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50 common science misconceptions!
Posted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 8:53 pm
by spooky scary bearatons
Posted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 9:30 pm
by Marilink
This is awesome. As far as I'm concerned, everything that Hank Green touches turns to gold, I love that guy.
Posted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 11:47 pm
by Valigarmander
Killer whales are whales, as dolphins are a subgroup whales.
Other than that, awesome video.
Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 12:11 am
by Kil'jaeden
Alcohol does not kill brain cells? You mean they lied to me in school all those years? What a shock. Not like it stopped me anyway.
I am glad they brought up the dog years thing. I have always pointed out how stupid that one is. A dog can go from newborn to being sexually mature in a year, how many humans can do that by age 7? And how many human females can have childen at 56? They do not equate by a neat scale.
I am surprised that he did not mention the fact that men and women have the same number of ribs. I remember being told when I was younger than 10 that they did not.
Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 1:30 am
by CaptHayfever
Pluto wasn't a "misconception"; it was a redefinition. Under the old definition of planet, Pluto qualified; they had to change the definition to demote it.
I don't know what he's referring to with the saltwater one. Did somebody think adding salt to water lowered the boiling point?
Weight & mass only get confused because metric countries for some reason report weight in kilograms instead of newtons. Finally an advantage of Imperial measures; using the right unit for weight! ;)
Having seen bald eagles up close many times as a child, I knew what they sounded like. :)
The dog's lifespan averages to about a 7-to-1 year ratio for dogs who reach age 11 or higher.
The misconception about senses stems from lumping things like balance, acceleration, & pain all together as part of "touch", since all are at least in part tactile.
I'm sorry that he was taught the wrong thing about the seasons, but I was not, nor was anyone I've ever met, even the really stupid ones from really bad schools.
No chemical to detect pool pee...yet. ;)
Centrifugal & centripetal force are actually both just inertia.
People thought the Earth's core was liquid? Okay, that's it, we need legislation to place the Magic School Bus on the required reading lists of every elementary school.
Indeed, Nobel never married. Your wife can't cheat when she doesn't exist.
And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"
Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 4:17 am
by Kil'jaeden
Then did Nobel just hate mathematicians? I don't blame him though.
People probably would think the Earth's core is liquid because of how hot it is down there. They do not consider the size of the core and the massive pressure on it.
And what about the difference between a law, a theory, and a hypothesis? That is important when considering method, and people still struggle with it. It is a big misconception to deal with.
What about the difference between velocity, speed, and acceleration?
What about what antimatter is? Many people apparently think it is something out of science fiction if they have heard of it. That surprises me, because it is pretty old news that it exists.
And the one where you supposedly only use 10% of your brain.
Posted: Sat Jul 20, 2013 12:56 am
by CaptHayfever
^First of all, hey! :mad: Secondly, Nobel didn't hate mathematicians; he just had no personal interest in the field. Also, similar-to-Nobel prizes for math already existed.
Velocity is how fast you're going & what direction you're headed. Speed is the absolute value of velocity, just how fast you're going without regard to direction. Acceleration is change in velocity over time.
Hypothesis is an initial explanation based on observation without experimentation. Theory is a more refined explanation based on the results of experimentation. Law is a rule seen to be overwhelmingly & inherently true through the ages.
The 10% thing is proven patently false. The average human uses 15% of the brain just while sleeping, & more when awake.
And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"