The Piltdown Man Hoax
This example was recommended by Jessica Lind Worden-Jones.
On 18 December 2012, Charles Dawson and Sir Arthur Smith Woodward announed the discovery of Eoanthropus dawsoni which is now better known as the Piltdown man.
The Piltdown man was eventually revealed to be a hoax.In her "Folklore, Belief, and the Piltdown Man Hoax," Stepahnie Hall argues that
The Piltdown hoax has a good deal to teach us about the hazards of cultural beliefs as we pursue scientific discovery. In science it is important to see what is really before us, rather than what we want to see. But all of us exist within a culture and carry ideas of that culture in everything we do. So it is important for researchers to be aware of our own cultural biases and rigorously test hypotheses in order to discover what is true, rather than what we want to be true.
Suggestions for Further Reading
Hall, Stephanie. "Folklore, Belief, and the Piltdown Man Hoax." Library of Congress. 29 Aug. 2016.
