Myths Definition and 36 Threads

Summary: A variety of studies have contradicted several medical practices and theories. This NY Times article lists 10 findings that contradict what were once widely held theories:

In our IT company sometimes we make presentations, sometimes even just for fun, not related to IT things. I suggested the presentation with the title above and many people are interested. They are quite smart, but there will be no formulas in my presentation. Please review my list. Any...

Can science text writers please stop repeating these sorts of unfounded, unscientifically grounded anecdotes in science texts as if they are fact. I was just reading in Universe 8th ed. astronomy text and found this passage: "Sadly, Goodricke paid for his discoveries with his life; he caught...

Now kindly pardon my ignorance but I hope one of you can explain to me how this can be possible. A rotating neutron star or pulsar have been observed to spin at between 10 to 700 times per second. Now before I proceed further I like to draw your memories back to the merry go round we played as...

I am not an educator. However, I just read a fascinating article that just screamed "education issue" as I read it. The article was: The point of the article is that I and almost all other students of engineering or science were taught that the Tacoma Bridge (known as Galloping Gertie)...

These are some of my favorite myths I have encountered in my EE career... 1. NEVER mix Duracell and Eveready batteries in the same flashlight 2. Never leave your car battery on a cement floor, it will ground out and drain itself ( A metal shelf on concrete is OK) 3. Never use a wireless phone...

The thermodynamic efficiency ##\eta## is calculated by ##\eta= \frac{W_{out}}{Q_{in}}## Using the first law of thermodynamics we usually say that ##W_{out}## is ##Q_c+Q_h##, where ##Q_c## is the heat dissipated into a cold reservoir, and ##Q_h## is the heat absorbed by the system because of a...

BBC article on the difficulty of debunking myths and Misinformation http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20141113-the-best-way-to-debunk-myths

What do you think?

Lately, I've been interested in Egyptian myths. I've read about Seth's and am wondering if there are any thrilling episodes similar to his.

Well after reading tons of posts and talking to my friends who are headed off to grad school here is what everyone says: PGRE is really important, GPA is really important, publications really important, leadership roles really important, multiple years of research experience really important...

I am no economics expert but I think this http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2076568-4,00.html" is fair IMO, however, you decide... and I am interested in what PFer's below the age of 30 have to say about the above paragraph, particulary the section I highlighted. What plans do...

Some may find this interesting: http://www.sfn.org/skins/main/pdf/neuromyth_busters/neuromyth_busters.pdf Myth: You only use 10 percent of your brain. Myth: Listening to classical music makes you smarter. Myth: Vaccines cause autism. Myth: Brain damage is always permanent. Myth: Your...

After searching, I found only one post-title on the Penrose and/or Terrell effect/rotation. It is odd that innumerable popular discussions on PF and elsewhere omit this 50+ year modification of externally measured length-'contraction'. There is neither contraction, nor measured contraction...

I just finished my first year as an undergrad, and am currently declared as a mechanical engineering major. However, I sort of have this nagging feeling that what I'd really like to study is physics (for the record, I am also considering changing which type of engineering I'm doing). In my...

http://www.livescience.com/health/081217-holiday-health-myths.html

I think i can remember the one about the loch ness monster, and the one about Flying saucers, But what about bigfoot, yeti etc?

arXiv:0807.1635 [ps, pdf, other] Title: Dark energy: myths and reality Authors: V.N. Lukash (Astro Space Centre of P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Moscow, Russia), V.A. Rubakov (Institute for Nuclear Research, Moscow, Russia) Comments: 17 pages, 2 figures Journal-ref...

I am referring to the http://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0609163" discussed at length in other threads with a purely technical question to help me understand more of the paper. On page 12, formula 26 defines the norm of a vector as \langle\psi|\psi\rangle = \psi_1^*\psi_1 + \psi_2^*\psi_2 ...

Why are we not able to capture and store light between two mirrors? I'm going to take a guess at the answer but I'd like to hear from someone who knows for sure... I'm wondering if you actually can for a small amount of time, but the inefficiencies of an imperfect mirror cause some light to be...

Is Yield Stress for a fluid a real property? Or is it a time dependent illusion we are measuring? For example - some glass materials are referred to as super-cooled fluids and yet behave and appear like solids. In reality though these super cooled fluids flow - very slowly. Some old...

Evolution: 24 myths and misconceptions The following myths are debunked: - Everything is an adaptation produced by natural selection - Natural selection is the only means of evolution - Natural selection leads to ever-greater complexity - Evolution produces creatures perfectly...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7153880.stm Oh thank goodness. My health just improved dramatically...again. :biggrin: It used to be that coffee was bad and sure to be the death of me. Now it acts as a supply of water, it is high in antioxidants [the greatest source by far in many...

Apparently, this WP article says that trying to debunk a myth might actually end up reinforcing the myth via repetition. "Myth-busters, in other words, have the odds against them." I wonders, how do we debunk a myth without actually repeating the myth itself in the process?

A common understanding of quantum mechanics (QM) among students and practical users is often plagued by a number of "myths", that is, widely accepted claims on which there is not really a general consensus among experts in foundations of QM. These myths include wave-particle duality, time-energy...

http://www.livescience.com/bestimg/?url=myths_gumballs_03.jpg&cat=myths I thought that was true.

http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/gods2.html Many myths seem to originate from Norway/sweden, Trolls are the oldest mythological beings i can find, i guess some where like India will have a," troll", myth that is older, anyone know ?

so I am thinkin of wrting and essay on global warming... ive kind of decided if I am going to write it on global warming i want to argue that it does not pose a real threat. Its so cliche to write essays on effects of glbal warming and how its going to ruin our Earth and all that media hype. If...

Clear Channel... I know that it isn't really current news but I have heard quite a bit of bad press in regards to Clear Channel. Alot of it seems to be embellished from what I have gathered. There seem to be two main complaints. One: Clear Channel is partisan and it's radio news, among...

I have a weird question here :biggrin:. What exactly causes common cold? I'm aware it is caused due to viruses but why do doctors prescribe anti-biotics for common cold which are supposed to fight bacterial infection? Do the following cause common cold: *Eating ice-creams *Wet hair *Hot...

Which myths, theories or conspiricies most annoy you? The kind where no matter how many times you fully debunk them, they just keep coming back again and again, and will probably never go away, despite how obvious it is that they cannat be true. A personal favorite of mine is: "The Loch Ness...

This news has just been released in Australia. I thought you may be interested in examining the evidence then discussing the implications, etc. Edward T > - - Evidence of Time Travel has been discovered by an Australian researcher. This evidence reveals the Source of ancient Myths...

http://www.csicop.org/si/2004-03/albuquerque-conference.html

[SOLVED] Simulteneity and other myths, maybe? In perusing Einstein's ‘Relativity’, I made a few notes for discussion. Using the moving train vs. the platform model some Einsteinian axioms get a tad oily. A mark on the train coincides with a mark on the platform just as two lights flash, both...

Myths of Skepticism. the article continues to include: Myths about Science and the Scientific Method. Also, Myths of Problem Solving and Decision Making. Myths about Belief Systems. Myths about Skeptics. For the entire discussion, please see this link...

my mom is a nurse and has personally witnessed many people claiming to have seen a black dog sitting by the door of their room, all of them died soon after. I'm not really sure if this is a popular myth or not, but it seems i have seen a black dog in a rather unexpected situation as well (i...