I had been told that the earth was round, and had refused to believe it. My people thereupon called in the vicar of the parish to persuade me, and it happened that he was Whitehead's father. Under clerical guidance, I adopted the orthodox view and began to dig a hole to the Antipodes. This incident, however, I know only from hearsay.
Source: Bertrand Russell: The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell, v.１, chap. 1, 1967
More info.： https://russell-j.com/beginner/AB11-180.HTM
* a brief comment:
Even a two-year-old child today knows that "the Earth is round." Therefore, a modern young child would likely be surprised to learn that young children in England about 150 years ago did not even know such a thing. Nowadays, a science teacher would explain it clearly using diagrams and photographs, but it is ironic, and even serves as a punchline--that it was a clergyman (from a religion that once adhered to the geocentric theory) who taught the young Russell that "the Earth is round.
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