I enjoyed filling out the scientific misconceptions survey, as well. I had no idea that oxygen "boiled" and I looked up its boiling point as soon as I got home! Turns out, it is -183 degrees Celsius. Damn that's cold! I'm looking forward to discussing all of those misconceptions in the coming weeks.
Thinking of scientific misconceptions and how we pass those down to others, which in turn interfere with learning, made me wonder about other misconceptions in our lives that lead to inaccurate beliefs or false information.
For example, when most people hear the name Napoleon, they picture a short man with a bad temper and a penchant for conquering. Having a "Napoleon Complex," is a phrase we use often to describe people with little bodies and big egos. The funny thing is, Napoleon was not a short man. He was perfectly average for his time. The misconception comes from a mistranslation between French and English measurements, and, of course, some old fashioned British Propaganda.
Our world is filled with misunderstandings. As Alexander Pope once said, "To err is human..." I look forward to learning how to not only teach science without the misconceptions, but to teach students that science is not immutable. It grows and changes as we grow and change.
I loved drawing the dinosaur, too! That will be such a fun activity to do in our future classrooms.
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