Sir Thomas Browne wrote a book called Pseudodoxia Epidemica , in 1646 . He gave it the subtitle Enquiries into very many received tenets , and commonly presumed truths . In the 17th century , such assumptions started to be questioned ; for example , in 1646 , Sir Thomas Browne published his Pseudodoxia Epidemica ( subtitled Enquiries into Very many Received Tenets , and Commonly Presumed Truths ) , which was an attack on false beliefs and `` vulgar errors . ''