Columbus and the Flat Earth Myth

Autor/in	Singham, Mano
Titel	Columbus and the Flat Earth Myth
Quelle	In: Phi Delta Kappan, 88 (2007) 8, S.590-592 (3 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0031-7217
Schlagwörter	Stellungnahme; Mythology; Scholarship; Science History; Misconceptions; Geography; Navigation + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Mythologie; Scholarships; Stipendium; History of science; Wissenschaftsgeschichte; Missverständnis; Geografie
Abstract	In this article, the author discusses the resilient myth that it was Columbus' journey to the New World that proved that the world was round. It is widely known that it was Columbus' journey to the New World that proved that the world was round. However, Thomas Kuhn in "The Copernican Revolution" showed clearly in 1957 that the idea of a flat Earth was rejected very early in recorded history. The belief in the sphericity of the Earth, even back in those early days, was based on careful observations and solid reasoning. Yet, the appeal of the Columbus myth is so powerful that people overlook an obvious and fatal flaw in the story. After all, since Columbus' westward journey stopped at America, he cannot even be claimed to have been the first to confirm "empirically" that the Earth was round. Even if the people of his time had thought the world was flat, Columbus' trip did not prove the contrary, and it is Magellan's crew, who circumnavigated the globe in 1522, who should get the honor. On the other hand, the myth of the flat Earth had become so well entrenched by the 20th century that even a respected scholar like Librarian of Congress Daniel Boorstin took it for granted as incontrovertible when writing his widely read book "The Discoverers" in 1983. Thus he cemented the story in the public's consciousness even further. The author suggests that perhaps it is not the people of the Middle Ages who should be accused of clinging to erroneous beliefs. (ERIC).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10