Flat Out Wrong

  Some people alive today claim to actually believe the earth is flat. They are flat out wrong. Actually, so are people who believe it’s round. It’s actually an oblate spheroid. (Try selling that to globe manufacturers.)

      Some, historically and contemporarily, fervently believe males are inherently smarter than females. Others, based on similar misunderstandings of genetics, claim the same for Caucasians over people of color. Hmmm . . . guess they never heard of George Washington Carver or Katherine Johnson.

      Young Earth Creationists fervently, passionately believe Earth is only somewhere in the neighborhood of 6000 years old. Indeed, they have their head in the flat earth sand.

      Some folks drift off in fear that it might be one of the nights they swallow one of the average eight/year spiders the average person ingests. The actual average: zero.

      Some mothers almost have heart attacks when they realize that their children plunged into the lake immediately after a hearty lunch instead of waiting the required thirty minutes. Not so, says questionable medical authorities . . . like Mayo Clinic.

      Then there’s religious beliefs. Such as the ancient worship of Moloch to whom parents sacrificed children in order to gain favor or stop calamities. You really had to have a firm belief in what the shamans told you before handing them your child for death by fire. And they were dead wrong.

      Also, religions of all types encourage prayer to their respective gods for, for instance, healing of diseases or rain for drought-plagued lands. Valid question: if there’s a god that prayer might influence to heal a six-year-old of cancer, why would such a caring deity allow the cancer in the first place?

      Simply believing something – fervently, even – doesn’t necessarily mean it’s true. And clinging to the veracity of something that is patently false can make a difference . . . big or small depending on the issue. Example: some parents permanently reject a son or daughter because the child doesn’t conform to mom’s or dad’s set of beliefs or lifestyle.

      Which is why it’s important to do your homework . . . whatever the issue. Do the homework diligently, seriously, thoroughly, honestly. Read, study, examine, discuss, think. And then do some more. It might change you way of thinking, or it may not. At the very least, it might save you from sacrificing your kid.

      Postscript. I’ll bet you thought Mt. Everest is the highest mountain on the planet. Nope. Technically, the tallest mountain in the world is Mauna Kea in Hawaii, which is taller if measured from its base on the ocean floor to its peak. Mauna Kea rises 33,500 feet from base to summit, making it taller than Everest by over 4,000 feet. Go figure.