Those of us who are fortunate enough to have been born in a developed country are blessed with learning opportunities that no society on Earth has ever enjoyed before. The information age has made it possible for rational human beings all over the developed world to discover and learn about any subject of their choosing. The amount that we learn, and what we do with that information, is limited by just two things:
- Our imagination.
- Our will to persevere.
Blessed as we are with this web of information and opportunity for learning, it is easy for most of us to ridicule the ignorance (I would rather call it stupidity) of the Flat Earth Society who, in spite of all the available information and evidence, still choose to peddle the ridiculous idea that the Earth is in fact flat.
So, we can set ourselves up on a pedestal, right? We’re better than those flat earth ignoramuses because we take pride in our learning opportunities and we delight in the power of evidence based discovery.
Well… not quite. It’s surprising how many other elementary science based misconceptions are in regular use among our rational society. People like you and me; people you work with, go to school with, your neighbours, your close friends, your spouses and children – any of these can potentially be guilty of them. They seem to slip under the radar in terms of ridicule, but I think some of them give the flat earthers a run for their money. In honour of Super Moon Sunday 2013 , try these common Moon based misconceptions on for size. Some of them will make you cringe!
http://moon.nasa.gov/moonmisconceptions.cfm
Thank you to http://www.rogerhighfield.com/ for the link.