--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the Middle Ages people believed that…" description: "\"In the Middle Ages people believed that the earth was flat, for which they had at least the evidence of their senses: we believe it to be round, not be..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/196/george-bernard-shaw-68_age_in-the-middle-ages-people-believed-that_2540450.png" --- # In the Middle Ages people believed that the earth was… ![“In the Middle Ages people believed that the earth was flat, for which they had at least the evidence of their senses: we believe it to be round, not because as many as 1 percent of us could give physical reasons for so quaint a belief, but because modern science has convinced us that nothing that…” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/196/george-bernard-shaw-68_age_in-the-middle-ages-people-believed-that_2540450.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/196/george-bernard-shaw-68_age_in-the-middle-ages-people-believed-that_2540450.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/196/george-bernard-shaw-68_age_in-the-middle-ages-people-believed-that_2540450.png) > “In the Middle Ages people believed that the earth was flat, for which they had at least the evidence of their senses: we believe it to be round, not because as many as 1 percent of us could give physical reasons for so quaint a belief, but because modern science has convinced us that nothing that is obvious is true, and that everything that is magical, improbable, extraordinary, gigantic, microscopic, heartless, or outrageous is scientific.” [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our belief in a round Earth stems from scientific consensus, not sensory evidence; modern science shows that intuition can be misleading. **In simple terms:** Science overrides senses when evidence is strong. Key Takeaway Trust rigorous evidence over intuition. Themes science perception knowledge skepticism Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - education - policy making - public health campaigns Key Concepts empiricism paradigm shift cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - How do we balance empirical data with lived experience? - When should intuition guide decisions? A Different Perspective May discount valuable experiential knowledge. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Heartless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heartless/) [Improbable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/improbable/) [Middle ages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-ages/) [Modern science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-science/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Rounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rounds/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [I must remind you that our credulity is not to be measured by the truth of the things we believe. When men believed that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-must-remind-you-that-our-credulity-is-not-to-be-measured-by-the/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“No, I’m talking about undiscovered science. A thousand years ago, people believed the earth was flat. Five hundred years ago, doctors thought diseases were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-sakey/no-i-m-talking-about-undiscovered-science-a-thousand-years-ago-people/) [Marcus Sakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-sakey/) > [“Whether or not huge numbers of people believe something has no bearing whatsoever on its truth or validity. In the past, millions believed that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-becker/whether-or-not-huge-numbers-of-people-believe-something-has-no/) James Becker > [“humans believed that the earth was flat and ships venturing across the seas risked sailing off the edge. However, when we proved that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/humans-believed-that-the-earth-was-flat-and-ships-venturing-across/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah bin Baz, a blind religious scholar who believed the earth was flat because that was how it felt under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-elliott-house/sheikh-abdul-aziz-bin-abdullah-bin-baz-a-blind-religious-scholar-who/) [Karen Elliott House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-elliott-house/) > [It must first be reiterated that with extraordinary few exceptions no educated person in the history of Western Civilization from the third century B.C.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-burton-russell/it-must-first-be-reiterated-that-with-extraordinary-few-exceptions-no/) [Jeffrey Burton Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-burton-russell/) > [“A myth can be picked up by a whole society, believed and taught to the next generation. Gods, fairies, witches—believing a thing doesn’t make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/a-myth-can-be-picked-up-by-a-whole-society-believed-and-taught-to-the/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [All the hundreds of millions of people who, in their time, believed the Earth was flat never succeeded in unrounding it by an inch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/all-the-hundreds-of-millions-of-people-who-in-their-time-believed-the/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Every one who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe-a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/every-one-who-is-seriously-involved-in-the-pursuit-of-science-becomes/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm an optimist; I always believe that there must be something round the corner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bez/i-m-an-optimist-i-always-believe-that-there-must-be-something-round/) [Bez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bez/) > [Once there was a time when all people believed in God and the church ruled. This time is called the Dark Ages. He who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/once-there-was-a-time-when-all-people-believed-in-god-and-the-church/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [We find it hard to picture to ourselves the state of mind of a man of older days who firmly believed that the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/we-find-it-hard-to-picture-to-ourselves-the-state-of-mind-of-a-man-of/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [“Religion, is