Myths & Misconceptions: Things We Know that Just Aren't So

by Philip A. Yaffe

We all carry around myths and misconceptions because we have no choice. No one can be expert in everything, so we simplify our learning into easy-to-remember snippets, which are often very close to the truth, but never quite there.

Most myths and misconceptions do no harm; however, some of them do.

For example, a misconception about fundamental physics means that people living in cold climates spend a hundred dollars or more every year unnecessarily heating their homes. Likewise, a misconception about basic biology means that people living in hot climates spend hundreds of dollars every year unnecessarily cooling their homes. Aside from wasting financial resources, these widespread misconceptions also use up precious natural resources.

This book clearly explains these two misconceptions, as well as many others. However, its purpose is not to save the planet, although this would be a felicitous side effect. Rather it is to entertain the reader by pointing out and explaining a plethora of “things we know that just aren’t so.”

Although extensive and wide-ranging, the myths and misconceptions treated in the book represent only the tip of the iceberg. There are just so many of them that to try to deal with more than a selected few would require an entire library.

A second purpose of the book is to sensitize the reader to the dangers of making important decisions based on false or misleading information. To this end, it clearly explains the differences between myths and misconceptions; they are kissing cousins but not the same. The book also contains short essays on “How to Check Myths,” “How to Check Misconceptions,” “Conspiracy Theories; How to Separate the Wheat from the Chaff,” a lesson in critical thinking excerpted from an iconic short story by iconic science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov, as well as a number of other tips on how to recognize and deal with myths and misconceptions wherever they might occur.

284 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 23, 2013

About the author

Philip A. Yaffe is an author, former feature writer with The Wall Street Journal and a marketing communication consultant. Born in Boston, Mr. Yaffe teaches writing and public speaking in Brussels, Belgium, where he has lived for more than thirty years.