AGREE or DISAGREE: Common Knowledge Does Not Equal Fact?

[Up_Tilt_390]

I've decided to take a break from any political discussions in the General Discussion tab and decided to go along with something different. Now for this particular question, I'd like people to act under the assumption that the answer to this question would be based on whether or not common knowledge is correct for the majority of the time rather than all of it. There's always exceptions in every rule.

For example, it could be considered common knowledge that human blood is blue inside the body until it comes into contact with Oxygen, to which it then turns red. This is what the majority of people I know believe to be the case. But despite this common consensus, this is in fact not true. Human blood is always red, whether oxygenated or not, and that it only usually changes shades from being dark purplish-red when not containing Oxygen, to being a bright red when it does contain Oxygen.

Another bit of common knowledge could be the spelling rule 'I before E except after C'. But in fact this rule is also not true. There are 923 English words which break this rule, and there are actually more exceptions to the rule than the rule itself (courtesy of QI). But these two common mistakes don't necessarily mean that what is considered common knowledge is generally incorrect, because I've only provided two examples.

I want to know what you think, does common knowledge mostly equal fact, or does it play no part at all? Any common misconceptions would be welcome too if you wish to strengthen your opinion. Thanks.

 

[DarloRich]

I would like to know what the point of this is?

 

[Up_Tilt_390]

I would like to know what the point of this is?

Partially for a bit of fun, partially because I'd like to know what people think.

 

[Dai Corner]

I'm not sure if this is the kind of thing you're after, but a common misconception is that certain types of electric heaters are 'more efficient' than others.

In fact, they all turn every watt of electricity into heat.

(Topical as it's going to get pretty cold tonight!)

 

[Up_Tilt_390]

I'm not sure if this is the kind of thing you're after, but a common misconception is that certain types of electric heaters are 'more efficient' than others.

In fact, they all turn every watt of electricity into heat.

Things like that will suffice perfectly . Common misconceptions could pretty much be called common knowledge.

 

[AlterEgo]

The question doesn’t make sense. You’ve asked if common knowledge does not *equal* facts but then accept the definition of “equals” to be “more right than wrong” in the second option.

 

[AlterEgo]

I too would like to know the point of this moronic drivel which has absolutely nothing to do with railways.

It’s in the general discussion section...

 

[Up_Tilt_390]

The question doesn’t make sense. You’ve asked if common knowledge does not *equal* facts but then accept the definition of “equals” to be “more right than wrong” in the second option.

Perhaps you could help me out and suggest what might be a better question to use?

EDIT: Can't seem to change the polling questions. Might need a mod to make a slight adjustment if I can't do it.

 

[AlterEgo]

Perhaps you could help me out and suggest what might be a better question to use?

I don’t know what question you want to ask. But the answer to the question you posted should be either only true or false. But remember that true or false are definites and not “on the balance of averages/probabilities”...!

 

[Bromley boy]

Common knowledge is usually pretty woeful.

Whenever a subject I know about in detail is reported in the newspapers, I'm reminded of how poor their coverage of in-depth topics is.

Most of us glean our knowledge from the press, hence I'm frequently reminded of how little the majority of people (including myself) know about any given subject, when that knowledge is based on what we read in the papers.

 

[Up_Tilt_390]

Most of us glean our knowledge from the press, hence I'm frequently reminded of how little the majority of people (including myself) know about any given subject, when that knowledge is based on what we read in the papers.

With all due respect my good fellow, I'm not sure the colour of blood is often spoken of in the newspapers

 

[Bromley boy]

With all due respect my good fellow, I'm not sure the colour of blood is often spoken of in the newspapers

That’s far too cryptic for me, I’m afraid, especially at this late hour.

Please elucidate!

 

[Dai Corner]

I don’t know what question you want to ask. But the answer to the question you posted should be either only true or false. But remember that true or false are definites and not “on the balance of averages/probabilities”...!

No I didn't understand the poll question either but I thought it might be interesting to talk about some common misconceptions.

 

[Up_Tilt_390]

That’s far too cryptic for me, I’m afraid, especially at this late hour.

Please elucidate!

What would you like me to elucidate?

 

[Bromley boy]

What would you like me to elucidate?

The bit about the colour of blood being spoken of in newspapers...!

 

[Up_Tilt_390]

The bit about the colour of blood being spoken of in newspapers...!

Well this was suppose to be a thread about common knowledge based on things we think we know. I have examples in the form of the colour of blood and the “I before E” rule, both of which are actually untrue despite the common consensus. It was meant to be about whether common knowledge could be regarded as equal to facts, and also welcomes the idea of revealing some common misconceptions.

 

[AlterEgo]

Well this was suppose to be a thread about common knowledge based on things we think we know. I have examples in the form of the colour of blood and the “I before E” rule, both of which are actually untrue despite the common consensus. It was meant to be about whether common knowledge could be regarded as equal to facts, and also welcomes the idea of revealing some common misconceptions.

How can things which are provably and demonstrably wrong possibly be facts? I don’t get it.

 

[Up_Tilt_390]

How can things which are provably and demonstrably wrong possibly be facts? I don’t get it.

I'm not saying they are. Is the term 'common knowledge' synonymous with facts? What I'm saying is that the thread is about discussing whether common knowledge could be considered as equal to facts, to which I would say no because of how it's wrong in at least two cases. What is thought to be common knowledge is not true in those two cases, and therefore isn't fact.

 

[Domh245]

Most of us glean our knowledge from the press, hence I'm frequently reminded of how little the majority of people (including myself) know about any given subject, when that knowledge is based on what we read in the papers.

It's something that I occasionally think about. I might read something in the 'mainstream media' on a topic about which I am interested/know more about than most others might, which I can see is wrong and full of misconceptions, and yet I'll quite happily read something from the same source about something that I am not as knowledgeable about and take it as the truth.

