"Fantastically Wrong: The Legendary Scientist Who Swore Our Planet Is Hollow" details the eccentric theories of John Cleves Symmes Jr., a 19th-century American army officer. Symmes fervently believed Earth was hollow, containing multiple concentric spheres with openings at the poles, and dedicated his life to promoting this idea. He lectured extensively, lobbied Congress for an expedition to the North Pole, and inspired a devoted following. While his "Hollow Earth" theory lacked any scientific basis and was ultimately proven false, it captured the public imagination and left a lasting legacy in science fiction and popular culture.
In the annals of scientific history, alongside brilliant insights and groundbreaking discoveries, reside fascinating instances of profoundly erroneous theories. One such captivatingly wrong idea, as detailed in the Wired article "Fantastically Wrong: The Legendary Scientist Who Swore Our Planet Is Hollow," revolves around the notion of a hollow Earth. This peculiar concept, championed most notably by the esteemed mathematician and astronomer Edmond Halley in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, posited that our planet is not a solid sphere but rather a series of concentric nested shells, each potentially harboring its own atmosphere, magnetic field, and even life.
Halley, renowned for accurately predicting the return of the comet that now bears his name, developed this unconventional theory in an attempt to explain anomalous compass readings and variations in the Earth's magnetic field. He envisioned a system of three hollow spheres, roughly the sizes of Venus, Mars, and Mercury, nestled within one another and surrounding a central core. These shells, separated by atmospheres and possessing their own magnetic poles, were, in Halley's view, a more plausible explanation for the observed magnetic complexities than the prevailing understanding of a solid, uniformly magnetized Earth. He even speculated that auroras, the mesmerizing celestial displays of light in the polar skies, were caused by escaping luminous gases from the inner shells.
Further elaborating on this imaginative hypothesis, Halley proposed that the inner surfaces of these hollow spheres might be habitable, bathed in the light emanating from a luminous atmosphere or even a miniature sun. This idea, evocative of a subterranean world brimming with unknown possibilities, captured the imagination of many and contributed to the enduring allure of the hollow Earth theory.
While Halley's scientific stature lent some credence to the concept, his hollow Earth model was ultimately flawed. Later advancements in the understanding of gravity and planetary formation, coupled with the absence of any empirical evidence supporting the existence of such internal structures, thoroughly debunked the theory. Geophysical observations and seismic data confirmed the Earth's solid composition, relegating Halley's hollow Earth to the realm of scientific curiosities. Despite its demonstrable inaccuracy, Halley's proposition remains a fascinating example of how even brilliant minds can sometimes stray down unorthodox and ultimately incorrect paths in their pursuit of understanding the natural world. It serves as a reminder of the iterative nature of scientific progress, where hypotheses are proposed, tested, and refined, or sometimes discarded entirely, in the ongoing quest for knowledge.
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HN commenters generally found the linked Wired article about Edmond Halley's hollow Earth theory an interesting piece of scientific history. Several pointed out that Halley wasn't entirely crazy, as his ideas were attempts to explain observable phenomena like compass variations, and that his model, while incorrect, was a legitimate scientific hypothesis for its time. Some noted that the concept of a hollow Earth persists even today, highlighting the human tendency to embrace unconventional or fringe theories. A few commenters also discussed other historical scientific misconceptions and the evolution of scientific understanding. One popular comment pointed to Halley's other accomplishments, notably predicting the return of the comet now bearing his name, to illustrate that even brilliant minds can sometimes be wrong.
The Hacker News comments section for the Wired article "Fantastically Wrong: The Legendary Scientist Who Swore Our Planet Is Hollow" contains a moderate number of comments, mostly focusing on the historical fascination with the hollow Earth theory and its proponents, rather than seriously entertaining the idea itself.
Several commenters delve into the historical context of Symmes's belief and the surprisingly widespread acceptance it garnered. One points out the remarkable fact that Symmes almost secured government funding for an expedition to the supposed polar openings. Another highlights the powerful allure of such theories, especially in times with less scientific understanding, mentioning that even some educated individuals took it seriously.
A few commenters discuss the psychological aspects that might draw people to believe in hollow Earth theories, suggesting it might be tied to a desire for hidden knowledge or a more exciting reality. One commenter humorously notes that there's even a present-day organization promoting the idea and expresses amusement at its existence.
Some of the most compelling comments analyze the scientific flaws in the hollow Earth theory. One commenter explains how seismology definitively disproves the concept, describing how seismic waves' behavior allows scientists to understand the Earth's internal structure. Another points out the density problem, explaining that if Earth were hollow, its gravitational pull would be drastically different.
A couple of comments branch off into related topics, such as the connection between fringe theories and societal anxieties or the prevalence of similar hollow planet ideas in fiction. One user mentions other now-debunked scientific concepts that were popular in the past, illustrating how scientific understanding evolves over time.
While nobody in the comments section genuinely defends the hollow Earth theory, the discussion provides an interesting glimpse into the historical context of the idea, the psychology of belief, and the scientific evidence that refutes it. The comments are primarily focused on dissecting the historical and societal factors surrounding the theory, rather than the specifics of Symmes's claims themselves.