I need a historical example to support this statement?

Question

"Men are generally incredulous, never really trusting new things unless they have tested them by experience."

I have a few ideas in mind, but they're really vague people in history and so I don't think they'll count as my teacher might not know who they are. It can be either a ruler, a certain political happening, etc. etc.

Answer 1

You are over reaching... think of Doctors... there is NOBODY more CONSERVATIVE than Physicians and the Medical Profession... they prefer to stick with what they know works than experiment with new things and ideas until they have been PROVEN beyond the shadow of a doubt that they are better than the old ways.

Answer 2

Vaccinations.  

Answer 3

The Greek philosophers, for one.  They had theories and ideas that went against everything people believed in at the time, and look what happened to them.  They were exiled or killed or, in the case of Socrates, forced to commit suicide.  If you want specifics, look at Nicolaus Copernicus.  He came up with the heliocentric theory (sun centered universe), but did anyone believe him until Newton finally backed it up with his theory on gravitation?  Of course not, everyone thought he was a complete moron, not to mention sacrilegious for daring to think that the earth wasn't the center of everything.  People needed over 100 years and more evidence from several different people before they even considered this to be a possibility.

Answer 4

Times and places...

If the statement was true, why are so many things sold simply on the ground of being "new" or "the latest"?

The mistrust of "horseless carriages" or its modern equivalent runs right alongside delight in "the march of progress" and the latest novelty or piece of technology.

Finding examples of both should be easy.  But they point both ways.