HEAVENLY ERRORS
INTRODUCTION 1 1 FUN IN THE SUN SOME MISCONCEPTIONS CLOSE TO HOME 9 2 BLAME IT ON SOMEONE ELSE EXTERNAL ORIGINS OF INCORRECT BELIEFS 49 3 CREATING YOUR OWN PRIVATE COSMOS INTERNAL AND MIXED ORIGINS OF INCORRECT BELIEFS 83 4 SURVIVAL IN A MISPERCEIVED WORLD HOW WELL DID OUR ANCESTORS DO WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING NATURE 121 CONTENTS 5 BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO MISCONCEPTIONS ARE HARD TO REPLACE 145 6 THE SAGE ON THE STAGE OR THE GUIDE BY YOUR SIDE A PEEK BEHIND THE EFFORT TO HELP YOU UNLEARN MISCONCEPTIONS 169 7 LET THE BUYER BEWARE HOW TO AVOID FUTURE MISCONCEPTIONS 195 8 CON ICTS AND DANGERS THE PROBLEMS THAT MISCONCEPTIONS CREATE 215 EPILOGUE FALSE PERSONAL COSMOLOGIES 229 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 233 THE MAYALL FOUR METER TELESCOPE ONE OF THE PREMIER OPTICAL TELE SCOPES IN THE WORLD DOMINATES THE LANDSCAPE AT THE KITT PEAK NATIONAL OBSERVATORY SOUTHWEST OF TUCSON ARIZONA THIS TELESCOPE TOWERS EIGHTEEN STORIES ABOVE THE MOUNTAIN PEAK AND ON EVERY CLEAR NIGHT THE DOME SLIDES OPEN TECHNICIANS AIM THE TELESCOPE AND ASTRONOMERS GATHER NEW INFORMATION ABOUT THE COSMOS TO AVOID GETTING THE TELE SCOPE WET IN UNEXPECTED RAIN ASTRONOMERS MUST PERIODICALLY CHECK FOR CLOUDS IN THE 1980S THIS WAS ALWAYS DONE BY WALKING AROUND A CAT WALK ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE DOME I PERFORMED THIS RITUAL MANY TIMES AND INVARIABLY AT THREE IN THE MORNING IT HAD THE EFFECT OF ALTERING MY PERCEPTION OF REALITY LEAVING THE QUIET EF CIENCY OF THE CONTROL ROOM WITH ITS MYRIAD INTRODUCTION 1 COMPUTERS DATA STORAGE DEVICES AND INSTRUMENTS FOR GUIDING THE TELE SCOPE YOU QUICKLY REACH THE ACCESS DOOR A STEEL AFFAIR MORE LIKE THE HATCH ON A SHIP THAN ANYTHING ELSE WHEN THE DOOR SQUEAKS OPEN AND YOU STEP OUTSIDE YOU ARE HURLED INTO BLACKNESS TEN STORIES ABOVE THE GROUND AS YOU STAND ON A FRAGILE LOOKING STEEL CATWALK INDEED IT AND THE GUARDRAIL ARE ALL BUT INVISIBLE AT NIGHT GIVING THE UNSETTLING IMPRES SION THAT YOU ARE SUSPENDED IN SPACE THOUGH I HAD OVERCOME MY FEAR OF HEIGHTS BY JUMPING OUT OF AIRPLANES IN THE MILITARY MY RST STROLL AROUND THAT CATWALK IN DARKNESS WAS NEVERTHELESS PROFOUNDLY DISORI ENTING THE CIRCUIT LONGER THAN TWO FOOTBALL ELDS TOOK ABOUT VE MINUTES TO COMPLETE THE MILKY WAY BLAZED OVERHEAD ITS STARS BARELY TWINKLING ASTRONOMERS HATE TWINKLING BECAUSE IT BLURS IMAGES THE STUNNING BEAUTY AND THE FACT THAT I WAS STANDING ABOVE A MOUNTAINTOP REACHING HIGH INTO THE SKY MADE ME FEEL MORE CONNECTED TO THE UNIVERSE THAN EVER BEFORE I WAS REMINDED OF THE EXPERIENCE YEARS LATER WHEN SEEING THE RESPONSE OF JODIE FOSTER S CHARACTER DR ELLIE ARROWAY TO THE VIEW OF THE COSMOS SHE HAD ON THE OTHER WORLD IN THE FEATURE LM OF CARL SAGAN S CONTACT AS I WALKED AROUND THE DOME I SAW CLOUD TO CLOUD LIGHTNING ASHES OFF TO THE NORTH THIS IS ONE OF NATURE S WONDERFUL FREE LIGHT SHOWS THOSE CLOUDS MOVING EASTWARD PRESENTED NO THREAT TO MY NIGHT S OBSERVING DOWN BELOW A CAR DROVE SLOWLY UP THE WINDING MOUNTAIN ROAD IT HAD ON ONLY ITS PARKING LIGHTS SO AS NOT TO INTERRUPT THE WORK OF THE TELESCOPES I COULD SEE IT THROUGH THE GRATING AT MY FEET WHICH ADDED TO MY SENSE OF HOVERING ABOVE THE GROUND