25% Of Americans Think The Sun Revolves Around The Earth...

[Thurisaz]

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?

 

I'm not so sure about that; the morontheists, and the ones fooling them for even more wealth, have set up a number of "alternate reality" sites after all so that cultists can correctly claim "I'm on the interneeeeeeet!" while only visiting sites that are 100 % certified to be in full cultist denial of reality...

[miekko]

 

 

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

 

Knowing who wrote the Illiad is likewise kind of a trivia thing - it tells us nothing about him except his name. This is pseudoknowledge, really. You know more about the author of the Illiad and the Oddysey if you know he was a Greek who lived at about the 7th or 8th centuries BCE.

 

Names are really pretty "empty" information - they're labels that tell you so little about the person they refer to.

[Vigile]

 

 

 

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

 

Knowing who wrote the Illiad is likewise kind of a trivia thing - it tells us nothing about him except his name. This is pseudoknowledge, really. You know more about the author of the Illiad and the Oddysey if you know he was a Greek who lived at about the 7th or 8th centuries BCE.

 

Names are really pretty "empty" information - they're labels that tell you so little about the person they refer to.

 

 

I can just about guarantee you there is a correlation between those who know this basic 'pseudoknowledge' and those who have at least a basic understanding of government function, enough historical understanding to learn from it, and enough scientific understanding to trust it.  Contrarily, those who don't are vulnerable to pseudo scientific claims, media sensationalism and political populism.  A well-rounded education is important to society and its lack is felt by all because the opinions of others affects us all.  You may argue that knowing who wrote the Iliad has nothing to do with a rounded liberal arts education, but I'd argue that it's impossible to miss something like this when one has such a critter. 

 

This might be one of those issues that's harder to see from the outside looking in.  In Finland, people have a basic education and having a brain fart when someone asks who wrote the Iliad is probably just that and nothing more.  In the US, there are many who are functionally illiterate -- in states like Tennessee, roughly 30% are functionally illiterate. In cities like Detroit, the numbers are roughly half. I imagine that's hard to grasp until you see it up close and live amidst it for a while. 

 

While considering this, consider also that the US is the hegemonic leader of the world and maintains a military and financial empire that sets world policy to a large degree. 

 

http://www.livescience.com/3211-14-percent-adults-read.html

[buffettphan]

Even my fundy-family members were appalled at this statistic.  Unfortunately the ONE and ONLY reason they will consider for this ignorance is the evil public schools.  When I mentioned that maybe the homeschooling option might have something to do with it, I was told that I "had an agenda"... Okaaaay.   

 

(and I didn't dare mention the fundy-xtian schools that treat the Flinstones as a science documentary)

[Guest Marty]

I just showed my roommate this article, and he was also in disbelief, but then said, "Ya know, the way religion treats science in this country…I wish people could understand that science can go a long way in proving religion true sometimes…" to which I interrupted him and said "I'd like one example.  Just one example."

 

He then said, "Look, we're not gona have a religious discussion this morning", and walked out the door for work.      I thought we were having a science discussion. 

 

How do you get a christian to vacate a room the fastest?  Ask them for evidence...

 

 

*Sigh*

[Ravenstar]

We had a show up here (it's still going, I think) called "this Hour has 22 minutes" and one of the sketch pieces was called , "Talking to Americans":   obviously it's tongue in cheek and more about the lack of knowledge of Canada, but still ...

 

 

 

 

and for balance (and to show we aren't complete assholes):  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV_041oYDjg

[Vigile]

If you look at IQ distribution, around 50% fall under 100.  Perhaps it's hoping for too much when expecting them to be more than just mindless echos of their media and culture. 

 

Funny video Raven.  Thanks for posting. 

[★ Citsonga ★]

Wow, that is mind-boggling! I used to be 100% into creationism, but even then I knew that the planets orbit the sun. That's one of the first things taught in elementary school, so how could 26% get it wrong, even in America? Wow!

[seeker001]

 

...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... )

 

I'd prefer the metric system, so much easier than dealing with inches, feet, yards, etc. And our system is already based on the metric system, one inch is officially defined to be exactly 25.4mm. 

 

I think it is the Climate Orbiter you were referring to

http://www.cnn.com/TECH/space/9909/30/mars.metric.02/

[miekko]

If you look at IQ distribution, around 50% fall under 100.  Perhaps it's hoping for too much when expecting them to be more than just mindless echos of their media and culture. 

