Cult of Personality Accusations

Flat-Earthers like to accuse that science accepts ideas due to the cult of personality toward the people behind the ideas. In reality, science accepts ideas because of their merits, not because of the identity of the people behind the ideas.

Isaac Newton is considered one of the most influential scientists ever. But we have no problem saying that some of his ideas were just plain wrong and not scientific.

These are some of Newton’s ideas that were considered wrong or even pseudoscientific:

  • He tried to make sense of numbers in scriptures to predict the apocalypse.
  • He considered the Solar System is unstable, and God has to intervene to put the planets back in their place.
  • He “studied” alchemy to find the Philosopher’s Stone, trying to turn regular metals into gold.
  • He proposed a therapy to combat the Plague of London by using a powdered dead toad over affected areas.

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