Some Popular Misconceptions Part 2

For those of you who have been educated by the “Some Popular Misconceptions” preceding this blog, here is another set of popular misconceptions. I believe your ignorance regarding the matter has been abated. Please enjoy my second serving of “abating.” Can dogs perceive color? Did Marie-Antoinette really say “Let them eat cake.”? Is Frankenstein a monster?

Well for the first question, yes, dogs see color. However, we, humans, perceive more colors than these animals. Cone cells determine a being’s color perception. Dogs have central retinas which comprise approximately 20% of the photoreceptors. Meanwhile, in humans, the central retina is 100% cones. Behavior tests also conclude that dogs can distinguish red and blue colors however confuse red and green.  I guess for them, what we humans see is more than what meets the eye(no pun intended).

Another myth I was just recently aware of was the fact that Marie-Antoinette didn’t really say “Let them eat cake.” Shocking? Well, if that myth was taught to you during your history classes and you actually believed it, then I guess it really will make you abashed. I too believed in it at first. I was actually proud of the knowledge that leaves me abashed now. I used to believe that she bravely declared those words the time when her subjects have fallen into the clutches of famine. However, due to my thorough research (yeah I just searched the web), I have come to the conclusion that she didn’t really say it. Many historians also greatly disbelieve in this. Biographer Lady Antonia Fraser lucidly explains this. “It was said 100 years before her by Marie-Therese, the wife of Louis XIV,” Fraser explains. “It was a callous and ignorant statement and she [Marie Antoinette] was neither.” I guess we can say that obtaining plausible information isn’t just a piece of cake(once again, no pun intended).

Who does not know the popular Frankenstein? When we hear the name “Frankenstein”, we would usually think that this being is a not-so-macho Hulk with screws adhered to it. Well, before I started searching for information essential for this blog, I too was ignorant regarding this. I’m glad I learned that Frankenstein was actually the name of the creator of the monster. The monster’s name was originally just “the monster.” Well, at least, now we don’t have to fear getting this information wrong( and again, no pun intended).

The world still has many misconceptions out there. Don’t forget to pack a fresh dose of paranoia and means of searching for valid information.

 

Special thanks to:

http://veterinaryvision.com/resources/what-do-dogs-and-cats-see/

http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/dubiousquotes/a/antoinette.htm

http://www.history.com/news/ask-history/did-marie-antoinette-really-say-let-them-eat-cake

http://timkanebooks.com/2011/08/30/the-five-most-common-misconceptions-about-classic-movie-monsters/

 

 

 

 – Sigmund Ervin S. Arce

Some Popular Misconceptions

Is Earth actually round? Are bats actually blind? Is deoxygenated blood actually blue? Does a normal human actually use only 10% of his/her brain?

Although many of us consider ourselves pragmatic, our world is actually abounded with false information. People, in general, are gullible. We tend to believe in things solely because everybody else does. Or we believe because we get information from what we think is a reliable source. In general, the existence of popular misconceptions is more than proof that humans, in general, are gullible. I am here today to both clarify and vociferate. And, yes, I too was ensnared by the trap of false information.  

Let’s start with what I believe is an ancient popular misconception. Religion during the early times believed that the world was flat. Of course, we can laugh about it now because we’re sure that the world is round but religious leaders were actually pretty serious about the idea. However, those who laugh are those most subject to laughter. Our planet isn’t actually round. Yes, you read right. It isn’t. Our planet takes the shape of an oblate spheroid. The pole areas are pressed while the area of the equator is bulged. I guess everything that goes around comes around. But, in the case of Earth, everything went an-oblate-spheroid (no pun intended).

As for another misconception, many people think bats are blind. Many people consider themselves intellectual individuals and assert the idea of bats being masters of bio sonar who need this echolocation because they can’t see. Well, I have nothing against bats being masters of echolocation however I don’t concur to the belief that bats are blind. Actually, bats have normal eyesight. However, they are intrinsically photosensitive. Bats use their echolocation when their eyesight fails them.

