Here is a fascinating narration about the discovery of the Taung child and its impact on the science of the day.
http://www.radiolab.org/story/
When the Taung child skull skull was discovered in the kalahari escarpment in South Africa, the letter about the discovery was published in the journal Nature. However, mainly because of the Euro-centric (that humans could not have evolved in Africa) bias, the fact was not accepted by the scientific community in Europe. When the piltdown man was proved to be a hoax, the interpretation of Taung child as our ancestor became more acceptable. The piltdown man, "discovered" (more truthfully, engineered) in Britain, fit the Euro-centric view of the world.
http://www.radiolab.org/story/
When the Taung child skull skull was discovered in the kalahari escarpment in South Africa, the letter about the discovery was published in the journal Nature. However, mainly because of the Euro-centric (that humans could not have evolved in Africa) bias, the fact was not accepted by the scientific community in Europe. When the piltdown man was proved to be a hoax, the interpretation of Taung child as our ancestor became more acceptable. The piltdown man, "discovered" (more truthfully, engineered) in Britain, fit the Euro-centric view of the world.
The moral of the story, as far as science is
concerned, is that deep seated beliefs have no place in science. They
retard the development of science.
Financial accounting theorists must take note of this story.
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