{"id":1047,"date":"2024-12-03T09:56:36","date_gmt":"2024-12-03T09:56:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyrumour.co.nz\/?p=1047"},"modified":"2024-12-03T09:56:36","modified_gmt":"2024-12-03T09:56:36","slug":"13-popular-science-lies-that-must-be-corrected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyrumour.co.nz\/index.php\/2024\/12\/03\/13-popular-science-lies-that-must-be-corrected\/","title":{"rendered":"13 Popular Science Lies that Must be Corrected"},"content":{"rendered":"
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13 Popular Science Lies that Must be Corrected<\/span><\/h3>\n

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Surely, we have all been there: We cling to a belief that doesn\u2019t stand a chance under the magnifying glass of science, crumbling faster than a sandcastle in a storm.<\/p>\n

We are living in an age where information is easily accessible but some science myths stubbornly refuse to let go. That\u2019s true; there are some myths just so embedded in our society\u2019s psyche that they become \u2018facts\u2019 and pass around, similar to urban legends.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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You Only Use 10% of Your Brain<\/h3>\n

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This is a myth that has been repeated a million times in movies that somehow if we could just unlock our full 100%, we\u2019d be telekinetic superheroes. Tough luck, but this is just fiction. Modern neuroscience proves that we are using almost all of our brains.<\/p>\n

As we read, blink, or even daydream, different regions become activated. Brain scans show activity in nearly all brain regions \u2014 the myth is finally put to rest.<\/p>\n

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Humans Evolved from Apes<\/h3>\n

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Sure, this sounds like an oversimplification of evolution, but really it\u2019s a misunderstanding. Humans did not develop from modern apes. But rather, we had a common ancestor with apes millions of years ago.<\/p>\n

Evolutionary biology shows how these different species came from a shared ancestor but took different paths. It\u2019s not about becoming another species but rather branching from the common roots.<\/p>\n

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Evolution is Just a Theory<\/h3>\n

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In everyday language, \u2018theory\u2019 may roughly translate to \u2018a guess,\u2019<\/strong> but in the world of science, \u2018theory\u2019 describes a well-supported explanation, or hypothesis, provided by a body of facts.<\/p>\n

One such scientific theory is evolution, that is, how species change across time through gene variation as well as natural selection. There is genetic, paleontological, and comparative anatomical evidence to support it. Decades of rigorous research are demeaned by calling it \u201cjust a theory.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Cracking Your Knuckles Causes Arthritis<\/h3>\n

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If you\u2019ve been told that cracking your knuckles will eventually cause you to get arthritis, you can relax. Knuckle cracking doesn\u2019t cause arthritis or damaged joints. \u201cThere are no known detrimental effects to cracking your knuckles.\u201d says Dr. John Fackler, an orthopedic surgeon at Houston Methodist.<\/p>\n

The sound you hear when you pop your knuckles is the sound of gas bubbles bursting inside the synovial fluid of the joint. It\u2019s not going to hurt your joints, but it will irritate those around you. Just be gentle about it; you don\u2019t want to cause discomfort or irritate soft tissue.<\/p>\n

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Lightning Never Strikes the Same Place Twice<\/h3>\n

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It\u2019s a well-known phrase but about as reliable as a chocolate teapot. The fact is that lightning is totally unpredictable and can strike the same place over and over again. The Empire State Building is struck by lightning 25 times per year, like most tall buildings.<\/p>\n

In fact, it\u2019s not about lightning being rare; it\u2019s about lightning being erratic. Just because you already saw a flash near you doesn\u2019t mean you are now safe if you are caught in a storm.<\/p>\n

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Goldfish Have a Three-Second Memory<\/h3>\n

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Goldfish don\u2019t possess the three second memory that people are commonly told they do. They can learn simple things and they can remember things for months. It has been shown that goldfish can be trained to ascend mazes, respond to a visual cue, and, yes, even recognize their owners.<\/p>\n

This myth must have come from someone not understanding how goldfish process sensory information in comparison to a human.<\/p>\n

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Bats Are Blind<\/h3>\n

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Turns out, saying \u2018blind as a bat\u2019 is far from accurate. Bats can see, and do use their vision to help find prey and search for places to hide. Bats have eyes that function and bats can actually see in low light conditions.<\/p>\n

Their superpower has to be their advanced echolocation, they can see by sound in total darkness. I think the myth of blindness comes from their reliance on sound, but rest assured, bats are not blind.<\/p>\n

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You Can See the Great Wall of China from Space<\/h3>\n

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The idea that that Great Wall of China can be seen from space is a romantic notion that isn\u2019t quite true. From space, without a telescope, the wall is too hard to see. Hard to tell if it\u2019s part of the natural landscape with its color and texture.<\/p>\n

This myth probably arose because the wall is so long but visibility is dependent on such things as the lighting, and atmospheric conditions.<\/p>\n

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Shaving Makes Hair Grow Back Thicker<\/h3>\n

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If you think shaving makes your hair grow back thicker, darker, or faster, it\u2019s time to stop. Shaving only cuts the hair at the skin\u2019s surface; it does nothing to the follicle or growth rate.<\/p>\n

The blunt tip gives the perception of \u201cthicker hair,\u201d which can also feel coarser. Genetics and hormones factor into how fast your hair will grow and what type of hair texture you have, but shaving does not.<\/p>\n

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Sugar Makes Kids Hyperactive<\/h3>\n

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Many parents think something like sugar causes hyperactivity in children, and science doesn\u2019t back that up. Sugar can provide energy in quick bursts but doesn\u2019t cause hyperactivity. Children on sugary snacks are no more hyperactive than those on nonsugary alternatives.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a myth that sugar causes hyperactivity,\u201d says Mark Wolraich, professor emeritus in developmental and behavioral pediatrics at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Any perceived sugar rush is actually the excitement and stimulation of occasions where sweets are present like in parties.<\/p>\n

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The Five-Second Rule for Dropped Food<\/h3>\n

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The five second rule, our de facto rule for how edible a fallen snack is. Unfortunately, germs don\u2019t have a stopwatch. Especially on contaminated surfaces, bacteria can transfer to food in less than a second.<\/p>\n

Elapsed time is clearly of lesser consequence than surface cleanliness or type of food. It\u2019s better to skip the snack if you\u2019re unsure, and avoid a stomachache.<\/p>\n

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The Earth is Perfectly Spherical<\/h3>\n

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From space, Earth looks like the perfect sphere, but it\u2019s not. It\u2019s an oblate spheroid; our planet is slightly flattened at the poles and bulges at the equator.<\/p>\n

The shape comes from Earth\u2019s rotation, which creates a centrifugal force that hurls outwards at the equator. The differences are subtle but certainly enough to tell Earth from a perfect sphere.<\/p>\n

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The Tongue Map for Different Tastes<\/h3>\n

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You might remember this tongue map from school, but an update is due. Tongue map suggested that different tongue regions taste sweet, salty, sour or bitter flavours. All flavour may be detected by all taste buds.<\/p>\n

Some areas are a bit more sensitive to particular tastes, but the map division is an oversimplification. Tongue has taste buds all over it, for a more broader flavor.<\/p>\n

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13 Popular Science Lies that Must be Corrected Surely, we have all been there: We cling to a belief that doesn\u2019t stand a chance under the magnifying glass of science, crumbling faster than a sandcastle in a storm. We are living in an age where information is easily accessible but some science myths stubbornly refuse […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1056,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyrumour.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1047"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyrumour.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyrumour.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrumour.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrumour.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1047"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrumour.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1047\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1064,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrumour.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1047\/revisions\/1064"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrumour.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyrumour.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrumour.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrumour.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}