Scientists are only human, after all.
Throughout history, scientists have led the way to discovery of how our world and its life operates. Sometimes, however, they goof.
Today’s FamilyFirst site looks at mistakes made by scientists, from ancient time up until quite recently. It’s called Strange Science: The Rocky Road to Modern Paleontology and Biology.
Here’s their mission:
Ever wonder how people figured out there used to be such things as dinosaurs? Curious about how scientists learned to reconstruct fossil skeletons? The knowledge we take for granted today was slow in coming, and along the way, scientists and scholars had some weird ideas. This Web site shows some of their mistakes, provides a timeline of events, gives biographies of a few of the people who have gotten us where we are today, and lists resources you can use to learn more.
Fossils were thoroughly bewildering to early scientists. Many thought they proved the existence of dragons, unicorns, giants, or even nature’s sense of humor. Some believed that the stone impressions were nothing more than practical jokes created naturally.
Check out the Goof Gallery. Read about scientist Thomas Coryate’s eyewitness account of seeing two unicorns in India. No wonder I’ve never seen them! I’ve never been to India.
Witness Ernst Haeckel’s illustrations of how a human fetus has a pig’s snout and curly tail early in its development.
See Hiob Ludolf’s illustration of a hippopotamus, complete with long, sharp fangs.
Read about other scientific fiascoes such as Piltdown Man, rocks that reproduce, plants that scream when picked, and other nonsense.
Perhaps when the concept of a designed universe is laughingly derided by many scientifically minded ones, they should remember that scientific thought changes radically as time goes by.
