Bumblebee argument
From RationalWiki
This topic is a pseudoscience, and is not accepted by the scientific community as a valid discipline.
Although it may use scientific terminology, it does not use scientific methodology.
Remember: just because it sounds right doesn't mean it's actually right.
The "bumblebee argument", in pseudoscience, states that the laws of aerodynamics prove that the bumblebee can't fly, as it does not have the required capacity (in terms of wing area or flapping speed). Consequently, therefore, science can be shown to be in error, providing a loophole for pseudoscientific "explanations".
Unfortunately (for the pseudoscientists), the laws do not forbid bumblebee flight; there are no papers that deny bumblebee flight, and no scientist has done so in a lecture, except, perhaps, ironically.
The origin of the statement is lost in the mists of time, but one version says that it was made by French entomologist August Magnan in 1934, based on calculations by his assistant, an engineer.[1] In fact bumblebees simply flap harder than other insects, increasing the amplitude of their wing strokes to achieve more lift, and use a figure-of-eight wing motion to create low-pressure vortices to pull them up.[2]
[edit] Mike Huckabee and the bumblebee
While campaigning for the 2008 presidential nomination Mike Huckabee demonstrated the "depth" of his scientific knowledge when he said:
"It's scientifically impossible for the bumblebee to fly; but the bumblebee, being unaware of these scientific facts, flies anyway."[3]
[edit] Footnotes
- ↑ http://majikthise.typepad.com/majikthise_/2006/01/bumblebee_fligh.html
- ↑ http://www.calacademy.org/thisweek/Archive/2000/20000913.html
- ↑ Huckabee the bumblebee
