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While renowned scientists have made remarkable contributions to humanity, earning them the highest regard, it's easy to forget that they, too, were fallible. Even the most brilliant minds have their moments of error.
10. Nikola Tesla's Unlikely Flight
Nikola Tesla is undeniably one of the greatest minds in history, with his groundbreaking work shaping the modern world. However, in his later years, he developed a reputation for pursuing eccentric and sometimes impractical inventions, like an earthquake machine or a death ray. Yet, perhaps his most amusing failure came from one of his earliest experimental blunders.
Tesla's curiosity was apparent even in his childhood, constantly seeking new ways to test his ideas. Once, he observed that hyperventilating made him feel light and buoyant, leading him to wonder if this sensation could counteract gravity. Armed with an old umbrella, he climbed to the barn's roof, hyperventilated until dizzy, and then jumped off.
It goes without saying that his flight was brief. The fall knocked young Tesla unconscious, and he was quickly taken to bed by his mother. He spent the following weeks recovering there.
9. Thomas Edison's Concrete Dream
In 1877, Tesla's rival, Thomas Edison, discovered black sand near Long Island. Over the next few years, he worked on a method to better extract iron ore from the sand. He patented his approach and published papers, but not everyone was impressed. One newspaper even dubbed his venture 'Edison's Folly.'
Determined to prove his critics wrong, Edison poured his own funds into a new venture designed to process the ore. Unfortunately, it was a massive failure. His method was less effective than the previous one, the machines malfunctioned due to dust, and workers even lost their lives when a building collapsed.
At this point, Edison had a new idea to salvage the operation: concrete housing. His plan was to build an entire house—complete with fixtures, furniture, and even a piano—using concrete poured into molds. With all the heavy machinery he had on hand, Edison believed this concept could revolutionize affordable housing. He even found an investor for the project.
However, the supposed affordable housing turned out to be anything but. The house alone would have required thousands of individual molds, with hundreds more for the interior items. Despite the high costs, 11 of these houses were constructed, but none were ever sold.
8. Einstein's Unfound Hypothesis
Albert Einstein's impact on modern science and our understanding of the universe is unparalleled by most other scientists. However, this doesn’t mean he was right all the time. One of his questionable beliefs was that the universe is eternal.
Einstein firmly believed that the universe had always existed and would always continue, despite the rise of the Big Bang Theory during his lifetime. He even met Georges Lemaitre, the Belgian priest and astronomer who first proposed the theory. When Lemaitre shared his ideas, Einstein boldly remarked, 'Your calculations are correct, but your grasp of physics is abominable.'
Not only did Einstein reject Lemaitre's theory, but he also attempted to develop an alternative. One of his recently uncovered manuscripts from 1931 delves into the concept of a steady-state universe, which closely resembles later theories that opposed the Big Bang Theory.
7. Fred Hoyle's Steady-State Theory
Einstein wasn't alone in dismissing the idea that the universe had a beginning. In fact, Fred Hoyle was perhaps its most vocal opponent.
Fred Hoyle was undoubtedly a brilliant mind. His research on the formation of heavy elements in stars greatly benefited the scientific world. Yet, he firmly believed in a steady-state universe, a theory that many once shared. Throughout their careers, Hoyle and George Gamow, the Russian physicist who championed Lemaitre's theory after his death, constantly clashed over their conflicting views.
Hoyle managed to rally public support for his theory not through evidence or logical arguments, but with his charisma. A skilled orator, he exuded confidence and made many media appearances to advocate for his position. Ironically, it was his own contribution that helped solidify the Big Bang Theory's name. He coined the term 'Big Bang' to mock the idea, hoping to undermine it.
Despite Hoyle's efforts, his steady-state theory was eventually debunked. On the other hand, evidence supporting the Big Bang Theory accumulated to such an extent that it became widely accepted as the explanation for the universe's origins.
6. Benjamin Franklin’s Electrocuted Turkey
Benjamin Franklin is famously known for his fascination with electricity. Less known, however, is his peculiar experimentation with electricity and animals. Franklin spent considerable time in his backyard, using animals to demonstrate various electrical phenomena. One of his more unusual experiments, the 'electric spider,' illustrated how electricity could bring a lifeless creature back to movement.
