27. Archimedes Didn’t Know What He Was Talking About
Archimedes’ principle refers to the stroke of brilliance that the polymath had while in the bathtub. He realized that the buoyancy of something in the water is directly related to the mass of whatever displaces that object. For example, if you drop a watermelon into a swimming pool, the amount of water displaced will be equal to the watermelon mass. Alternatively, like when you fill up a bathtub too full and get into the water yourself, the water level rises closer to the edges.
Alas, poor Archimedes had no idea what he was talking about when he ran through the streets, butt naked, yelling, “Eureka!” Because gravity would have to work for the flat earth theory to be true is not congruent with Archimedes’ principle. Furthermore, since we are unwilling to dispense with the flat earth idea, Archimedes’ principle has to go. Even though science can be used to prove that he was speaking the truth with evidence.