 

[Bromley boy]

From the title, I thought this was a thread about how common knowledge is often wrong?

Just as long as I don’t have to talk about tax again.

I can talk about trains or aviation instead.

 

[Dai Corner]

It's something that I occasionally think about. I might read something in the 'mainstream media' on a topic about which I am interested/know more about than most others might, which I can see is wrong and full of misconceptions, and yet I'll quite happily read something from the same source about something that I am not as knowledgeable about and take it as the truth.

I note the inaccuracies and misconceptions and assume that everything in the mainstream media is of similar quality and do my own research if I'm interested enough.

 

[Bromley boy]

It's something that I occasionally think about. I might read something in the 'mainstream media' on a topic about which I am interested/know more about than most others might, which I can see is wrong and full of misconceptions, and yet I'll quite happily read something from the same source about something that I am not as knowledgeable about and take it as the truth.

What scares me is that it’s only when you read an article on a topic you know something about that you realise how inaccurate it is.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

I'm not sure if this is the kind of thing you're after, but a common misconception is that certain types of electric heaters are 'more efficient' than others.

In fact, they all turn every watt of electricity into heat.

I suspect it's a bit more complex than that. Yes, every Watt turns into heat, but where that heat goes will impact how effective each Watt of heat is in making the room feel comfortable. For example, a bar heater that throws out large amounts of radiation will feel very different from a convector that heats the air that gets drawn through it.

(Topical as it's going to get pretty cold tonight!)

Totally agree there. Brrrrrrr!!! (But beautifully clear night. I live in London and even here you can see loads of stars tonight).

 

[Dai Corner]

I suspect it's a bit more complex than that. Yes, every Watt turns into heat, but where that heat goes will impact how effective each Watt of heat is in making the room feel comfortable. For example, a bar heater that throws out large amounts of radiation will feel very different from a convector that heats the air that gets drawn through it.

Indeed. The radiant heater will make someone sitting in front of it feel warmer more quickly than a convector and in common parlance that might be said to be 'more efficient' . It's more efficient in that sense but not in the energy conversion sense.

 

[SS4]

I suspect it's a bit more complex than that. Yes, every Watt turns into heat, but where that heat goes will impact how effective each Watt of heat is in making the room feel comfortable. For example, a bar heater that throws out large amounts of radiation will feel very different from a convector that heats the air that gets drawn through it.

That's true. If we look at the amount of energy used then the radiant heater will use less energy than the convector (all other things being equal) as it's on for less time (Heat, as a form of energy, is not measured in Watts) but using the efficiency formula all heaters convert electricity to heat at 100%

 

[TheNewNo2]

I'd like to refer you all to Wikipedia's List of Common Misconceptions: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_common_misconceptions

Regarding the initial question, I would say that neither is correct. Common knowledge isn't regularly false, but neither is it entirely true. It gets the gist, but that's about it.

 

[Busaholic]

Another bit of common knowledge could be the spelling rule 'I before E except after C'. But in fact this rule is also not true. There are 923 English words which break this rule, and there are actually more exceptions to the rule than the rule itself (courtesy of QI). But these two common mistakes don't necessarily mean that what is considered common knowledge is generally incorrect, because I've only provided two examples.
.

The 'fact' that you are able to count 923 English words that break the rule, and reach the conclusion of 923, is absolute evidence that the vast majority of words conform to the rules. I doubt anyone could compute the number of words that do conform, but it must be in the tens of thousands. Actually, there are quite a few that have C then I then E, but maybe those are included in the 923. If Stephen Fry is a member of this forum then he'll now have one of his hissy fits and resign.

 

[Up_Tilt_390]

The 'fact' that you are able to count 923 English words that break the rule, and reach the conclusion of 923, is absolute evidence that the vast majority of words conform to the rules. I doubt anyone could compute the number of words that do conform, but it must be in the tens of thousands. Actually, there are quite a few that have C then I then E, but maybe those are included in the 923. If Stephen Fry is a member of this forum then he'll now have one of his hissy fits and resign.

I think I once counted 47. Truth be told I hadn’t done searches that were rigorous enough to be conclusive, but a quick Google search tells me only 44. Also, the fact that 923 words break the rule isn't absolute evidence that the vast majority of words conform to it, it's just evidence that 923 English words break the rule.

I know you should take everything with caution, but I believe QI is the most researched programme on the TV, so I have not as much trouble believing what it says about the rule. It has been wrong yes, but I’m not sure they’ve corrected this particular thing yet. If they have I'd appreciate any YouTube clips if there are any.

The general way to break the rule is either the spelling of “ei” that doesn’t precede the C (for example “either”, “weird”) or are spelled “cie” (for example, “science”, “glacier”, “species”). Both “ei” with no preceding C, and “cie” aren’t conforming to the rule of “I before E except after C”. To be fair I’m not sure it’s taught at schools anymore.

 

[AndrewE]

It's "Common knowledge" that eating saturated (animal) fat is bad for you because it raises cholesterol levels and causes heart attacks. I know this because we have been told it by all sorts of authorities for a couple (or 3) decades now, and the British Heart Foundation still promote the lie. Except that it is totally wrong, was never true and it is going to take a long time to undo the damage this advice has caused! The problem is that when we have been indoctrinated for several decades it is almost impossible to get people to accept that they have been misled...
Some years ago QI had an interesting discussion on "the half-life of a fact!"

 

[Up_Tilt_390]

I'd like to refer you all to Wikipedia's List of Common Misconceptions: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_common_misconceptions

Wow, just wow! That is the most interesting Wikipedia article I have ever seen, so props up to you for posting it But what it seems to have missed, though I might've just missed it myself, is the colour of water. I think that ought to have a bit of coverage, so I'll do it here...