditions, cartographers finally realized that this piece of land was a real continental coast and an indivisible part of North America.

13. Telegony


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Telegony is the false science that offspring can inherit the genes of their mother's sexual partners with whom she had sex before their father. This doctrine was especially popular among the Nazis. They believed that an Aryan woman who had even once had sexual intercourse with a non-Aryan man was no longer capable of producing a pure-blooded Aryan man.

12. Irrational numbers


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Pythagoras and his followers had an almost religious obsession with numbers. One of their key doctrines was that all existing numbers can be expressed as ratios of integers. That's why when the ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician Hippasus noticed that the square root of 2 was irrational, it plunged the Pythagoreans into . Moreover, there is a version that the learned men were so greatly amazed and offended that they even drowned Hippasus in the sea.

11. Hollow Earth theory


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If you've ever read French writer Jules Verne's science fiction novel "Journey to the Center of the Earth" or even watched the movie based on it, you already know what this theory is all about. Almost until the end of the 19th century, some scientists still believed that our planet was hollow and subject to internal exploration. These scientists believed that the size of the void is not much smaller than the size of the Earth itself. The wildest fantasies said that inside our planet there is a second atmospheric layer, internal reservoirs, its own life forms living on the inner surface of the planet, and in the center of this sphere a small star hovers in airless space.

10. Raising lambs


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The ancient Greeks were a people who were in many ways ahead of their time and other nations. They practiced science, made mathematical discoveries, and built architectural masterpieces. But despite all this, the Greeks believed that lambs could be raised on trees. This crazy theory was generated by the stories of Indian pilgrims and traders who recalled trees on which “wool grew.” The belief that sheep and rams could be grown like plants persisted until the 17th century.

9. Time is constant


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This was believed until the discoveries of Albert Einstein. When he proved that only light is constant, the public did not immediately believe it and even considered him crazy for some time. However, today NASA pilots have to set their watches in a special way, because time flows differently depending on the distance at which the spacecraft are from the source of gravity and on the speed of movement. The difference is felt even on Earth. For example, at sea level the clock ticks faster than on the roof of the famous Empire State Building (443 meters).

8. The more complex organisms are, the more genes they have.


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Scientists used to think that humans have about 100,000 genes. The most surprising discovery made during the research of the Human Genome Project (HGP), an international research project, was that we only have about 20,000 genes. What's especially incredible is that some tiny mosses have been found to have over 30,000 genes!

7. Water is only found on Earth


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This thesis also turned out to be a fallacy. More recently, the NASA space agency reported that Europa, Jupiter’s natural satellite, has more reserves than our entire planet.

6. Monkeys are the smartest animals on Earth, with the exception of humans.


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For a long time, it was generally accepted in the scientific community that since primates (monkeys) are mammals closest to humans in body structure and origin, they are also incredibly smart. However, recent studies have proven that in nature there are birds that are smarter than even the smartest monkeys. Don't underestimate birds...

5. Death of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun


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In 2006, archaeologists discovered evidence that Tutankhamun died due to an accident with his chariot. However, already in 2014, historians reported that the real cause of his death was the consequences of incest, hereditary diseases characteristic of incest.

4. Neanderthals Were Stupid


Photo: AquilaGib

It was previously believed that Neanderthals became extinct because Homo sapiens was smarter. New evidence contradicts this theory. According to new research data, Neanderthals may have been even smarter than our ancestors. But why then did they disappear from the face of the Earth? There is still no answer to this question...

The most optimistic version is that Neanderthals did not actually die out, but simply dissolved among the Homo sapiens tribes, integrated into our society and assimilated with our ancestors, as evidenced by traces of their DNA in our blood.

3. The expansion rate of the Universe


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According to the most famous cosmological model of the 20th century, the expansion of our Universe is gradually slowing down due to gravity. However, in the 1990s, new data showed that the expansion of the Universe is actually accelerating.

2. Dinosaurs Had Regular Skin


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What we know about the appearance of dinosaurs is based partly on guesswork, partly on analysis of their descendants, and in some cases on fossilized prints. Previously, there was a theory that the body of these extinct animals was covered with skin or scales, but now the version of feathered dinosaurs is becoming increasingly popular in the scientific community.

1. Alchemy


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Sir Isaac Newton was a great scientist and made great contributions to physics. But this did not stop him from believing in alchemy, which is now considered a pseudoscience based on myths. Until the end of his days, Newton believed that one day he would be able to turn ordinary metal into gold. Don’t rush to laugh, because it is thanks to alchemy that we have modern chemistry.