A Week of Misconceptions

“Where did the Big Bang happen?” It’s a question that Dennis Overbye, The New York Times’s cosmic affairs correspondent, gets a lot.

Actually: The Big Bang didn’t happen at a place; it happened at a time.

Read on from your spot at the center of the universe. (That’s not an April Fools’ joke, either, as you’ll find out.)

Actually: Most researchers say that you won’t be obsolete for a long time, if ever, reporter John Markoff writes.

Many public health groups and health sites promote this exercise prescription, promising it will stave off weak bones. It sounds too good to be true. And it is, writes Gina Kolata, a Times medical reporter.

It turns out, moderate exercise has little or no effect on bone strength. Read on. And take a second look.

When everyone has a theory, actual scientific theories like evolution take a hit. Theories are neither hunches nor guesses. They are the crown jewels of science, writes reporter Carl Zimmer.

Actually: Anyone who utters an argument like this is mixing up climate and weather, writes reporter Justin Gillis. Read on.

Related Misconception: A global warming “pause” means climate change is bunk.

Whether or not there was a pause in global warming for a dozen years or so has no bearing on the underlying scientific validity of climate change, reporter John Schwartz writes.

That’s like saying a temporary dip in the stock market means that the best long-term investment strategy is keeping your cash under the mattress.

One of the great early arcade video games was Atari’s Asteroids. You would maneuver and spin a small triangular spaceship, blasting space rocks to bits until inevitably an asteroid smashed you into line fragments. Similarly, many movies have relied on the the act of evading asteroids to create high-drama scenes.

Reporter Kenneth Chang explores just how many space rocks you would actually encounter in an asteroid belt. As it turns out - so few that Han Solo would be safe snoozing. Read on.

“What’s the big deal if toddlers get cavities? Those teeth are going to fall out anyway.” Catherine Saint Louis, a health reporter for The New York Times, has heard this numerous times.

Actually: Neglecting baby teeth can set a child up for lifelong dental trouble. Read on.

Actually: Mass killers don’t usually fit into an existing category of mental illness, and there is usually little evidence that early treatment would have helped prevent their attacks. Terrorists are even less likely to be mentally unstable, writes Benedict Carey in this gloomy but thought-provoking read.

And most people — around 71 percent — consider oral sex to be “sex.” But many, particularly young adults, seem to be unaware that it is indeed possible to get an S.T.D. this way.

Reporter Jan Hoffman breaks down the statistics around oral sex and S.T.D.s.