a mistake of geography. If you where born in America you are Christan, if you where born in the middle east you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/religion-is-a-mistake-of-geography-if-you-where-born-in-america-you/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [THE GUYS IN THE OLD DAYS WHO BELIEVED THE EARTH WAS ROUND MUST HAVE HAD A VERY ROUGH TIME WITH ACADEMIA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/the-guys-in-the-old-days-who-believed-the-earth-was-round-must-have/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [A beloved student of mine told me she believed the earth was approximately 6,000 years old. She was smart, she was thoughtful, and she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-grodstein/a-beloved-student-of-mine-told-me-she-believed-the-earth-was/) [Lauren Grodstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-grodstein/) ## More by George Bernard Shaw > [I love little children too but I don't cut off their heads and stick them in vases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-love-little-children-too-but-i-don-t-cut-off-their-heads-and-stick/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/blasphemy-and-sedition-meaning-the-truth-about-church-and-state/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of life, man invents nothing; but in the arts of death he outdoes Nature herself, and produces by chemistry and machinery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-life-man-invents-nothing-but-in-the-arts-of-death-he/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. I desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/my-religious-convictions-and-scientific-views-cannot-at-present-be/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [What a man believes may be ascertained, not from his creed, but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/what-a-man-believes-may-be-ascertained-not-from-his-creed-but-from/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-are-my-inspiration-and-my-folly-you-are-my-light-across-the-sea/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Men have to do some awfully mean things to keep up their respectability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/men-have-to-do-some-awfully-mean-things-to-keep-up-their/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The schoolmaster is the person who takes the children off the parents' hands for a consideration. That is to say, he establishes a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-schoolmaster-is-the-person-who-takes-the-children-off-the-parents/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [As long as I have a want, I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-long-as-i-have-a-want-i-have-a-reason-for-living-satisfaction-is/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The camera can represent flesh so superbly that, if I dared, I would never photograph a figure without asking that figure to take its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-camera-can-represent-flesh-so-superbly-that-if-i-dared-i-would/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [A man who is not a communist at the age of twenty is a fool. Any man who is still communist at the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-man-who-is-not-a-communist-at-the-age-of-twenty-is-a-fool-any-man/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [But to admire a strong person and to live under that strong person’s thumb are two different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/but-to-admire-a-strong-person-and-to-live-under-that-strong-person-s/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Socialism is the same as Communism, only better English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/socialism-is-the-same-as-communism-only-better-english/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The person who is ignorant enough to believe that his nourishment depends on meat is in a horrible dilemma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-person-who-is-ignorant-enough-to-believe-that-his-nourishment/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of peace Man is a bungler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-peace-man-is-a-bungler/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) [Explore all 1,640 George Bernard Shaw quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. 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That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In the Middle Ages people believed that the earth was flat, for which they had at least the evidence of their senses: we believe it to be round, not because as many as 1 percent of us could give physical reasons for so quaint a belief, but because modern science has convinced us that nothing that is obvious is true, and that everything that is magical, improbable, extraordinary, gigantic, microscopic, heartless, or outrageous is scientific.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Bernard Shaw" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-middle-ages-people-believed-that-the-earth-was-flat-for-which/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Age" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-middle-ages-people-believed-that-the-earth-was-flat-for-which/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/196/george-bernard-shaw-68_age_in-the-middle-ages-people-believed-that_2540450.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/196/george-bernard-shaw-68_age_in-the-middle-ages-people-believed-that_2540450.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/196/george-bernard-shaw-68_age_in-the-middle-ages-people-believed-that_2540450.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In the Middle Ages people believed that the earth was flat, for which they had at least the evidence of…” — George Bernard Shaw", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "George Bernard Shaw", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In the Middle Ages people believed...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-middle-ages-people-believed-that-the-earth-was-flat-for-which/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-middle-ages-people-believed-that-the-earth-was-flat-for-which/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```