What People Thought What We Now Know

[Baddad (Marty)]

Hi All,

At times I've come across some interesting cases of sheer ignorance. What people were led to believe in the past compared to what we now know.
I'm interested what forum members can enlighten us with on this subject.
What have you found that made you laugh or cry, how wrong a concept may have been.

This process to what we now know in science is progress ofcourse.

My input is about the sun.

Early "scientists" put forward that the sun must be made of coal.
To burn like it does, people had no other answer. Fission and fusion was not known until relatively recently.

At the rate coal burnt it would not have lasted 10,000 years.

Waiting for your input.

Cheers Marty

[lacad01 (Adam)]

At one point William Herschel postulated that the sun was actually habited by beings who were able to withstand the sun's immense heat and were actually protected by "a heavy cloud canopy from the intolerable glare of the upper luminoius region".
This is in no way a criticsim of the great astronomer who laid the foundations for what we know of today as the NGC, but an observation of what can be speculated upon or philosophised about without all the information.

[xelasnave]

Er what goes up must come down... The Pioneer space craft will never come down I suspect.
alex

[erick (Eric)]

Speculation (hypothesis) that tests the bounds of what is known - part of the scientific method Wild speculation can be very useful.

The hard part is usually designing and undertaking the experiment.

[TrevorW]

What would have happended had Isaac Newton not been sitting under that tree ???

Earlier scientists thought the marks on mars where canals,

Some people went so far as to propose the idea that the canals were irrigation canals built by a supposed intelligent civilization on Mars. Percival Lowell was a strong proponent of this view, pushing the idea much further than Schiaparelli, who for his part considered much of the detail on Lowell's drawings to be imaginary. Some observers drew maps in which dozens if not hundreds of canals were shown with an elaborate nomenclature for all of them. Some observers saw a phenomenon they called "gemination", or doubling - two parallel canals.

[Screwdriverone (Chris)]

I often think of things like this when I am looking into the night sky at the "firmament" where the stars are embedded, forever unchanging....

I suppose its not dissimilar to us thinking that 30 years ago when Captain Kirk called the Enterprise via a handheld "communicator" of just how far off and cool that would be and now, EVERYONE has a mobile phone (or even TWO).

Cheers

Chris

[Marclau (Marcel)]

I would go the other way; who the hell thought of pulling on those things from a cow and then drink it = milk???
I mean, the ideas that people had back through time, to what we have now, and the originality of starting it would be amazing.....

[Baddad (Marty)]

Hi All,

Here's another:
Aristotle's science principles were developed from rational speculative thought. Galileo used observation and experimentation.

"A cannon ball falls faster than a musket ball."

When Galileo dropped the two items from atop of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, his results were ridiculed before people eventually accepted that they fall at the same rate.

Later it could be shown that a feather in a vacuum falls at the same rate as a lead bullet.

How we have changed the thinking. "Observation and Experimentation vs speculative rational thought."

Some one must have some good ones out there.
Like to hear about them.

Cheers Marty

[omnivorr]

"Everything was created in 7 days"
"The Divine Right of Kings"
"Whites are superior to other 'Races' "
"The 'Upper Classes' are superior to the 'Lower Classes' "

The heavier-than-air flying machine is impossible

...the world will NOT run out of oil

... DDT is safe

...the paperless office

...no computer needs more than 640k of ram

..."I only need one telescope, and 6" is all the aperture I need !"

but the most laughable of all : "We will know all there is to know in the very near future".....

[erick (Eric)]

Excuse the tangent, but why we are in this general area let's kill off the myth that a Patent Office Official once said:-

"Everything that can be invented has been invented."

See http://www.myoutbox.net/posass.htm

[Starkler (Geoff)]

Heres one for the present and near future:...

You cant lose investing in real estate.

[Baddad (Marty)]

Hi Eric, Chris & Others,

They are interesting quotes etc. I just wonder what makes people say some absolutely dumb things like that.

Do they really believe themselves to be correct? Is it an ego thing?

An electronics magazine in 1954: Following an anouncement of the invention of the transistor. It is an interesting achievement but it will never amount to much.

On the other hand, a news article in Townsville 1978: People in the near future will experience big changes. Computers will be as common as TV sets. People will have carry around personal phones. Accurate weather forecasting will extend to 7 days.

10 years later, Electronics Australia magazine, TV sets will become like a picture mounted on the wall.

Speculation for man to set foot on Mars 2030's NASA & European Space Agency

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manned_mission_to_Mars

Then we may see if they are canals on Mars TrevorW

Any more good ones?
Cheers Marty

[lacad01 (Adam)]

Maybe it's the difference between vissionaries and head in the sand folk
Who was it that said, "It's hard to soar like an eagle when I'm surrounded by turkeys"

[Glenhuon (Bill)]

Originally Posted by Marclau

I would go the other way; who the hell thought of pulling on those things from a cow and then drink it = milk???
I mean, the ideas that people had back through time, to what we have now, and the originality of starting it would be amazing.....

Probably by someone thinking. Well, the calf likes it, wonder what it tastes like. We are a breed filled with curiousity.


Bill

[ngcles]

Hi All,

Interesting thread.

One I remember well was some very popular advice given by medical practitioners in the 1950s to 70s to pregnant women:

You should take up smoking -- it will make the baby smaller and it will therefore be easier for you to give birth. Don't laugh -- this was commonly dispensed advice by doctors and mid-wives.


Best,

Les D

[Baddad (Marty)]

Originally Posted by ngcles

Hi All,

Interesting thread.

One I remember well was some very popular advice given by medical practitioners in the 1950s to 70s to pregnant women:

You should take up smoking -- it will make the baby smaller and it will therefore be easier for you to give birth. Don't laugh -- this was commonly dispensed advice by doctors and mid-wives.


Best,

Les D

Hi Ngcles,

That's worse than leaches. "Suck out the bad blood!!"

Cheers Marty