| Show HARD TO LOOSEN ERRORS GRIP ON POPULAR BELIEFS two eminent scientists at atlantic city taking stock of 0 the state of knowledge catalogued cataloguer catalo gued eight lar beliefs that are not true P thus A child Is influenced by what its lt mother sees or thinks before the th child Is born birth marks barks are caused by what a mother sees or touches before her child Is born bora in former times the average length of human life was much longer than now fat fal people always are good natured mental disorders are caused by uy study children of 0 first cousins cousing though of good parentage are likely to be feeble minded heavy growth of hair on a persons limbs and chest indicates great physical strength the theory of evolution ira im plies that men aro arc descended from apes this list of beliefs in tact fact lg Is particularly interesting bee because au s a each of its items Is a venerable of the human mind none of these widely ace accepted apted errors is 13 of recent origin none of them arises from the life of today even the youngest 4 of them that concerning the theory of evolution Is of a considerable age and nil all of them have been contradicted by authority time and again yet they persist in vigor apparently unimpaired and there Is no sign that any of them li giving ground under the impact of denial A belief once accepted by the population at large has more lives than a litter of kittens the earnest inculcator of sound doctrine who attempts to dislodge it undertakes an almost hopeless task nor does this mean that truth Is mocked the untruth Is simply often picturesquely dressed the exceptional circumstances that seem to support it are vividly related and remain in the memory while lethe the growth of truth Is likely to be a drab garment stitched with its and buts new york sun |