Eventually, Franklin moved on to using live animals and discovered a novel application of electricity—cooking. He began hosting parties where 'electrocuted turkey' was the main dish. In a letter to his brother, John, Franklin recounted one such party in 1750 that went awry. He wanted to demonstrate the electrocution process for his guests, but while preparing, a sudden flash of light engulfed him. He collapsed to the ground, unconscious, but luckily, no lasting harm was done, aside from a bruised ego. (The turkey, however, was perfectly fine.)
5. Edwin Hubble's Miscalculated Estimate
Edwin Hubble's contributions to the field of astronomy are unparalleled. Before his groundbreaking work, our understanding of the universe beyond the Milky Way was limited. Thanks to his discoveries, we now know that our galaxy is merely a tiny speck in an ever-expanding universe that may even be infinite.
Afterward, Hubble turned his attention to an even grander goal—determining the age of the universe. In 1929, he calculated the expansion rate, known as the 'Hubble Constant,' and used it to trace the universe's origins. Based on his calculations, he concluded that the universe was two billion years old.
This claim was quickly debunked. By the 1930s, scientists had established that Earth was between three and five billion years old. Naturally, our planet couldn't be older than the universe itself, so Hubble's estimation was proven to be incorrect.
4. Linus Pauling's Triple Helix
Linus Pauling boasts an impressive array of achievements, especially in the realms of biology and chemistry. As the only individual to win two unshared Nobel Prizes, his contributions have been widely acknowledged by the scientific world. During the early 1950s, Pauling was focused on a groundbreaking project that could have easily earned him yet another Nobel—deciphering the structure of DNA.
He was racing against time because he had formidable competition. Two other researchers, Francis Crick and James Watson, were also developing their own model of the DNA structure. They ultimately won the Nobel Prize for their iconic double helix model, which remains a cornerstone of biology today.
Upon seeing their work, Pauling admitted that they were right and he was wrong. His own model had a fundamental flaw: it featured a triple helix. Additionally, he had made a critical error in his calculations, and the nucleic acid molecule in his model wasn’t actually an acid.
3. Newton’s Incorrect Calculation
Isaac Newton's *Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica* is widely regarded as one of the most influential scientific works ever produced, and for good reason. It has been referenced, quoted, and examined countless times over the past 300-plus years since its publication. That makes it all the more remarkable that this masterpiece contained a simple mathematical mistake all along.
The mistake appears in Proposition Eight, where Newton provides a formula for determining the mass of known planets, which involves an angle formed by two specific lines. In his calculations, he determines the angle to be 10.5 seconds, but later, he accidentally uses 11.
While the error is minor and has no real impact, it is extraordinary that it went unnoticed for centuries. Despite numerous brilliant minds studying Newton’s work, it was a 23-year-old student named Robert Garisto who eventually spotted the mistake.
2. Galileo's Tidal Theory
Galileo was never one to shy away from controversy. Even when he knew his ideas would face harsh criticism or mockery, he remained steadfast in presenting them. This is why he is remembered today for supporting Copernicus’s heliocentric theory, despite strong opposition from the Catholic Church. It took 350 years for the Church to finally acknowledge its error.
However, Galileo is fortunate that his tidal theory isn’t widely recognized today. From the start, he was wrong, as he began his explanation of tidal movements based on a false premise—that they were caused by the Earth's orbit around the Sun. This alone doomed his theory, as it rested on an incorrect assumption.
Things were made worse by the fact that Galileo was aware of the Moon’s potential impact on tides, yet he dismissed it. In 1882, when Lord Kelvin wrote his own analysis of tides, he briefly mentioned Galileo. According to Kelvin, Galileo referred to the idea of the Moon influencing tides as 'a lamentable piece of mysticism.'
1. Darwin and Heredity
While Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution is widely recognized, it has continued to develop and adapt since he first introduced it. One aspect of Darwin’s original theory that was problematic involved heredity.
During his time, many held incorrect beliefs about how traits were passed down from parents to offspring. For instance, most 19th-century biologists believed that characteristics were inherited through the blood. Darwin, in line with common thought, assumed that traits from both parents blended together in their children.
The issue with this idea of blended genetics was that it contradicted Darwin’s own theory. If blending were true, traits wouldn’t evolve through natural selection over generations. Meanwhile, another scientist, Gregor Mendel, was discovering the true nature of heredity and how it functions. It seems Darwin never learned of Mendel’s findings.