 

Funny video Raven.  Thanks for posting. 

Actually, it's defined so that exactly fifty percent fall under 100. If everyone got twice as smart as today, the scale would be adjusted. In fact, this adjustment is done regularly.

[Thurisaz]

I think it is the Climate Orbiter you were referring to

http://www.cnn.com/TECH/space/9909/30/mars.metric.02/

Yup I guess that's the one.

[Voice]

Americans rank among the world's most stupid, this fact is well known, but I have to believe that at least 50% of the 25% purported to think the sun orbits the world were pulling the surveyor's leg.

Didn't you know that Americans are wicked pranksters?

[Vigile]

 

If you look at IQ distribution, around 50% fall under 100.  Perhaps it's hoping for too much when expecting them to be more than just mindless echos of their media and culture. 

 

Funny video Raven.  Thanks for posting. 

Actually, it's defined so that exactly fifty percent fall under 100. If everyone got twice as smart as today, the scale would be adjusted. In fact, this adjustment is done regularly.

 

 

Yeah, I get that.  Nevertheless...

 

[bornagainathiest]

Y'know...

 

I think Miekko's on to something.

 

I've got no use for knowledge of the life cycle of the axolotl, so it's irrelevant to me.

 

But I wonder.

What would science-denying YEC's do if a tinny, electronic voice spoke to them down the phone, saying this?

 

"We're sorry to cut you off, but our electricity supplies are now provided on the condition that our customers understand what electricity is and where it comes from.  Please upgrade your understanding to meet the necessary requirements and we will re-connect you once you've passed the intelligence test.  Thank you."

[Blood]

just wait in a decade, that number will be higher thanks to fundie home schooling

 

Exactly. The Home School movement is growing, in direct proportion to the increase in scientific illiteracy. 

[Blood]

 

...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... )

 

 

When will the USA adopt the Metric System? When we can no longer afford not to. Keep in mind that the right wing thrives on "American exceptionalism" propaganda along with the myth that we are completely self-sufficient. They are opposed to anything that the UN advocates. The basic idea is that US sovereignty is threatened by any global initiative or treaty, so the adoption of the Metric system is political suicide for the right. No matter how incredibly much more efficient it would be and save billions of dollars -- nope, we're not going to change. "We've always done it this way" is considered a QED here. 

[Cousin Ricky]

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)

 

So that explains it! I spent a summer in Heidelberg as a child, and flew in through Frankfurt am Main. Regrettably, my cousin, whose dad was in the U.S. army and stationed in Heidelberg, was forever “protecting” me from “the Germans,” so I learned hardly any German during that trip. I never understood what “am Main” meant. (It never occurred to my 11 year old mind that my cousin was defeating the purpose of visiting Germany. Perhaps he saw Germany as a mere “assignment,” not a place they were “visiting.”)

 

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?

 

We did, de jure, back in the 19th century; but the people refuse to get with the program.

 

I remember there was a big push in the 1970s, but nothing ever came of it.

[pantheory]

 

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?

 

I'm not so sure about that; the morontheists, and the ones fooling them for even more wealth, have set up a number of "alternate reality" sites after all so that cultists can correctly claim "I'm on the interneeeeeeet!" while only visiting sites that are 100 % certified to be in full cultist denial of reality...

 

 

But we are talking about grade school facts here. I don't think I have ever personally been aware of anyone over age 10 that thinks the Sun rotates around the Earth. Most creationists have gone to school and learn such simple facts early in life along with all other kids. Maybe I'm too much of an optimist but I think eduction is slowly improving in the U.S. and worldwide.

 

Most all would realize that there were even more creationists 100 years ago and I would expect that an even higher percentage of Americans (and all others) then would have believed that the sun rotates around the Earth. I think in the bigger picture of time that religions of all varieties will continue to decline in the long run. I also don't think religion is a main culprit concerning ignorance. I think ignorance is simply the lack of education for a multitude of reasons.

 

Computers and the internet may now be the fastest growing valid teaching mechanisms for all countries.

[MerryG]

 

just wait in a decade, that number will be higher thanks to fundie home schooling

 

Exactly. The Home School movement is growing, in direct proportion to the increase in scientific illiteracy. 

