Just Jim Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 (edited) 31 minutes ago, steve_v said: Well, the only reason it's Americans specifically is because it was an American survey. The disturbing thing is that I expect the same would be true of many other populations as well... if certain people I know are anything to go by. Once upon a time I assumed that basic facts like this were common knowledge, easily obtained by anyone who received even basic schooling... with age comes the realisation that ignorance is everywhere. I don't think it's stupidity either, some people just don't seem to care. But it's a crap survey! I quote from the article itself: But wait! I hear you cry, perhaps the NSF poll was flawed? Perhaps the poll sample was too small? Sadly not. The NSF poll, which is used to gauge U.S. scientific literacy every year, surveyed 2,200 people who were asked 10 questions about physical and biological sciences. On average, the score was 6.5 out of 10 -- barely a passing grade. But for me personally, the fact that 26 percent of the respondents were unaware the Earth revolves around the sun shocked me to the core. OK, they're trying to imply it's a scientific survey, but do the math people! That's 2,200 out a of a population of aprox 321,442,019 (according to the US census as of June 2015)... my calculator is locking up even trying to figure it, but that's something like .0004% of the population! This is a survey? Furthermore, nowhere in the article, or actual NSF poll does it say where this sample of people was taken from... there is no demographical information of any kind to be found! So was this taken from a sample across the country, or just a small church somewhere in Alabama? On top of this, the first link the OP listed sites: Here’s the thing, though: Americans actually fared better than Europeans who took similar quizzes — at least when it came to the sun and Earth question. Only 66 percent of European Union residents answered that one correctly. But the title of the article, and this thread, is basically about how "Americans are stupid".... This is what I find so very insulting, not just the fact it comes from the Tiimes, a very left leaning political newspaper... which I thought was off limits on this forum... but also that this thread is degenerating into "Let's bash the Americans... again!" Edited December 29, 2015 by Just Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legoclone09 Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 (edited) There's this segemnt on a show on Fox that has a person interview random American citizens and ask them basic questions. It's called Watter's World if you want to google it. The questions are things like when America was fist discovered, or who the first president was. I've seen it answered that the first preesident was Abraham Lincoln and America was discovered in the 1900s. It's worse considering these people are in college. Most of this was made obsolete, but this thread is kind of derailing. Edited December 29, 2015 by legoclone09 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jim Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 (edited) 4 minutes ago, legoclone09 said: There's this segemnt on a show on Fox that has a person interview random people and ask them basic questions. Like when America was fist discovered, or who the first president was. I've seen it answered that the first preesident was Abraham Lincoln and America was discovered in the 1900s. It's worse considering these people are in college or just out of it. "Watter's World" or something like that..... yeah, I've seen it, and I hate it! He purposely goes out to find the stupidest people he can, then acts like it's a sample of all of us. I would love to have him come up to me someday and start asking questions on camera, and then have him make the horrible discovery that this old hippie has an IQ twice as high as his!!! Edited December 29, 2015 by Just Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_v Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 13 minutes ago, Elthy said: "Bullsh it" gets converted to "repurposed bovine waste"? Is that such a bad word? That's not the worst example, the profanity filter appears to be both extremely conservative and rather stupid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legoclone09 Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 2 minutes ago, Just Jim said: "Watter's World" or something like that..... yeah, I've seen it, and I hate it! He purposely goes out to find the stupidest people he can, then acts like it's a sample of all of us. I would love to have him come up to me someday and start asking questions on camera, and then have him make the horrible discovery that this old hippie has an IQ twice as high as his!!! Yeah, I don't like the fact he purposely makes it seem like a full sample, but still if people don't know basic things it's sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgt_flyer Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 meh, earth a disc carried on the shoulders of 4 elephants, on the back of a giant turtle of course ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_v Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 (edited) 25 minutes ago, Just Jim said: But it's a crap survey! Why yes, yes it is. 25 minutes ago, Just Jim said: there is no demographical information of any kind to be found! Indeed, so it should probably be: "Some Americans are ignorant." again, not a particularly good survey. 25 minutes ago, Just Jim said: the fact it comes from the Tiimes, a very left leaning political newspaper... Ahh, but here 'tis you bringing up political bias, nobody else has mentioned it. Would you like it more if it came from a right leaning paper? 7 minutes ago, sgt_flyer said: meh, earth a disc carried on the shoulders of 4 elephants, on the back of a giant turtle of course ! Sure is, and it's turtles all the way down. Then again, there are some people alive (how?) that believe the earth is hollow, or only 6000 years old, or flat... the list of stupid ideas is endless. Scientific discovery is supposed to correct these misguided ideas, yet some always resist, and yet more just don't care how wrong they are. Edited December 29, 2015 by steve_v Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elthy Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 Isnt it just slow news time? Its something to print, so the newspaper takes it, no matter whats the political context... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jim Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 20 minutes ago, steve_v said: Ahh, but here 'tis you bringing up political bias, nobody else has mentioned it. Would you like it more if it came from a right leaning paper? No. And your right, I did mention it first, and for that I apologize. I should have said the Times has a record of bashing America and left it at that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K^2 Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 1 hour ago, Just Jim said: I am not going to lie, as an American, I'm starting to find this thread quite insulting! I thought y'all were above this kind of garbage, and I seriously hope this thread gets shut down soon! As an American, you should take a note of garbage Trump says and his standings in the polls. We have a very serious backwash from religious groups right now. Partly because of the aging population. Blame the baby-boomers. People tend to get somewhat irrational and dogmatic in the later years, and right now they happen to have quite a big sway, both in politics and in pols like this. Don't mind it, though, we just need to ride it out for another decade or so, tops. It's already getting better. The fact that radicals are getting crazier and more aggressive is a good sign. Death throws of sorts. The bigger problem is the dent they are leaving in our education system. I swear, the students I was getting in Physics labs were getting dumber semester to semester between 2008 and 2012. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jim Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 (edited) 18 minutes ago, K^2 said: As an American, you should take a note of garbage Trump says and his standings in the polls. We have a very serious backwash from religious groups right now. Partly because of the aging population. Blame the baby-boomers. People tend to get somewhat irrational and dogmatic in the later years, and right now they happen to have quite a big sway, both in politics and in pols like this. Don't mind it, though, we just need to ride it out for another decade or so, tops. It's already getting better. The fact that radicals are getting crazier and more aggressive is a good sign. Death throws of sorts. The bigger problem is the dent they are leaving in our education system. I swear, the students I was getting in Physics labs were getting dumber semester to semester between 2008 and 2012. I'm not sure how to respond to this, I don't think it's allowed Edited December 29, 2015 by Just Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoSlash27 Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 I used to assume that the church was responsible for the loss of all the scientific knowledge during the dark ages. It turns out that it was really the fall of the Roman Empire that caused it. The entire infrastructure of European society collapsed and people had to live through generations of feudal wars, barbarian attacks, plagues, famines, etc. They focused on what they needed to get by and didn't worry about minor concerns like "science" or "literacy". I think people are still like that today; they simply don't care about petty issues like this because it has no bearing on them. They focus on the things that matter to them. What I take away from these polls: I'm thankful that I live in a society that allows me the luxury of knowing the correct answer. Best, -Slashy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Iron Crown Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 This topic is not appropriate for this forum for a variety of reasons, most of which have become evident in the replies. Locked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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