Guest Marty Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/02/14/277058739/1-in-4-americans-think-the-sun-goes-around-the-earth-survey-says Im in disbelief. I knew Americans were ignorant of a lot of things, but I did not expect this was one of them. I weep for what this country once was... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bornagainathiest Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Depressing, isn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravenstar Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 I just CAN'T believe that. One of the earliest science lessons my kid got was 'the solar system'… with a cool poster and everything. I think that was grade 3 or 4. She had to name the planets… in order, from the sun (the CENTER). That is unacceptable ignorance and scientific illiteracy…. now, I know that there are many VERY good colleges and Universities in the USA that graduate highly educated people - people that go on to be leaders in their fields - in the WORLD. Are there TWO education systems in the US? One for the lower class that is basically a giant daycare, and another for the elite? I don't know how your grade school system works but here we have provincial and federal standards and curriculums that have to be adhered to… across the board, even private schools have to follow the minimums. Our kids are tested (sort of a mini-SAT) every 3 years throughout grade school. What SCIENCE teacher is allowing any child to pass his/her (4th, 5th grade) class thinking the sun revolves around the earth? (an idea that was debunked almost 500 years ago - that the Catholic Church just APOLOGIZED for screwing up - it was in the news, folks) Even the Sumerians knew better (though that was lost along the way for a while). This makes me so angry. This makes me frightened because the 'dumbing down' of your children/population is a huge problem. I now understand Tyson and Nye, and why they are fighting so hard for science education. (I believe the gap between the haves and have-nots is precipitated by a lack of knowledge - keep 'em dumb, keep 'em down) My grandfather had to quit school in grade 9…. in 1917, to work the farm (he was the eldest boy of 9 kids)… and HE knew the earth orbits the sun. WHO are these people? And how did they manage to miss something so freaking obvious? It's people like Bill O'Reilly and his "tide comes in, tides go out, can't explain that" mentality (seriously?.. umm.. the moon? and gravity? Every fisherman in the world, educated or not knows that) I'm not blaming Bill per se, … I'm pretty sure he's not that stupid but it's the mentality that pervades the culture lately… you didn't hear people say shit like this when the space race was on… education and literacy was promoted… intelligence was respected. What the hell is going on? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vigile Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 I'm not going to do the math, but off the top of my head, that likely means that 50% guessed at the answer, which in turn means that half the country hasn't a clue regarding this question. I'm not surprised. Half the country also can't properly use English grammar and would probably have difficulty finding Cuba on a map. We give them HS diplomas though, so who's the fool here? Meanwhile, we have 'get out the vote' campaigns. Does anyone really care what the opinions of these dopes are? Would they really put the decisions of our country in their hands if voting actually made an iota of difference? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurisaz Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Whenever you think you've seen it all and nothing can shock you anymore... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
◊ crazyguy123 ◊ Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 WHO are these people? And how did they manage to miss something so freaking obvious? These people must be so extreme in their religious fundamentalism that they think science is evil and wrong, so they refuse to believe anything other than what they were taught by their religious teachers as truth. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vigile Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 WHO are these people? And how did they manage to miss something so freaking obvious? These people must be so extreme in their religious fundamentalism that they think science is evil and wrong, so they refuse to believe anything other than what they were taught by their religious teachers as truth. Are any major sects still teaching this? It's my bet this is just sheer ignorance as opposed to ignorant opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
◊ crazyguy123 ◊ Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 WHO are these people? And how did they manage to miss something so freaking obvious? These people must be so extreme in their religious fundamentalism that they think science is evil and wrong, so they refuse to believe anything other than what they were taught by their religious teachers as truth. Are any major sects still teaching this? It's my bet this is just sheer ignorance as opposed to ignorant opinions. I don't know if any major sects are still teaching this. It is probably more likely that the people who believe this are choosing on their own to believe it, but there could be people somewhere that are taught this kind of nonsense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vigile Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Or, they just don't have a clue and took a SWAG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slave2six Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 "Only 66 percent of people in a 2005 European Union poll answered the basic astronomy answer correctly." The stupid is everywhere... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miekko Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Practical but rhetorical question: for how many people does the structure of the solar system have any practical implications? If there's no practical use derived from knowing something, lots of people will not care, won't learn or won't remember which it is. And assuming the earth is in the center seems to be the easiest conclusion from everyday experiences. I am neither shocked nor outraged at their mistaken belief. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vigile Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Practical but rhetorical question: for how many people does the structure of the solar system have any practical implications? If there's no practical use derived from knowing something, lots of people will not care, won't learn or won't remember which it is. And assuming the earth is in the center seems to be the easiest conclusion from everyday experiences. I am neither shocked nor outraged at their mistaken belief. You make a good point, which I agree with to a degree. OTH, this is basic knowledge about the world we live in. Ignorance of such proportions reveals a glimpse into the sheer vastness of the lack of basic knowledge in a large number of people. We live in supposedly democratic societies, which require at least a cursory level of education in order to survive. Lacking that, and we are without hope in countering the balance of those who hold the reigns of power and make important decisions about our lives. IOW, if they don't know this, what else don't they know? How easy is it to fool them? