Common Misconceptions

Most people hold many more incorrect beliefs, which have far deeper repercussions. Some  foreigners here will not do anything out of fear of  persecution.  Like  the  myth  that says  you  get blacklisted  from Thailand for painting your house without a  work  permit. In  fact,  people  that propel that myth are the same kind of guys that use scare tactics to modify any positive behavior one may do on their own here in the Land of Smiles. The  truth  is  you  really  have  to  be convicted  of  a  serious  crime  or  be here  illegally  to be blacklisted  from Thailand.

Reality  is  stranger  than  you  can imagine.  By  examining  some  misconceptions you might have come to Thailand with maybe you can spend some time reflecting on some of the urban myths you have heard and get control of any misguided fears.

The myth of mass suicide seems to  have  stemmed  from  a misunderstanding by 19th  century naturalists who  witnessed  the  cyclic  population  explosion  of  the  Norwegian lemming.  When  these  population increases  occur  the  lemmings  overgraze  the area and  therefore have  to find food in new territories and accidentally fall off cliffs and into rivers and lakes. The naturalists mistakenly thought  that  these  were  deliberate acts of suicide.

Chameleons change color to match their background.

Chameleons change color due to different  emotional  states,  such  as being  frightened,  preparing  to  fight or meeting a member of the opposite sex.  It  is  purely coincidental  if  this color change happens to match their background.

The  Great Wall  of  China  can  be seen from the moon.

The  moon  is  approximately 250,000 miles  away  from  earth  and from this point no manmade objects can be seen with the naked eye. However, the Great Wall of China, along with many  other manmade  objects such  as  motorways,  railways  and cities etc., can be seen from ‘space’, which starts at 60 miles away. But after only a few thousand miles above the  earth’s  surface,  no  artificial  objects can be seen.

Alexander  Graham  Bell  invented the telephone.

A  Florentine  called  Antonio Meucci  frst  demonstrated  a  device he  called  the  ‘teletrofono’  in  1860. He fled a caveat in 1871. However, because of ill health he was unable tore new the caveat in 1874. Bell registered his patent in 1876 and was sued by Meucci, who felt that it was more than a coincidence  that Bell worked at the same lab where he had sent his sketches and working model. Sadly, Meucci died while the case was still under way.

Most tigers live in India.

There  are  estimated  to  be  less than  5,000  tigers  currently  (2008) living  in  India.  Surprisingly  it  is thought  that  there  are  4,000  tigers living  in  captivity  in  Texas.  The American  Zoo  and  Aquarium  Association estimate  there could be up to 12,000 tigers being kept as pets in the USA.

Nero fiddled while Rome burned.

Nero  certainly  could  not  have played the fiddle as it was not invented until the 15th century. Nero might have  played  the  bagpipes,  at which he  was  quite  proficient.  However, when the free broke out he was at his holiday home some 35 miles away.

Baseball was invented in America.

The  earliest  modern  day  claim for  the  invention  of  baseball  is  in England  in  1744,  as  described  in  a book entitled ‘A Little Pretty Pocket Book’ by John Newbery.

Charles Darwin coined the phrase  ‘the survival of the fittest’.

Darwin did not use the phrase until  the  5th  edition  of  his  book  ‘The Origin  of  Species’  in  1869.  In  this edition  he  credits  Herbert  Spencer as being the originator of the phrase, which is used by Spencer in his book Principles of Biology’ in 1864.

Hair  and fingernails  continue  to grow after death.

Hair and fingernails do not grow after death. When a person dies their body dehydrates and their skin tightens, which creates the illusion of hair and nail growth.

Trees produce most of  the earth’s oxygen.

Ocean algae are the main producers of the earth’s oxygen through the process  of  photosynthesis.  In  fact they  produce  more  than  all  of  the trees  and  land based  plants  combined.

Sir Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin.

North  African  tribesmen  have been  using  an  ointment  from  the mould on donkey harnesses for over a  thousand  years. Ernest Duchesne, a French army doctor, observed Arab stable  boys  using  the  mould  from damp saddles to treat saddle sores. It was his research, more than 30 years before  Fleming,  which  identified the  mould  as  Penicillium  glaucum, which came to be called penicillin.

Hitler was a vegetarian.

Hitler  was  not  a  vegetarian. Many of his biographers record  that he ate Bavarian sausages, ham, liver and game, despite his doctors recommending  a  vegetarian  diet  to  help relieve his sweatiness and flatulence.

The  world  exists  separate  from and independent of you.

The world that seems so solid and separate from you has been shown by quantum physics to be a trick of the senses. Quantum  physics  can  show that  the apparent ‘materiality’ of  the world is no more ‘real’ than a dream image;  that  consciousness  is  a  vital element  in  understanding  the  true nature of reality. Physicist Professor Amit  Goswami  states  that  Energy, Consciousness  and  Matter  are  the same  thing. Physicist John Wheeler, a onetime colleague of Einstein, has stated useful as  it  is under everyday circumstances  to  say  that  the world exists  out  there  independent  of  us, that view can no longer be upheld.

Foreigners  are  scrutinized  more than Thais

The  truth  is  many  foreigners never  register  with  Thai  Immigration,  and  never  have  to,  for  vetting of wants and warrants in their home country and  through  Interpol by applying  for  a  nonimmigrant  visa  issued inside of Thailand.

So when a crime or accident occurs  the Thais wonder who  this  foreigner  is  and why  does  he  not  register  himself.  If  the  foreigner  gets away how  can  they  catch him  if he was  wrong?  He  can  simply  leave the country or  leave  the city. Thais, on  the other hand, are  registered by National  Identification  from  age  15 onward.   The mandatory  card must be in their possession at all times and contains a microchip with lots of personal information. 

Additionally,  Thai  citizens must also be  registered all of  their  life  in a House Book so that authorities can find  them  or  someone  who  knows them  anytime  there  are  reason.  So the next  time  someone needs  to  see a  copy  of  your  passport  considers yourself  lucky  that  you  still  have a  bit  of mystery  about  you,  for  the Thais surely know about each other.

Reality is stranger than you can imagine.