 

 

Not all homeschooling is fundie homeschooling. I know lots of homeschooling families whose children are bright, curious, independent, creative -- and far more educated than they'd have been if they were sitting bored to death and controlled by bells in a government schoolroom.

 

I agree the statistic that started this thread is appalling, and that fundies may be at least partly to blame. But if you knew the amazing kids I know, you wouldn't paint homeschooling with such a broad brush. Remember how many homeschoolers have won the national spelling bee or gotten into Ivy League schools.

[TheRedneckProfessor]

 

 

just wait in a decade, that number will be higher thanks to fundie home schooling

 

Exactly. The Home School movement is growing, in direct proportion to the increase in scientific illiteracy. 

 

 

Not all homeschooling is fundie homeschooling. I know lots of homeschooling families whose children are bright, curious, independent, creative -- and far more educated than they'd have been if they were sitting bored to death and controlled by bells in a government schoolroom.

 

I agree the statistic that started this thread is appalling, and that fundies may be at least partly to blame. But if you knew the amazing kids I know, you wouldn't paint homeschooling with such a broad brush. Remember how many homeschoolers have won the national spelling bee or gotten into Ivy League schools.

 

Well, whether my son goes to a public school or a private school, the one thing I will personally see to is that he also gets schooled at home.  I have a responsibility to make sure he is thoroughly prepared for life in the real world; and I aim to take that responsibility seriously.  There are certain things people need to know that are no longer taught in American schools. 

 

And I'm not even going to get into the dumbing-down of Science class (he's only four and already he understands evolution better than either of my fundie parents).

[Vigile]

 

 

just wait in a decade, that number will be higher thanks to fundie home schooling

 

Exactly. The Home School movement is growing, in direct proportion to the increase in scientific illiteracy. 

 

 

Not all homeschooling is fundie homeschooling. I know lots of homeschooling families whose children are bright, curious, independent, creative -- and far more educated than they'd have been if they were sitting bored to death and controlled by bells in a government schoolroom.

 

I agree the statistic that started this thread is appalling, and that fundies may be at least partly to blame. But if you knew the amazing kids I know, you wouldn't paint homeschooling with such a broad brush. Remember how many homeschoolers have won the national spelling bee or gotten into Ivy League schools.

 

 

I agree.  I have a hard time complaining about home schooling when public education is so appalling.  Had I stayed home, I would have likely received a better education than I did in HS.  And from what I see of my friend's kids, who are now being educated in the same system, things haven't improved much. 

 

If you want an education in the US, you need to live in the right district or just wait until university. 

 

 

[sdelsolray]

I suspect that a large portion of the "25%" were (and remain) unable to understand simple questions.  In other words, many (in that 25% group) would answer otherwise if they truly invested the intellectual effort to understand the question first, thought about it second and answered it third.

 

Unfortunately, if that is the case, it may portend an even more serious problem with a portion of the American population.

[Guest end3]

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.

 

What the fuck does that mean....singularity?

[pantheory]

 

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.

 

What the fuck does that mean....singularity?

 

 

 

The classic Big Bang model involves a beginnning entity that started it all. It is called a singularity since accordingly there would have been no parts to it, and by theory it is thought to be extemely small.

 

Today's consensus version of the Big Bang does not go back to a singularity. Today this version is thought to be hypothetical. Instead, according to present theory, the universe started with a hot-dense relatively small beginning, and from this point in time space accordingly expanded very rapidly. This is called the Inflation era. This is today's version of the Big Bang model.

 

Is any aspect of this theory valid? It would depend upon who you were talking to.

 

If you were talking to me, for instance, then I would tell you that I expect that the Big Bang model in the next century will be considered as stupid an idea as the original theory of the sun rotating around the Earth.

[Vigile]

I suspect that a large portion of the "25%" were (and remain) unable to understand simple questions.  In other words, many (in that 25% group) would answer otherwise if they truly invested the intellectual effort to understand the question first, thought about it second and answered it third.

 

Unfortunately, if that is the case, it may portend an even more serious problem with a portion of the American population.

 

I agree with this assessment.  But I'd argue the number is higher than 25%.  Since the question only has two answers, up to 50% could have misunderstood the question, but got it right simply by taking a wild guess.