Quarter of Americans Convinced Sun Revolves Around Earth, Survey Finds

[kpete]

"Does the Earth go around the Sun, or does the Sun go around the Earth?"

If you answered the latter, you're among a quarter of Americans who also got it wrong, according to a new report by the National Science Foundation.

A survey of 2,200 people that was released Friday revealed some alarming truths about the state of science education across the country, with many failing to an answer even the most basic astronomy and science questions, according to a release about the survey.

Out of nine questions in the survey, participants scored an average 6.5.

Only 39 percent answered correctly with "true" when asked if "The universe began with a huge explosion," while only 48 percent knew that "Human beings, as we know them today, developed from earlier species of animals," according to the statement.



http://abcnews.go.com/US/quarter-americans-convinced-sun-revolves-earth-survey-finds/story?id=22542847http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-02/msu-sas021314.php

[In_The_Wind]

1. What are they teaching in school?

[hobbit709]

2. How to be obedient slaves.

Critical thinking causes the slaves to get restless.

[In_The_Wind]

14. I remember those days but I thought we had evolved past 'em.

?w=604&h=467

[KansDem]

3. "What are they teaching in school?"

Whether the moon is a planet or a star?

[TheKentuckian]

4. The moon? Looking to the sky or the horizon is discouraged, no telling what thoughts might stir

[ProfessorGAC]

19. Yeah, We Can't Have Any Thinking Around Here!

Even still, i am flummoxed by these results.

[LanternWaste]

15. I imagine it's less what is being taught by teachers, and more what's being ignored by students.

I imagine it's less what is being taught by teachers, and more what's being ignored by students.

[Iggo]

5. "If you answered the latter" you're stupid.

[Laxman]

6. Do You Realize.....

the Sun don't go down, its just an illusion caused by the world spinning 'round.



This country has a long and proud history of ignorance. These folks are just upholding a tried and true American tradition.

[Fumesucker]

7. The tide comes in, the tide goes out.. Never a miscommunication, you can't explain that

A commentator on one of the major networks is one of these people and it's not thanks to a bad education.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_O%27Reilly_%28political_commentator%29

After graduating from high school in 1967, O'Reilly attended Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York, his father's choice.[21] While at Marist, O'Reilly played punter in the National Club Football Association[22] and was also a writer for the school's newspaper, The Circle. An honors student, he majored in history. He spent his junior year of college abroad, attending Queen Mary College at the University of London

[Octafish]

8. Is that how O'Reilly dodged the draft?

Smarmy chickenhawk turd should be the first to volunteer for the front line.

[Fumesucker]

11. It's a tough job but someone has to stay home and stoke the fires of war

It's a Holy War don't you know..

[Victor_c3]

9. I don't know if I'm like most people

but if someone asked me if I believed that the sun revolves around the earth I'd say "sure, why not" just to be an idiot and skew the results.

However, I like to make people think I'm a bumbling idiot - and sometimes I do a really good job of it.


My wife once said this to me "You're smarter than you look!"

[KingCharlemagne]

17. LOL! Good to know your spouse is in your corner! :) - nt

[VScott]

34. Yep. I'm thinking that some people are deliberately trolling the poll takers.

I know I'd do it without hesitation just for the lulz.

[world wide wally]

10. I suggest that the following question should be:

Do you consider yourself to be a Democrat or Republican?

[n2doc]

12. And I'll bet they vote in every election, primary, off year, whenever

The Republican 'base'. Remember W had 30% popularity even in his darkest hours.....

[Pacifist Patriot]

13. And in ten years, the percentages in Oklahoma will be astronomically higher.

<feel free to substitute the name of any other red state at your leisure>

[Katashi_itto]

16. Scott Walker will be the next president. Americans are stupid enough.

[KingCharlemagne]

20. What a sad commentary. - nt

[pipi_k]

21. Sometimes I like to believe

that most people who give stupid answers to basic questions are really only doing it because they didn't pay attention to the question, or misunderstood it.


If that's not the case, then it means that the intellectual integrity of this country is drowning in a huge sewer hole. Which is depressing.

[brendan120678]

30. Hell, half the time when people are talking to me...

I'm just completely ignoring them anyways.

[11 Bravo]

22. And now we know why Rupert Murdoch is rich.

[sinkingfeeling]

23. Appears that anything taught in school is being overwritten by the religious.

[hughee99]

32. Except that everyone goes to school, but an ever decreasing number of them are being raised

with religion. If religion is the cause, you should expect to see this number on its way down which makes me very concerned for where America was 50 years ago when there was a lot more religion. I wonder how many of them would have missed this question back then?

[starroute]

24. "The universe began with a huge explosion" isn't exactly "true"

For one thing, it still isn't clear whether there really was a Big Bang. There have always been problems with the theory, and efforts to patch it up -- such as "inflation" -- have problems of their own.

For another, even if the Big Bang did occur, it wasn't necessarily the beginning of the universe. There might be periodic expansions and contractions. Or there might be an expansion currently occurring in our neck of the woods but not in the universe as a whole. All of these ideas have legitimate scientific defenders.

And finally, even if you accept the Big Bang as totally real and totally the start of everything, describing it as a "huge explosion" is a kindergarten metaphor that's barely half a step above saying the sun goes around the earth.

I understand the survey was intended to make the general point that Americans are scientifically illiterate. But hoping as an alternative that they might be prepared to regurgitate their high school science lessons verbatim isn't setting the bar very high.

[MrScorpio]

25. I'm running out of palms here. nt

[One_Life_To_Give]

26. Such simplifications are for those who can't handle Real Math

One can define the reference frame anyway one likes. Just some ways make the math much simpler than others. It is possible to report on the Superbowl using Spherical Coordinates centered in Moscow. But the game would likely be over before you calculated what the description of the opening kickoff really meant.

[merrily]

27. Another 25% think the sun revolves around them.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

28. I wonder how many approve of the invention of the wheel

or whether they think hunting and gathering is a fine way of life.

[Tree-Hugger]

29. Sad nt

[hfojvt]

31. in a sense, it does

they both revolve around their common center of gravity, about 500 km from the center of the sun by my rough calculations.

[MisterP]

33. and ONE-FIFTH of elementary children think the Earth's flat

in Britain--in fact, these basic "scientific literacy" questions aren't that different in Japan or Germany

except for evolution: that's where the US is an outlier

I flipping love this book http://www.amazon.com/Flat-Earth-History-Infamous-Idea/dp/0312382081

[giftedgirl77]

35. Ohhh have you never seen the people on twitter wishing

the earth it's happy 2015th birthday? I was dating a guy quite a few years younger & when I brought this up & i saw the blank look come over his face that it was time to say goodbye. After a quick science, history, & social studies class of course.

[3catwoman3]

36. I knew a relationship was over...

...when the guy told me I would have to stop using "all those big words."

The word that prompted this declaration wasambivalent. I had, in fact, been feeling somewhat ambivalent about this man. After that, I no longer was.

[giftedgirl77]

37. I got the big word thing also....

I started telling him to google it. He was in & out 6 mths, grabbed me once & out the house he went. He was warned from the jump that I had been there done that & I don't do second chances. The wall went up & the bags went out.