WALKING IN NATURE S CATHEDRAL WITH ITS WONDERFUL SPRAY OF LIGHT I WAS INTENSELY AWARE OF HOW MUCH STILL REMAINS TO BE LEARNED ABOUT OUR COSMIC ENVIRONMENT EVERY PLANET MOON ASTEROID COMET STAR INTER STELLAR CLOUD GALAXY QUASAR AND BLACK HOLE TO NAME A FEW ASTRONOMI CAL OBJECTS HAS SOMETHING TO TEACH US AND I WAS THRILLED TO BE INVOLVED IN THESE DISCOVERIES BUT THAT INVOLVEMENT CAME AT A PRICE LIKE ALL ASTRONOMERS I HAVE CERTAIN BELIEFS ABOUT HOW VARIOUS PARTS OF THE COS MOS WORK MUCH MORE OFTEN THAN NOT NEW OBSERVATIONS REQUIRE MY COLLEAGUES AND ME TO MODIFY OR REPLACE CHERISHED BELIEFS IT IS A PRICE MOST OF US ARE WILLING TO PAY TO BETTER UNDERSTAND REALITY HEAVENLY ERRORS 2 LATER THAT WEEK I WAS BACK AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MAINE IN FRONT OF 250 STUDENTS EAGER TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE UNIVERSE EVERY SEMESTER FOR TEN YEARS I HAD TAUGHT SUCH A GROUP THE LATEST INFORMATION ABOUT ASTRONOMICAL DISCOVERIES AND INSIGHTS MY TEACHING WAS BASED ON THE ASSUMPTION THAT IF I SAID THINGS CLEARLY STUDENTS WOULD DIGEST THAT INFORMATION REPLACE INCORRECT IDEAS THEY MIGHT HAVE AND MAKE THE CORRECT KNOWLEDGE PART OF THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF HOW NATURE WORKS THIS INTELLECTUAL HOUSE OF CARDS COLLAPSED THAT DAY IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF THE SECOND LECTURE OF THE SEMESTER THE DAY WAS SULTRY I WAS ACUTELY AWARE THAT THE VENTILATION WAS ENTIRELY INADE QUATE THAT HEADS WERE NODDING AND THAT THE SHIRT I WORE WAS GETTING SOAKED I M MELTING I M MELTING THE CLASS LAUGHED I HAD THEIR ATTENTION AGAIN BUT ITS SHIFT AWAY FROM THEIR PHYSICAL DISCOMFORT TO A ZANIER THAN USUAL PROFESSOR RESONATED WITH SOMETHING IN MY SUBCON SCIOUS LIKE THE CHANGE IN PERCEPTION I HAD EXPERIENCED AT KITT PEAK STEPPING OUT OF THE FOUR METER S DOME MY VIEW OF THE CLASS WAS DIF FERENT I COULD SEE MYSELF FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF A STUDENT SITTING IN MY AUDIENCE LISTENING TO ME I WAS SHOWING THEM THE CONSTELLATIONS AND THE MOTION OF THE EARTH AND HAD REACHED THE POINT OF EXPLAINING THAT THERE ARE ACTUALLY THIRTEEN CONSTELLATIONS THROUGH WHICH THE SUN PASSES EACH YEAR WHAT IS THAT GUY TALKING ABOUT I THOUGHT MENTALLY WATCHING MYSELF FROM THEIR VANTAGE POINT I KNOW THERE ARE TWELVE ZODIAC CONSTELLATIONS THEY RE LISTED IN THE NEWSPAPER EVERY DAY I LOOKED INTO THEIR FACES SO MANY OF THEM IT SEEMED WERE THINKING THAT VERY THOUGHT I HAD BEEN SO NAIVE ABOUT THE LEARNING PROCESS THE STUDENTS WEREN T ACCEPTING WHAT I WAS SAYING JUST BECAUSE I SAID IT I HAD NEG LECTED TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE IDEAS AND BELIEFS THAT THESE PEOPLE HAD FORMED ABOUT ASTRONOMY AND THE REST OF THE NATURAL WORLD PRIOR TO MY CLASS THEY WERE COMPARING WHAT I SAID WITH WHAT THEY ALREADY BELIEVED OVER THE NEXT FEW LECTURES I CAREFULLY LISTENED TO MYSELF FROM THEIR PERSPECTIVES DOZENS OF CONCEPTS I PRESENTED SOUNDED DEBATABLE BECAUSE OTHER EXPLANATIONS THAT MANY OF THE STUDENTS MIGHT ALREADY HAVE DEVELOPED SEEMED MORE PLAUSIBLE FOR EXAMPLE I SHOWED PHO TOGRAPHS OF THE MOON IN DIFFERENT PHASES TO PROVE THAT THE SAME SIDE OF IT ALWAYS FACES THE EARTH THESE PICTURES SHOW THE SAME CRATERS HEAVENLY ERRORS 3