Leaps in scientific progress are made practically every day. We’re constantly learning things about the way the world works, refining what we already know, debunking myths, and making new inventions. However, it takes some time before this new information reaches the general public. And even then, some people still won’t accept it, even if it’s been confirmed.
Trying to get to grips with this very question, user u/Ordinary_Piece_4374 asked their fellow redditors about the things that have been scientifically (dis)proven but are still denied or disliked by some people. Scroll down to see what facts the internet thinks everyone should definitely be up to date with.
Bored Panda wanted to learn more about the best way to present scientific information to the public and how to tackle people’s concerns about how science ‘always keeps changing,’ so we reached out to Steven Wooding. He is a member of the Institute of Physics in the UK, part of the Omni Calculator project team, and the creator of the Weird Units Converter.
#1
That the earth is round. If it was flat, cats would have knocked everything off of it by now.
Image source: AllyriaCelene, ctionVance
#2
Cats can understand an average of 50 words, and they don’t give a s**t about 49 of them
Image source: CoolArt589, Alexander London
#3
Jesus wasn’t a Caucasian fellow
Image source: villanoushero
#4
Yelling at your kids can have long-term effect on the child’s mental health. Abuse isn’t just physical, and just cuz it’s not physical doesn’t mean it cant scar someone for life.
Image source: pwarkiesung, Karolina Grabowska
#5
Evolution. No theory has EVER been proven more correct with so much freaking evidence but yet here we are
Image source: Accomplished_Arm7426, Wikipedia
#6
That Andrew Wakefield falsely linked the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine to autism in young children.
Image source: no_lemom_no_melon, Wikipedia
#7
We found out that the cholesterol in egg yolk is indeed very healthy and useful yet some people still demonize it
Image source: ControversiallyGhey
#8
The alpha wolf theory was disproven by its author.
Image source: L1b3rtyPr1m3, Andrew Ly
#9
Dominance theory in dog training.
Your dog is not trying to take over the world. They know that you’re in charge because you control what they eat, when they eat, where they eat, when they get to toilet, when they go out, where they go, and every other facet of their lives. You do not need to pin them to the ground or use collars that cause pain. You just need to reward the behaviour you want to see more of. Trainers who use aversive methods just don’t have the skills to actually train dogs properly.
Don’t tell me that your malinois or amstaff need you to be tougher because alligators and crocodiles can be trained to sit for blood draws without force or coercion. Your dog is not harder to train than one of the closest things we have to dinosaurs.
Image source: Massacre_Alba, Samuel Charron
#10
Science is evolving, what’s proven one day can be shown to be a mistake the next.
That’s disliked by many people, because the brain structure that makes religion useful is also used by people who want science to go only one (their) way usually.
Image source: Local_Perspective349, National Cancer Institute
#11
The carbon footprint was invented by BP. You know, they guys that inundated the Gulf of Mexico with crude oil a couple times.
It’s among the first and best disinformation campaigns to this day. It pushed the responsibility of carbon emissions cleanly from corporations to the people.
Image source: L1b3rtyPr1m3
#12
That homosexuality is not a disease and you born with it
Image source: dimension_24, Shingi Rice
#13
Electric cars are not as green as Elon says. They still create pollution from mining & creating the electricity to charge unless from green sources
Image source: ChiefTestPilot87
#14
That your diet can indeed affect your hormones and mood.
Image source: Adorable_Cuckquean, Louis Hansel
#15
MSG is a delicious and perfectly healthy addition to a number of dishes
Image source: HaveAnotherDownvote
#16
Sugar is way worse than fat
Image source: ChronoLegion2, Mathilde Langevin
#17
That our current rapidly changing climate is caused by human activity and mainly from a few corporations.
You still get people who deny it
Then you get people who accept it but refuse to go after the main causes.
Image source: OrcaResistence, Marek Piwnicki
#18
earth is a tiny insignificant sphere in space
Image source: Space19723103, Alexander Andrews
#19
LGBTQIA+ people. Other animals engage in same gender behaviour and some can change theirs. There’s a whole female only lizard species that can reproduce. Homophobia etc is the unnatural thing, not being gay, bi or trans etc.
Image source: HyperDogOwner458
#20
Going out in the cold doesn’t give you a cold. Cracking your knuckles does not cause arthritis.
Image source: groyosnolo
#21
Myers Briggs Test (INTJ, IFNJ) is flawed and not reliable as any decent personality assessment.
Image source: Suck_it_Earth
#22
Large vehicles increase pedestrian fatalities. Any criticism of the prevalence of huge trucks and SUV’s in my city these days brings the truck bros out of the woodwork like “why do you care what I do?! It doesn’t affect you!!” Yes it does, and it might kill somebody.
Image source: ifnotmewh0, Ben Hessler
#23
That exercise actually helps you overcome a lot of s**t including mental health issues.
Image source: TransportationOk1768, Fitsum Admasu
#24
Autism is hereditary
Image source: AggressiveLawyer3617, Annie Spratt
#25
GMO food is indistinguishable to your body from non-GMO food
Image source: The_Revival, Markus Spiske
#26
Mental health issues.
Image source: RCKJD, Ümit Bulut
#27
Climate change, unfortunately.
Image source: daredwolf
#28
Weed is addictive and you can get withdrawals from it
Literally just had an argument with a friend over this
Image source: strange1738
#29
The Portuguese Man-O-War, despite being called a jellyfish by many aquariums and people, is actually a siphonophore. I’m guessing this mix up comes from the Man-O-War’s jellyfish-like appearance and the fact that siphonophores and jellyfish are both Hydrozoans, and the fact that siphonophores as a whole are usually lumped in with jellyfish.
Image source: Rhodochrositeisbest
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