When Belief Alters Seeing
When without more advanced tools/perspective
- E.g. flat earth
- E.g. extremely slow-moving stars ≠ static
When we assume truth from flawed reasoning
- E.g. bright = close, frequent = more
- Many possible hypothetical mechanisms could lead to a phenomenon
- Mechanistic explanation needed
When we look at the wrong thing entirely
E.g. planet networks = eye blood vessel
the author established that what Lowell saw on Venus was actually the network of shadows cast on Lowell’s own retina by his ocular blood vessels. When you compare Lowell’s diagram of the spokes with a diagram of the eye, the two match up, canal for blood vessel. And when you combine the unfortunate fact that Lowell suffered from hypertension—which shows up clearly in the vessels of the eyeballs—with his will to believe, it’s no surprise that he pegged Venus as well as Mars with teeming with intelligent, technologically capable inhabitants.
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