15 Historical Beliefs That Were Proven Wrong
A Quartz article lists 15 scientific and medical beliefs that were accepted for centuries before being overturned by evidence. These include the geocentric model (Ptolemy, overturned by Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler), humoral theory (Hippocrates, Galen, overturned by Vesalius and germ theory), miasma theory (overturned by John Snow's 1854 cholera study), spontaneous generation (Aristotle, overturned by Redi and Pasteur), Galen's blood flow model (overturned by William Harvey in 1628), Aristotle's falling objects theory (overturned by Galileo and Apollo 15), phlogiston theory (Stahl, overturned by Lavoisier), fixed continents (overturned by Wegener and plate tectonics), stress-induced ulcers (overturned by Marshall and Warren's H. pylori discovery), fixity of species (overturned by Darwin and Wallace), celestial perfection (overturned by Galileo and Tycho Brahe), comets as atmospheric (Aristotle, overturned by Brahe), bloodletting (based on humoral theory, overturned by Pierre Louis and germ theory), instantaneous nerve impulses (overturned by Helmholtz), and phrenology (Gall, overturned by modern neuroscience). The article emphasizes that these beliefs were held by experts using the best available tools and were replaced by better evidence.
Key facts
- Geocentric model formalized by Ptolemy in 2nd century, overturned by Copernicus (1543), Galileo (moons of Jupiter, phases of Venus), and Kepler (elliptical orbits).
- Humoral theory by Hippocrates and Galen dominated Western medicine for 2,000 years; bloodletting was a standard treatment.
- Miasma theory blamed disease on foul odors; John Snow traced 1854 cholera outbreak to a water pump.
- Spontaneous generation refuted by Francesco Redi (1668) and Louis Pasteur (1859 swan-neck flask experiment).
- William Harvey published 'De Motu Cordis' in 1628, proving blood circulation.
- Galileo challenged Aristotle's falling objects; Apollo 15 astronaut David Scott dropped hammer and feather on Moon in 1971.
- Phlogiston theory by Georg Ernst Stahl (c. 1700) replaced by Lavoisier's oxygen theory (1789).
- Alfred Wegener proposed continental drift in 1912; plate tectonics confirmed in 1950s-60s.
- Barry Marshall drank H. pylori in 1984 to prove it causes ulcers; Nobel Prize in 2005.
- Charles Darwin published 'On the Origin of Species' in 1859.
- Galileo observed Moon craters and sunspots starting 1609.
- Tycho Brahe measured comet parallax in 1577, placing it beyond Moon.
- Bloodletting declined after Pierre Louis's 1830s studies and germ theory.
- Hermann von Helmholtz measured nerve impulse speed in 1850s at ~30 m/s.
- Phrenology by Franz Joseph Gall (late 18th century) rejected as pseudoscience by early 20th century.
Entities
Institutions
- Quartz Media, Inc.
- Catholic Church
- French Academy of Sciences
- U.S. National Institutes of Health
- Apollo 15
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- London
- Soho
- Broad Street
- Moon
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- Quartz —