Another misconception is that blood that lack oxygen turn blue. This common misconception most likely originated from human observations that veins appear blue. Well, no, deoxygenated blood isn’t blue in nature. In fact, it’s actually dark red. The hemoglobin found in blood creates this red color. Thanks to scumbag hemoglobin, our previous belief is greatly disproven.

The recent movie Lucy has been greatly popular. The movie features Lucy, portrayed by Scarlett Johansson, who gains the ability to use a greater and accreting percentage of her brain. Of course, the movie made the oh-so-popular belief that “an average person uses only 10% of his/her brain” more popular. However, according to psychology, this is absolutely a myth. We actually use every part of our brain and that our brain is actually active most of the time according to neurologists. Brain researchers who have used imaging technology have shown that most of the brain’s regions are continually active over a 24-hour period. “Evidence would show over a day you use 100 percent of the brain,” says John Henley, a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. But hey, Scalett Johansson is hot. Why not watch? 

These are just some of the world’s popular misconceptions. A lot of false misconceptions are still lurking out there. I believe it is a good idea to be paranoid every once in a while and confirm the information we obtain through reliable unconventional means.

Special thanks to: 

10 More Common Misconceptions Dispelled

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-people-only-use-10-percent-of-their-brains/

– Sigmund Ervin S. Arce

A Blog About Blogs

A blog, according to Merriam-Webster, is a website wherein the author expresses his/her opinions, observations or experiences regarding a certain topic. The innovation mankind has given itself is relatively ravishing. We, individuals, are given the freedom to express abstract ideas and give them a visible form. This visible form may contain a variety of means to deliver information such as text, pictures, and videos. This form also, in return, creates abstract ideas in the readers’ minds. The evanescent blogs, with respect to its readers, leave a relatively subtle mark on the readers’ minds. This concept is greatly similar to other forms of literature and shares the same beauty. Due to modern-day technology, the publication of both important and trivial information has been made more convenient.

Blogs define the bloggers. As I’ve mentioned, these blogs contain both important and trivial information. There is a boundless range of topics growing ad infinitum. However, the greatest knowledge a blog gives its readers is the author’s attitude and aptitude. It subliminally creates the author’s existence to its reader. Humans create their external existence through physical and mental display. Blogs accentuate this external existence through the materialization of a blogger’s mind. It’s really amazing when you ‘think’ about it (no pun intended). Technological advancement further heightens humans’ inherent abilities to publicize their minds.

Blogs also aid in human interaction. Authors and readers unknowingly obtain invisible strings of relation. Consequently, an author becomes a part of the reader’s life, no matter how small the author’s influence may be. Blogs serve as bridges of information for humans even miles away and greatly resemble the “ethers” from classical physics (and yes one shall not misjudge the aforementioned figure of speech solely because ethers are only hypothetical). Blogs serve as transmission media, not of electromagnetic waves, but of human thoughts.

Another beauty in blogs is the unifying fact that they are all blogs no matter how different they are. They share the same identification and the same uniqueness. Blogs have their defining qualities that make them the blogs they are. The same applies to humans- the unifying fact that we’re all human and that we all share the same uniqueness. The range of our unique qualities is deemed infinite however we are unified by this uniqueness. We are all the same despite (and also because) of our differences. I believe we should all give notice to the fact that we are all built for unity.

And lastly, why make a blog about blogs? Originally, the topic being chosen was a mere puerile act. However, due to unconventional insights, the topic has provided me with many lessons in life. And this is its final lesson. This blog stands solely because of other blogs. And it is greatly dependent on the totality of blogs. We, humans, are created by the humans around us. Our personalities depend greatly on others. Hence, our lives, in general, are the combinations of outside influences that affect our sectors of space. Our existence is created by other existences that we interact with. Humans are created by humans. We are all blogs about blogs.

 

Here is a fine example of what others see as puerile, however it is subject to unconventional insight. Nahhh. It’s just a random video.

 

 

-Sigmund Ervin S. Arce