Survey finds few in U.S. understand science
<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/science/04/30/science.understanding.ap/index.html"; target="_blank">Survey finds few in U.S. understand science</a>
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Few people in the United States understand the scientific process and many believe in mysterious psychic powers and may be quick to accept phony science reports, according to a national survey.
The survey, part of the National Science Foundation's biennial report on the state of science understanding, research, education and investment, found that the belief in "pseudoscience" is common in America. The study found that science literacy has improved only slightly since the previous survey and that 70 percent of American adults do not understand the scientific process.
Sigh...
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Few people in the United States understand the scientific process and many believe in mysterious psychic powers and may be quick to accept phony science reports, according to a national survey.
The survey, part of the National Science Foundation's biennial report on the state of science understanding, research, education and investment, found that the belief in "pseudoscience" is common in America. The study found that science literacy has improved only slightly since the previous survey and that 70 percent of American adults do not understand the scientific process.
Sigh...
Comments
[quote]The earliest humans lived at the same time as the dinosaurs. (False. Dinosaurs died off millions of years before humans appeared.) 48 percent.<hr></blockquote>
Ouch.
<strong>Well who needs science when you have the Bible?</strong><hr></blockquote>
Can I get an AMEN here?!
Seriously though, there isn't any such thing as science. Everything that happens in the world is just god's will, isn't it?
[ 04-30-2002: Message edited by: murbot ]</p>
wanna smell my fingers?
cuss
edit:
After looking at that survey, I've come to the conclusion that it's kind of "bonk." Who's to say anything about psychic powers or the big bang or UFO's without absolute, proven certainty. There's no absolute conclusion to whether they exist or not, so to be True or False is a bit misleading here.
For many years -- and even still -- a lot of the concepts behind quantum mechanics were more corollaries than threories. So in that respect, if psychic powers or UFO's seem to be observed, who's to say that they are wrong?
[ 04-30-2002: Message edited by: Splinemodel ]</p>
<strong>
Can I get an AMEN here?!
Seriously though, there isn't any such thing as science. Everything that happens in the world is just god's will, isn't it?
Yes and God created the laws of nature so he didn´t have to intervene because he want live on beliefs not on proofs.... Or it was satan that created them to drive us away from God.... Or something...
Well I know that at least Jeff Goldblum lived at the same time. I saw that on the documentary I rented last week at Blockbuster.
that's who,
cuss
(aka triblett lungre thurd; destroyer of rods)
p.s. i spent a few months at a john edwards fan forum about a year ago... ingratiating myself slowly to a good-sized grouping of his fans, claiming all the while but gently, that my grandma had passed on certain abilitities to me on her deathbed... then, after much glad-handing and at their behest, i used some cold reading techniques on them... like, "i've been dreaming the letter 'K'..." i don't have to tell you what happened next, well, you can see it for yerself every day on john's syndicated show. When i finally revealed the true source of my 'power' with several rather blunt posts on how to give 'cold readings' and after many seemingly "accurate readings", not to mention convincing quite a few forum members of my psychic abilities, they became irate and banned me, survivor-style, from their little marquesas of true-belief. oh well, maybe i got through to one of 'em.
now you say... 'what's wrong with giving comfort to the bereaved?' nothing... as long as it's free.
more alarming than that... i recently came across two "vampires" (see also; goth dumbasses) discussing a mutual friend on another one of these screwy forums... the friend, they'd said, had been talking to a spirit named "michael"... and had begun to show a penchant for self-mutilation. welp, i tried to explain to them that their friend needed the help of a good psychiatrist for what was possibly a history of sexual abuse and not more attention for her flights of fancy from them. they seemed to be more concerned with what the next episode of buffy held.
now you say... 'what's wrong with buffy?' and i reply, nothing... i gotta thang fer willow myself.
By the way, do they have these idiotic ads on the radio only in the big cities or are they on in more educated, family oriented smaller towns too? I can't imagine them in places like Minnesota where people are down to earth and sensible.
And, no, I'm not religious. I'm agnostic.
<strong>Most Americans also don't understand economics.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Most economists don't understand economics. It certainly has explanatory power, but I think it is often pointed at as a cure-all - especially in areas where certain values are essentially non-monetizable. This to me is the improper use of a tool. Here's a great joke:
An economist is shipwrecked. Luckily, 7 crates of beans are also standed on the island. However, the economist has no can opener. What is he to do? The economist is happy and see's no problem. He says, "assume a can opener..."
I thought that was hilarious.
Thoth
I think that the majority of America has indeed turned into "Trailerparkansas" (Thanks Jon Stewart).
It's too bad. We should have a large base of knowledgeable people. Oh, that's right. They're too busy designing military defense weapons and overpriced pharmaceuticals...
As mentioned above Americans (and other countries) have too many distractions (TV, media and IRC) to learn anything anymore.
Teenagers are too busy watching "Dismissed", "The Osbornes" and "TRL". Adults are too busy working their asses off, watching "The Osbornes" and "Connections" than to worry about what their kids are doing in school.
And if the kids do make it through high school they only are looking for a college with the best beer, babes and bongs...and hopefully a guest spot on either "MTV Spring Break" or "Wild COEDs"....'tis a sad state of affairs.
After looking at that survey, I've come to the conclusion that it's kind of "bonk."</strong>
Yes, some of the questions are "bunk". Not surprising since it appears that a majority of the pollsters don't seem to understand how their questions are worded can effect the results of theirs polls. If I were more cynical, I would think that they do know.
However, look at some of the less controversial questions:
In contrast to two years ago, when half of those surveyed were wrong, a majority, 54 percent, answered correctly when asked how long it takes the Earth to orbit the sun. (One year.)
Lasers work by focusing sound waves. (False. Lasers focus light.) 45 percent.
Antibiotics kill viruses as well as bacteria. (False.) 51 percent.
I would bet that if one asks questions like these, most people wouldn't know. Like, does the gas inside a flourescent light shine when electricity is passed through it?
<strong>Who's to say anything about psychic powers or the big bang or UFO's without absolute, proven certainty. There's no absolute conclusion to whether they exist or not, so to be True or False is a bit misleading here.</strong>
There's rarely absolute anything in science, just lots of supporting evidence for various models made from observation. Alien craft and psychic powers have zero supporting evidence made from flimsy observations.
I would agree that true or false questions are a terrible way to run a survey or to put in a test.
<strong>For many years -- and even still -- a lot of the concepts behind quantum mechanics were more corollaries than threories. So in that respect, if psychic powers or UFO's seem to be observed, who's to say that they are wrong?</strong>
It's the observation part that needs to be worked on. No psychic powers have been observed, at least not repeated in controlled conditions. Nothing strange about a UFO. The strange part is associating it as an extraterrestrial (alien) object.
[ 05-01-2002: Message edited by: THT ]</p>
Who here realizes that science and religion have a lot in common? To the point where you could say science (our "knowledge" of the universe and how it works) is a religion.</strong>
Hopefully very few.
it works, and helps if you've an editing booth. watch JE, take note on what he does when he's wrong... he never admits it, he'll claim it's a crossed connection, that they don't know what it means 'yet'...etc... then watch him change his tack. damage control (and maintaining control) is the key to cold readings... finding out the statistics on how many first and last names begin with a 'k' is the easy part.
cuss
<strong>
Can I get an AMEN?!
</strong><hr></blockquote>
{sheep}meh-eh-eh-eh {/sheep}