A TedEd by Joseph Isaac
A misconception is something that is commonly believed by largely incorrect, for example, the taste map discovered by David Hänig in 1901. The simplified versions printed in many books and newspapers were incorrect. There are two common types of misconceptions. One is disinformation, which is fake information designed to mislead people. However, misinformation is more common, and it is inaccurate information that is unintentionally created. So why do we fall for misconceptions so easily? Misinformation often occurs from human error in transmission, like a game of telephone, which is what happened to Hänig's taste map. It was written in German and academic language, so it was hard to understand for most people. So, newspapers began reporting that certain flavors were imperceptible on certain parts of the tongue, whereas Hänig's research showed that flavors were present on all parts of the tongue and the areas he identified were only slightly more sensitive to certain flavors. Another factor in the spread of this misconception was the simplification of Hänig's complicated diagram, which was more approachable and fits our ideal of being able to understand the world. However, science is often more complicated than that, and a good story is often hard to ignore. So the next time you see some amazing fact, make sure you know it's really true.
No comments:
Post a Comment