wrong, nonsensical
entrenched ideas among
accepted beliefs
Scientific truth is very difficult to discover.
There are two reasons for this.
The first is that nature is, with all its complexity, very obscure.
Secondly, there is the number of wrong, nonsensical yet deeply entrenched ideas that exist among currently accepted beliefs.
For example, even after the centuries long belief in the usefulness of drawing blood as a therapeutic measure had been found to be groundless, belief of almost as long duration sprang up in the healing virtues of castor oil.
When I was a boy, almost every complaint from fever to gastroenteritis was treated with castor oil. Measles, scarlet fever, mumps and the flu — all were treated indiscriminately with the same specific.
Two short generations have passed and today castor oil is hardly ever seen and the health of children and adults alike is not a whit the worse.
From the book, Butter side up!, or, The delights of science by Magnus Pyke, J. Murray, London, 1976.
1976!!
According to Wikipedia … Magnus Alfred Pyke OBE FRSE FRIC (29 December 1908 – 19 October 1992) was an English nutritional scientist, governmental scientific adviser, writer and presenter. He worked for the UK Ministry of Food, the post-war Allied Commission for Austria, and different food manufacturers. He wrote prolifically and became famous as a TV and radio personality, and was featured on Thomas Dolby’s 1982 synth-pop hit, “She Blinded Me with Science”.
No Haiku For You 