o The Frog Blog: Five Scientific "Facts" Humankind Thought Were True

Monday, 13 December 2010

Five Scientific "Facts" Humankind Thought Were True


The World Is Flat

The Ptolemaic Solar System

Spontaneous Generation
Spontaneous generation was the belief that living matter could arise from inanimate matter. Aristotle significantly popularized this theory by gathering the writings of many naturalists and philosophers before him, which led to its lasting among humankind for almost two thousand years. The earliest challenge to this theory came from Francesco Redi, who placed meat in an open jar, a closed jar, and a jar blocked by cheese cloth. Maggots did not form on the meat in the closed jar, but formed on the cheesecloth, thus showing that spontaneous generation doesn't happen. The belief still held some sway until Louis Pasteur showed that the process of fermentation was due to micro-organisms in the air and not spontaneous growth.

The Four Humours
Many Greek and Roman physicians believed that four basic essences comprised the human body: black bile, yellow bile, phlegm, and blood. It was the balance of these humours that kept people healthy, so naturally, when someone was sick, classical and medieval doctors would bleed them in order to try to rebalance the humours. This is how the practice of blood-letting with leeches and pricking instruments became popular. The Greek physician Hippocrates is most responsible for advancing this theory, and it wasn't until Rudolf Virchow advanced his theories of cellular pathology in the 1850s that humourism fell from grace.

Perhaps one of the most famously debunked of all scientific myths is the process of alchemy, by which ancient scientists all around the world hoped to change base metals, such as iron and lead, into gold. Of course, alchemists were also interested in other broad solutions, such as discovering a 'life elixir' and a universal solvent, but the practice is most known for its connection to gold. It wasn't until Robert Boyle , a proclaimed alchemist in the 17th century, began to encourage the field to take a much more scientific and evidence-based approach, as opposed to the previously spiritual approach of earlier alchemists. At his urging, the field of alchemy eventually morphed into what we now know as modern chemistry.

No comments: