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One adult American in five thinks the Sun revolves around the Earth
- Thread starter Martin
- Start date
DangerAardvark
Diamond Member
How does it compare to similar studies in other countries?
Suspicious-Teach8788
Lifer
I'm interested in how many people were confused by this question.... you know just the sentence structure could've thrown them off in terms of relative rotation
silverpig
Lifer
You learn all the life skills you need by kindergarten. Why bother with the rest of the grades then?
The article alludes to something more important than a lack of knowledge about certain scientific informations; it shows a general contentment with ignorance. The desire to improve oneself, to learn and to understand new things is important. The article shows that people generally are happy to "not know stuff" while "keepin' it real" because they aren't important life skills.
KeithP
Diamond Member
The purpose of studies like this is to try to drum up public support for increased spending on education. It is the academic equivalent of a guy standing by a freeway on/off ramp begging for money. They don't really care how we compare to other countries unless they can bend the data in such a way as to make our education system seem under funded.
-KeithP
Jeff7
Lifer
"Only about 10 percent know what radiation is."
Probably why people who hear that food is being irradiated freak out.
"OMG, now my food will glow and make me grow into a huge mutant!!!! Nooooo!!!!"
Oh wait, that's right, your TV puts out quite a few different kinds of radiation.
"Psh, who needs a particle accelerator. We already know everything about physics. Einstein discovered the last of it."
Let's see, other great myths I hear
- All nuclear reactors either will undergo catastrophic failure Chernobyl-style, OR else when (not "if," "when" they say) they meltdown, they will blow up, nuclear bomb-style.
- Global warming means that if it's not 100F in Antarctica, it's all a hoax.
- Irradiating food makes it radioactive.
Other knowledge is lacking too, economics for instance. One guy at work was complaining about gas prices, and said, "The government should fix the price of gas."
My thoughts on the matter: "They tried a system like that where the government controls the price of things. It was in the Soviet Union, called communism. It didn't work. Second, the US doesn't have jurisdiction over OPEC."
This is what I hear at the warehouse. The workers there are generally uneducated, some without even a high school diploma. I didn't comment on the gas price fixing thing though; debating anything like that, or anything scientific, with this particular bunch of people might be like bringing a lightsaber to a knife fight.
No, I don't think that works. Maybe like bringing a vibrator to a knife fight. It'd just wind up confusing the hell out of everyone involved, and nothing good would come of it.
Probably why people who hear that food is being irradiated freak out.
"OMG, now my food will glow and make me grow into a huge mutant!!!! Nooooo!!!!"
Oh wait, that's right, your TV puts out quite a few different kinds of radiation.
Or get into political office and start writing policy for scientific matters.
"Psh, who needs a particle accelerator. We already know everything about physics. Einstein discovered the last of it."
Let's see, other great myths I hear
- All nuclear reactors either will undergo catastrophic failure Chernobyl-style, OR else when (not "if," "when" they say) they meltdown, they will blow up, nuclear bomb-style.
- Global warming means that if it's not 100F in Antarctica, it's all a hoax.
- Irradiating food makes it radioactive.
Other knowledge is lacking too, economics for instance. One guy at work was complaining about gas prices, and said, "The government should fix the price of gas."
My thoughts on the matter: "They tried a system like that where the government controls the price of things. It was in the Soviet Union, called communism. It didn't work. Second, the US doesn't have jurisdiction over OPEC."
This is what I hear at the warehouse. The workers there are generally uneducated, some without even a high school diploma. I didn't comment on the gas price fixing thing though; debating anything like that, or anything scientific, with this particular bunch of people might be like bringing a lightsaber to a knife fight.
No, I don't think that works. Maybe like bringing a vibrator to a knife fight. It'd just wind up confusing the hell out of everyone involved, and nothing good would come of it.
And you need to find a nice way of telling the public, "Most of you are really quite ignorant."
DrPizza
Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
TallBill, any comments about Jeff7's post? And, he's just hitting the tip of the iceberg. Our society would be much better off if politicians didn't have to please their constituents in order to get re-elected. To please their constituents, they have to ignore good science. There are numerous NIMBY examples (just a bit more of the tip of the iceberg.)
Some other examples: Our president wants us to have another manned mission to the moon, and to mars. Do you have any clue how many more worthy scientific endeavors have had their funds cut already to facilitate this nonsense? I can almost hear the collective "yeehaww!" When Dubya announced this. Except, the "Yeehaww" was followed by "I sure hope they don't interupt one of the Nascar races on television in order to show us them landing on the moon." (With apologies to about 20% of the Nascar demographic.)
Some other examples: Our president wants us to have another manned mission to the moon, and to mars. Do you have any clue how many more worthy scientific endeavors have had their funds cut already to facilitate this nonsense? I can almost hear the collective "yeehaww!" When Dubya announced this. Except, the "Yeehaww" was followed by "I sure hope they don't interupt one of the Nascar races on television in order to show us them landing on the moon." (With apologies to about 20% of the Nascar demographic.)
Suspicious-Teach8788
Lifer
You know honestly I'd locate Afghanistan incorrectly. I can point at the Middle East, but it takes looking at a political map to realize how far east Afghanistan is in relation to Iraq. I have no problem pinpointing Iraq, but yea.. It's just like can you tell me in EAST to WEST order how it goes geographically with these nations? Sweden, Finland, Norway.
I'm pretty damn good with geography, and I know a buttload of capitals, but I can guarantee that even though I'm well above average, there are tons of mistakes that anyone can easily make.
MmmSkyscraper
Diamond Member
:laugh:
Jeff7
Lifer
Yeah, that stuff is a joke, at least right now. We are having trouble keeping the ISS fully working, and it even gets regular resupplies courtesy of the Soyuz modules from Russia, being in relatively accessible low-Earth orbit. Try sending something to the Moon quick in case of an emergency, such as a faulty oxygen generator. The base's crew would be dead days or weeks before help arrived.
TallBill
Lifer
The reason that a lot of people don't know about the science stuff is that they simply dont care. You can teach and teach, but you can't make someone care. When politicians start cutting science funds, the private industry takes over. Look at the multiple firms working on commercial space flight.
I just think about 2nd and 3rd world countries where education really is a problem. I've been to a place where people didn't know that it was bad to take a shit upstream from a drinking source.
Anyways, whoever wrote that you learn all of your life skills by kindergarten is dead wrong. You don't know squat about work ethic, or mission completition. You don't have writing skills or intelligent social interaction. You learn that all the way through college and beyond.
I just think about 2nd and 3rd world countries where education really is a problem. I've been to a place where people didn't know that it was bad to take a shit upstream from a drinking source.
Anyways, whoever wrote that you learn all of your life skills by kindergarten is dead wrong. You don't know squat about work ethic, or mission completition. You don't have writing skills or intelligent social interaction. You learn that all the way through college and beyond.
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