Comment by graemep
3 days ago
> Those are hard to rectify once internalized, and have a tendency to even overshadow historical research for the general public
The "people told Columbus the earth is flat" is one that is still repeated by people who should know better.
I can’t believe that crap was drummed into us in grade school. I was taught that that was literally the reason for the voyage, that he was out to prove the world was round to the doubt and consternation of his contemporaries.
That shit was fabricated from whole cloth, and why? So.much.absolute.bullocks in my grade school curriculum. It’s like as if the whole point was to make up The most outrageous lies and see if you could trick kids into believing them.
OTOH I’m thankful for a healthy skepticism of institutions and authority.