The Five Most Erroneous Statements In History

In many cases the truth is not absolute. It is a dynamic reality. What is true today may not be true tomorrow. That is especially relevant in connection with everything that has to do with science and something that many people forget. It is also why they make explicit statements that later turn out to be very wrong. In this article, we introduce you to the five most erroneous statements in history.

There are many “absolute truths” that have been torn to shreds as a result of the development of knowledge and of reality. Humanity actually burned or imprisoned those people who had the audacity to say things that society considered false. Later we often find that those “heretics” were right.

In general, it is the intellectual or political authorities who have the audacity to make categorical statements and who believe that they are telling the truth. When they do this, they forget something. Because no matter how intelligent we are as humans, we are often only able to understand one piece of a reality. It is indeed part of the whole. But because it is incomplete by nature, it leads us to wrong conclusions.

It is always good that you remember to think twice before making some absolute statement. It’s worth having some healthy skepticism about the things you think are true. Because if you don’t, you risk ending up like those people who made some of the most famously false statements in history.

Flying is impossible, one of the most erroneous statements in history

Lord Kelvin, the president of the Royal Society of London, made this famous statement. “ Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible.” He didn’t believe he was guessing. For the studies of the time “proved” it.

The Wright brothers had knowledge about cycling, but they were unaware of Lord Kelvin’s expert opinion. That’s why they had no qualms about experimenting. And as you know, they eventually invented the airplane.

The “uselessness” of the radio

The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who wants to pay for a message sent to no one in particular?” We attribute this quote to the company David Sarnoff and Associates. It is believed that they made this statement when someone suggested they invest in radio in the 1920s.

They had no idea that that monumental mistake would make history. For it is certainly one of the most erroneous statements in the history of mankind. We have no idea what they thought later when radio changed the world.

The British don’t need a phone

“The Americans need the telephone, but we don’t. We have enough young messengers.” William Preece was the head of the engineering department of the British Postal Service. This quote is his answer when he first heard about the telephone in 1878. He was convinced that he was being told information about a useless invention.

This often happens with bosses and supervisors. They are used to being in control of their environment. They also just like that everything goes the way they want it to. This arrogance leads to mistakes, as in this famous case.

When television had no future

Darryl Zanuck was a film expert in the United States. In 1946 people were talking about television. He was sure that this invention would fail. This is one of his statements. “People will soon tire of staring at a plywood box every night.”

This is a great example of wishful thinking. Old Zanuck was probably worried that this new invention would keep people away from the movie. He was right about that, but not about the future of television. We’ve also seen that his fears were actually unfounded. Because the truth is that film and cinema are very much alive today.

Receive mail via rockets

Arthur Summerfield was a North American politician. He was also one of the directors of the United States Postal Service. Summerfield was a curious and optimistic man. Moreover, he managed to make one of the most unwise and erroneous statements in history.

In 1959 he said the following:  “Before man reaches the moon, your mail will be delivered from New York to Australia in a matter of hours by guided missiles. We are on the brink of rocket delivery.”   Summerfield even sent a letter attached to a submarine missile. Still, his little invention never paid off. However, he did go down in history with this impressive blunder.

Truth is the key to knowledge

The more you know, the more you need to realize that there is so much you don’t know. When you are overly confident in your opinions and knowledge, it leads to making mistakes that can border on the absurd. The truth is a tricky and changing thing. It is important to remember that most of the time we only see a small part of the full truth.