16.0. Myths
At https://www.google.com/search?q=myth+definition&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a, a myth is defined as
“1. widely held but false belief or idea;
2. a misrepresentation of the truth;
3. a fictitious or imaginary person or thing;
4. an exaggerated or idealized conception of a person or thing.
Synonyms: misconception, fallacy, false notion, old wives’ tale, fairy tale/story, fiction, informal tall tale, cock-and-bull story, urban myth/legend.”
At http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/myth, a myth is defined as
“1. an idea or story that is believed by many people but that is not true;
2. a popular belief or tradition that has grown up around something or someone; or
3. an unfounded or false notion.”
Throughout history, many persons have believed in many myths: Unicorns, Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, Ghosts, Vampires, Casey Jones, Sasquatch, Abominable Snowman, Hercules, Zeus, Romulus and Remus, Loch Ness Monster, etc.
Some of the most intelligent and knowledgeable persons of their day also believed in phenomena that subsequently was accepted as being incorrect including the following.
1. The world was (is) flat and if one sailed far out into the ocean, they would fall of the edge. See the Flat Earth Society at http://www.theflatearthsociety.org/home/
2. Plato, Aristotle and Ptolemy believed the universe revolved around the earth (the Geocentric model or Ptolemaic system). The theory was disproved with the publication of Nicholas Copernicus’ De revolutionibus orbium coelestium in 1543.
3. AIDS is a disease of gay males.
4. The Static Universe idea stated that the total volume of the universe was effectively fixed, and that the whole construct operated as a closed system. The theory found its biggest adherent in Albert Einstein – the Static Universe is often known as “Einstein’s Universe” – who argued in favor of it and even calculated it into his theory of general relativity. The coffin for the idea was Edwin Hubble’s discovery of the relationship between red shift – the way the color of heavenly bodies change as they move away from us – and distance, which showed that the universe was indeed expanding. Einstein would subsequently abandon his model, and would later refer to it as the “biggest blunder” of his career. Still, like all ideas, the expanding universe is just a theory, and a small group of scientists today still subscribe to the old static model.
5. Prior to the observations made by astronomer Edwin Hubble during the 1920s, scientists believed the universe was static, neither expanding nor contracting. Hubble found that distant objects in the universe were moving more quickly away than nearby ones. Very recently, in 1999, scientists unexpectedly found that not only was the universe expanding, but its expansion was accelerating.
6. Prior to the middle of the 20th century scientists believed the Earth’s continents were stable and did not move. This began to change in 1912 with Alfred Wegener’s formulation of the continental drift theory, and later and more properly the elucidation of plate tectonics during the 1950s and 1960s.
7. In the mid-1800s many scientists, including Lord Kelvin, believed the Earth to be just 20 million to 40 million years old. It was around that time that geologists such as Charles Lyell began to believe that the Earth was much older, and this conformed to the views of biologists such as Charles Darwin, who needed a much older Earth for evolution to unfold. It wasn’t until the middle of the 20th century that scientists came to the accepted conclusion today that the Earth is about 4.55 billion years old.
8. As peptic ulcers became more common in the 20th century, doctors increasingly linked them to the stress of modern life. Medical advice during the latter half of the 20th century was, essentially, for patients to take antacids and modify their lifestyle. In the 1980s, Australian clinical researcher Barry Marshal discovered that the bacterium pylori caused peptic ulcer disease, leading him to win a Nobel Prize in 2005.
9. Currently, one debate is about global warming. Obviously, a group of very intelligent and learned individuals are going to be proven wrong in the future when either global warming is proven to be real or not to be happening.
The conclusion that follows has to be that even the most intelligent and knowledgeable persons can be wrong about subjects that they are supposed to be experts in. Could persons who are not particularly knowledgeable about “Pit Bulls” be wrong?
The following are myths about “Pit Bulls” that have no basis in facts.
1. “Pit Bulls” have locking jaws – See http://pitbullsfactormyth.net/16-1-myth-pit-bulls-have-locking-jaws/;
2. “Pit Bulls” can bite with their front teeth and chew with their back teeth at the same time – See http://pitbullsfactormyth.net/16-2-myth-pit-bulls-can-bite-with-their-front-teeth-and-chew-with-their-back-teeth-at-the-same-time/;
3. “Pit Bulls” don’t feel pain – See http://pitbullsfactormyth.net/16-3-myth-pit-bulls-dont-feel-pain/;
4. “Pit Bulls” bite with 1,600 pounds of pressure – See http://pitbullsfactormyth.net/16-4-myth-pit-bulls-bite-with-1600-pounds-of-pressure/;
5. “Pit Bulls” bite more people than any other breed – See http://pitbullsfactormyth.net/16-5-myth-pit-bulls-bite-more-people-than-any-other-breed/;
6. “Dog aggressive” dogs are aggressive towards people – See http://pitbullsfactormyth.net/16-6-myth-dog-aggressive-dogs-are-aggressive-towards-people/;
7. “Pit Bulls” are only good for dogfighting – See http://pitbullsfactormyth.net/16-7-myth-pit-bulls-are-only-good-for-dogfighting/ ;
8. Red or blue nose “pit bulls” are special and worth more – See http://pitbullsfactormyth.net/16-8-myth-red-or-blue-nose-pit-bulls-are-special-and-worth-more/;
9. “Pit Bulls” cannot co-exist with other animals – See http://pitbullsfactormyth.net/16-9-myth-pit-bulls-cannot-co-exist-with-other-animals/;
10. “Pit Bulls” brains swell and they go crazy – See http://pitbullsfactormyth.net/16-10-myth-pit-bulls-brains-swell-and-they-go-crazy/;
11. “Pit Bulls” will attack their owners – See http://pitbullsfactormyth.net/16-11-myth-pit-bulls-will-attack-their-owners/; and
12. “American Pit Bull Terrier”, “Pit Bull”, and “American Bully” are dog breeds – See http://pitbullsfactormyth.net/16-12-myth-american-pit-bull-terrier-pit-bull-and-american-bully-are-breeds/.
