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Ancient wisdom often sounds like common sense now that it is commomly taught. What is some ancient wisdom that we no longer teach because it was wrong?

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  • What goes up comes back down.

    Apply math and the object flies in a parabolic arc (not accounting for air friction and wind)

    Launch it high enough and the arc start looking elliptical. Gravitational force looks less like a constant rather is tempered by distance². If the acceleration closes the ellipse without hitting the (circular at this scale) ground, your object is now a satellite in orbit.

    Keep accelerating and eventually (a whole lot of acceleration) and special relativity factors affect the trajectory...and mass...and time dilates between the object and observers.

    • Wasn't that rather a reference to the normal / gaussian distribution, that describes many phenomena so well?

      • I always thought the phrase was Aristotlean but it seems the internet asserts recent or unknown origins.

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