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrotherJosh Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 One of the churches my parents attended while I was in high school hosted a creationism conference. The congregation and attendees were so enamored with what these speakers had to say - a whole avalanche of confirmation bias. In my opinion, this has to do with people's focus on a fantasy or belief. I know people who can quote hundreds of Bible verses, rattle of theological arguments, and remember the words to their favorite worship songs. The average evangelical lives, breathes and eats this stuff. Why should they be bothered to learn basic facts about life (the sun) when they have a bible study to attend? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EternalEquinox Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 This post gave me cancer in the heart and head. What the hell America? I mean, not even my peers in my school are this stupid! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RipVanWinkle Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 I wonder if these jokers just couldn't read and understand the question. But that's just as bad. bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midniterider Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/02/14/277058739/1-in-4-americans-think-the-sun-goes-around-the-earth-survey-says Im in disbelief. I knew Americans were ignorant of a lot of things, but I did not expect this was one of them. I weep for what this country once was... Ever watch Jay Leno ask Americans questions? :-) Ha. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rerics Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/02/14/277058739/1-in-4-americans-think-the-sun-goes-around-the-earth-survey-says Im in disbelief. I knew Americans were ignorant of a lot of things, but I did not expect this was one of them. I weep for what this country once was... Ever watch Jay Leno ask Americans questions? :-) Ha. My favorite one of the Jay Leno segments to which you're referring: Q: Who wrote The Iliad and The Odyssey? A: I don't know. Q: Second question--what is Bart Simpson's father's first name? A: Homer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogueScholar Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 Unfortunately, this showcases the many issues regarding education in the United States. The problems are far worse in some areas of the country. Imagine high school graduates that cannot do simple division or even understand in a basic sense, decimals and fractions. Even worse, this is not a new problem by any means. We've really let our children down and we've really let ourselves down. I know where I work, we have aggressive programmes in place known as developmental classes designed to assist new students with the college transition. It's not uncommon for some people to take an entire semester or more of developmental classes to help them transition into entry level college courses. I spend a good deal of time covering basic math and have to teach modules on learning the metric system. The challenges seem insurmountable at times, but many people do make it and many people do go on to do great things. I'm nowhere near loosing hope nor am I at a point where I think most people are lost causes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blood Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 Not at all surprised. Just pick the dumbest thing you can possibly think of, and at least 25% of Americans will believe it's true. In the same survey, just 39 percent answered correctly (true) that "The universe began with a huge explosion" and only 48 percent said "Human beings, as we know them today, developed from earlier species of animals." Actually, the universe did not begin with "a huge explosion." Nothing exploded. Spacetime expanded from a singularity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blood Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 This post gave me cancer in the heart and head. What the hell America? I mean, not even my peers in my school are this stupid! It's called "freedom of religion." It warps minds, retards intellects, and rewards ignorance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
francesco Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 just wait in a decade, that number will be higher thanks to fundie home schooling 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pantheory Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 I'm hoping the number will be lower in a decade. My reasoning is that the internet will enlighten some of those otherwise uneducted, and social networking will spread the word, No? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurisaz Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 My favorite one of the Jay Leno segments to which you're referring: Q: Who wrote The Iliad and The Odyssey? A: I don't know. Q: Second question--what is Bart Simpson's father's first name? A: Homer I don't know too much about Leno (given that I can't watch that over here, at least not on free TV) but there are lots of similar reports about (especially young) Germans too. However, at least some of them were staged - "journalists" offered the kids in those reports some bucks if they act like dumbasses. My favorite out of these reports (the interviewed group was three girls around age 15): Q: "What river is the city of Frankfurt located next to?" (Kind of a trick question, we have two Frankfurts in Germany - the rivers are the Main for the West German city and the Oder for East Germany) A: "Ummmm... Volga?" Q: "What is Botox?" A (from all of them) "That's for anti-aging!!!" I sooo hope that this one specifically was staged or else... *bangs head on desk* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurisaz Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 ...I ... modules on learning the metric system... At risk of sounding arrogant, but when the FUCK will the US finally adopt the same system that pretty much the entire rest of the world uses already? I won't even go into detail how much money has gone to waste already due to this shit... what space probe was it again that got lost because someone stated the needed orbital distance in meters and someone in the US entering the data automatically assumed it's in yards or similar? (It happened years ago, apologies but I can't remember any more details... ) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurisaz Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 Not at all surprised. Just pick the dumbest thing you can possibly think of, and at least 25% of Americans will believe it's true. In the same survey, just 39 percent answered correctly (true) that "The universe began with a huge explosion" and only 48 percent said "Human beings, as we know them today, developed from earlier species of animals." Actually, the universe did not begin with "a huge explosion." Nothing exploded. Spacetime expanded from a singularity. To be fair, "a lot of heat was released" and "things are quickly moving away from a single point of origin" at least sound like what Joe and Jane Averagehuman would call an explosion. This one is at least partially understandable, if you ask me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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