Throughout history, there have been numerous instances where seemingly irrational assertions or ideas were later proven to be correct by science. Here are a few examples:
Heliocentrism: In ancient times, the idea that the Earth revolved around the Sun (heliocentrism) was met with resistance and considered irrational. The prevailing belief was that the Earth was at the center of the universe. However, Nicolaus Copernicus proposed a heliocentric model in the 16th century, and later, Johannes Kepler and Galileo Galilei provided evidence supporting this view.
Germ theory of disease: For much of history, illnesses were often attributed to miasma or "bad air." It was not until the 19th century that Louis Pasteur and others developed the germ theory of disease, which demonstrated that microorganisms, such as bacteria and viruses, were the actual causes of many diseases.
Plate tectonics: The concept of continental drift, proposed by Alfred Wegener in the early 20th century, suggested that continents were once joined together in a supercontinent and gradually moved apart. This idea was initially met with skepticism and considered irrational, but later developments in plate tectonics provided strong evidence supporting this theory.
Quantum mechanics: Quantum mechanics, which describes the behavior of particles at the smallest scales, often defies our classical intuition and can seem irrational. Concepts like wave-particle duality and quantum entanglement challenged traditional views of physics but have been experimentally confirmed and are now integral to modern physics.
Relativity theory: Albert Einstein's theory of relativity, proposed in the early 20th century, introduced concepts like time dilation and the curvature of spacetime, which were counterintuitive and initially considered irrational. However, subsequent experiments and observations have validated many predictions of this theory.
These examples illustrate how scientific progress often requires challenging deeply ingrained beliefs and accepting seemingly irrational ideas until evidence accumulates to support them. Science is a self-correcting process, and it is continually refining our understanding of the natural world.