Once upon a time, people identified the god Neptune as the source of storms at sea. Today we call these same storms hurricanes... The only people who still call hurricanes acts of God are the people who write insurance forms.

Analyse

Historically, Neptune was the Roman god of the sea, and storms were often attributed to divine actions. Modern meteorology uses the term 'hurricane' for such storms. Insurance policies do commonly refer to natural disasters as 'acts of God' in legal terminology.

Achtergrond

The quote is from Neil deGrasse Tyson's 2007 book 'Death by Black Hole.' It contrasts ancient mythological explanations with contemporary scientific understanding, while noting the persistence of theistic language in legal/insurance contexts.

Samenvatting verdict

The statement accurately reflects historical beliefs and modern terminology regarding storms, as well as insurance industry language.

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