Does the Earth go around the sun, or does the sun go around the Earth?
When asked that question, 1 in 4 Americans surveyed answered incorrectly. Yes, 1 in 4. In other words, a quarter of Americans do not understand one of the most fundamental principles of basic science. So that’s where we are as a society right now.
The survey, conducted by the National Science Foundation, included more than 2,200 participants in the U.S., AFP reports. It featured a nine-question quiz about physical and biological science and the average score was a 6.5.
And the fact that only 74 percent of participants knew that the Earth revolved around the sun is perhaps less alarming than the fact that only 48 percent knew that humans evolved from earlier species of animals.
The National Science Foundation will deliver its report to President Obama in the near future. How can that many people be that stupid? I blame Fox News. These facts are taught in 4th and 5th grades. Were these people asleep at the switch or what?
Are people really this ignorant or are they just playing with the pollsters? I refuse to believe adults are this stupid.
Interesting that Scout and I discussed something on this order in your piece on “Jefferson Mob Rule”. Our Founding Fathers were well ahead of most of our “leaders” today–they were often fluent in the classical languages as well as European languages, particularly French. They knew the science of their day, which is far more than we can say about most of the 535 clowns we have in charge today. BUT, the population at large did not reflect this same capability and while I don’t have numbers, I suspect that many of the general population was illiterate. It will be interesting to see who they surveyed and how much education they have. While 2,200 people is perhaps a good sample, it is less than .0007% of the population. But still, it is a sad commentary on the times.
My ancestors were neighboring farmers. Jefferson, Madison, etc were an educational cut above my people. My people could read and write but certainly weren’t part of the intelligencia like the founders were. Whoever called them rednecks really just has no sense of history.
I am tired of polls. They do not allow for nuance or depth. I find the survey after each automobile service and each dentist appointment to be an intrusion. I play with political polls (e.g. giving wrong or unspecific answers) because I see it an invasion of privacy.
I suspect that the wording of the questions or the nature of the survey is to blame. Not correctly answering trivia questions about subjects that have no bearing on an individual’s life is hardly a problem. When did evolution or cosmology influence anyone’s day-to-day decisions?
Ed, I half agree with you. I agree that polls to not reflect my answers a great deal of the time. However, I don’t think the topics here are unimportant. We have people making decisions all the time based on an anti-science point of view.
Politicians daily make laws and decisions about how we handle climate change, stem cell research, reproductive rights, energy issues, and weather. I don’t want flat earthers deciding no more hurricane research or whether to put in a tornado shelter. I don’t want some freaking idiot suing someone who advances the idea of climate change.
Clearly a lot of people chose the contrarian answer. What this poll says is that peoolle are sick of polls
I would love to see this survey be given to all 535 members of Congress, without referral to their staff, just to see their answers. We might really get a shock.
@Rick Bentley
You have a greater amount of faith in the human race than I do. I know for a fact that some people are dumb asses. I just didn’t realize there were so many. In European Union countries, 66% think that the earth rotates around the sun.
This is funny, however, I just saw another study that asked similar questions along with political affiliation from Northwestern University School of Law. The results may surprise you, here are some of the questions/results.
Knowing the Earth Revolves Around the Sun & it Takes 1 Year:
Conservative Republican – 67.3%
Republican – 61.1%
Democrat – 48.4%
Conservative Democrat – 27.1%
Belief that Astrology is Scientific:
Liberal Dem – 43.5%
Moderate Dem – 52%
Conservative Dem – 56%
Liberal Republican – 41.3%
Moderate Republican – 38.7%
Conservative Republican – 33.8%
Apparently this study shows that a majority of the ‘flat earthers’ identify themselves as some sort of Democrat. I’m not sure how much weight I put into any of these polls but thought this was a funny one.
@Rick Bentley
Exactly. I never tell the truth when I choose to answer poll questions. They irritate me by calling my home, I’m gonna deliberately skew their results every time, in whichever way amuses me.