Popular errors

Popular errors are false ideas that are used widely and provide a basis for stereotypes and can cause poor judgments or a faulty impression of the topic to which they refer. They are always untrue facts (see fact) - contrary to urban legends - which are legends (myths) and can be both true and untrue. Popular errors do not contain any set framework, (ie. friend of a friend -FOAF, like urban legends)
Popular errors include misconceptions (see misconception), fallacies, inaccurate facts or beliefs, and stereotypes. They usually originate from distorted or outdated information, jokes or anecdotes not meant to be taken seriously, or mistaken comments. There are many popular errors circulating about a large variety of subjects. There exist sources attempting to correct these errors to separate the facts from the fallacies.

Examples of Corrected Popular Errors

-Coca cola was green when it was first created. (popular error)
-The Sahara desert is the world's largest hot desert, but it is not the world's largest desert. Antarctica, which has almost no liquid precipitation (rain), has little or no vegetation. Moreover, no animal life exists in its interior at all. This is sufficient to qualify it as a desert. (misconception)
-In A.C. Doyle’s novels, Sherlock Holmes never said “Elementary my dear Watson.” (urban legend)

Popular errors in society

Popular errors have a strong influence on children who obtain untrue information, mostly from relatives and friends, and do not try to question it, nor have the sources to verify it.
This causes them to develop a mistaken view of the world. Popular errors have a bigger impact than misconceptions and even fallacies as they often deal with issues deeply rooted in ethnic or national cultures.

See also

List of misconceptions
Urban Legends
Error

External links

• Popular Errors.com - a free encyclopedia of popular errors, misconceptions, and fallacies.
  
• snopes is a site dedicated to debunking myths and misconceptions.