The shift to factual scientific discourse did not guarantee truthful representation

Evidence

But the shift into a more descriptive, factual discourse, with its claims to truth and scientific objectivity, provided no guarantees. A telling example of this is the case of the “Patagonians.” Many myths and legends told of a race of giant people. And in the 1520s, Magellan’s crew brought back stories of having encountered, in South America, such a race of giants whom they dubbed patagones (literally, “big feet”). The area of the supposed encounter became known as “Patagonia,” and the notion became fixed in the popular imagination, even though two Englishmen who visited Patagonia in 1741 described its people as being of average size. — Stuart Hall, Essential Essays, Volume 2, 605

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to Foucault’s critique of the scientific discourse as power — the Patagonian myth survives ‘better’ observation, illustrating how knowledge production is not self-correcting.
• DEFINE: The Patagonian case is a worked example of how representation as power outruns evidentiary correction.