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Half Life of Facts (lemmy.dbzer0.com)

submitted 6 days ago by Stamets@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/whitepeopletwitter@sh.itjust.works

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[–] egrets@lemmy.world 90 points 6 days ago (11 children)

There's no date bracketing, but Wikipedia's list of lists of misconceptions is excellent and often covers things taught in some schools, e.g.

the dodo primarily went extinct from the induction of invasive species, not hunting
urinating on jelly fish stings doesn't help
fossil fuels are primarily fossilized plant matter, not prehistoric animal remains
apes are monkeys
stretching before exercise doesn't help later muscle soreness
Western civilizations haven't generally thought the world is flat at any time in the Common Era
the pyramids weren't made by slaves
the story of Marie Antoinette declaring, "let them eat cake" is apocryphal, and predates her reign

[–] DrFunkenstein@sh.itjust.works 4 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Apes being monkeys scientifically is the best news I've heard all year. It has been a banable offense in my home for years to correct someone for saying monkey when referring to gorillas, orangutans, etc., despite the fact that I genuinely thought scientists did not classify them as such.

Monge.

[–] egrets@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

I think it's still useful to have informal words that distinguish smaller, typically less intelligent primates from larger and typically smarter ones, but I agree that using it as a gotcha is pointless.

It's like people using the botanical distinction about berries, legumes, etc to argue that some savory plant part isn't a vegetable (e.g. tomatoes as fruits, bananas as berries, etc). What's scientifically correct comes second to clear mutual communication, and no one likes a smart-ass.

Besides, we as mammals are really just all confused fish.

[–] piccolo@sh.itjust.works 2 points 6 days ago

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