Each entry on this list of common misconceptions is worded as a correction; the misconceptions themselves are implied rather than stated. These entries are concise summaries; the main subject articles can be consulted for more detail. Common misconceptions are viewpoints or factoids that are often accepted as true, but which are actually false. They generally arise from conventional wisdom (such as old wives' tales), stereotypes, superstitions, fallacies, a misunderstanding of science, or the popularization of pseudoscience. Some common misconceptions are also considered to be urban legends, and they are sometimes involved in moral panics.

Arts and culture

Business

b. c. d.

Food and cooking

Food and drink history

Microwave ovens

Film and television

Language

English language

Law, crime, and military

United States

Literature

Fine arts

Music

Classical music

Popular music

Religion

Buddhism

Christianity

Islam

Judaism

Sports

Video games

History

Ancient

Middle Ages

Early modern

Modern

b. c. d. e. f. g.

United States

Science, technology, and mathematics

Astronomy and spaceflight

Biology

Mammals

Birds

Other vertebrates

Invertebrates

Plants

Evolution and paleontology

b. c. d. e. f. There is a concerted social and religious effort to deny evidence which connects humans to their simian ancestors, but there is no way to naturally define the monkeys while excluding humans and other apes.

Chemistry and materials science

Computing and the Internet

b. c. d. e. f.

Economics

Earth and environmental sciences

Geography

Human body and health

Disease and preventive healthcare

b. c. d. e. f. g. h.

Nutrition, food, and drink

b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i.

Alcoholic beverages

Sexuality and reproduction

b. c. d. e. f.

Skin and hair

Inventions

Mathematics

Physics

b. c. d. e. f. The paper rises because the air follows the curve of the paper and a curved streamline will develop pressure differences perpendicular to the airflow. b. c. d. e. f. g.

Psychology and neuroscience

Mental disorders

Brain

b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. The myth is believed to have originated from Jay Giedd's work on the adolescent brain funded by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, though it has also been popularized by Laurence Steinberg in his work with adolescent criminal reform who has considered ages 10–25 to constitute cognitive adolescence, despite denying any connection to the notion of the brain maturing at '25'.

Senses

Toxicology

Transportation

Sources