NASAFanboy Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 (edited) 1 in 5 American's think that the Sun orbits Earth in study released by Gallup in 1999, and more recently, another one done by the National Science Foundation. That's 20% of the population, or around 40 million people, who have a knowledge of astronomy as outdated as a Kindergardener. SOURCES:http://time.com/7809/1-in-4-americans-thinks-sun-orbits-earth/http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/02/14/277058739/1-in-4-americans-think-the-sun-goes-around-the-earth-survey-saysAround 48% of Americans are aware that humans evolved over time and history, while only 39% know about the Big Bang. Also, here's another thing I noticed.In a survey compiled by the National Opinion Research Center from various sources, Americans seemed to generally support science research and expressed the greatest interest in new medical discoveries and local school issues related to science. They were least interested in space exploration, agricultural developments and international and foreign policy issues related to science. To top it off, 29% of Americans think that cloud computing uses actual clouds. Conclusion? May the spaghetti monster help us all! Edited July 27, 2014 by NASAFanboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kinglet Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 “Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.†― Albert EinsteinThe first three did not suprise me. But the cloud computing one absolutely shocked me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godot Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 I´m not surprisd, especially considering the fact that the last 5 years also saw the resurrection of the Flat Earth Society, which now already has 500 members and rising Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vger Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Somehow I don't think fringe cults can account for this, Godot. I don't even think Westboro Baptist rejects the heliocentric view of the solar system. Does this just boil down to people not paying attention in science class, looking up and thinking, "Yep... sure looks like the sun is moving around us."On a slight side rant, it's interesting how many educated people think cloud computing is actually a new concept. It's been going on for decades. Napster? Seti@Home? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razark Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 1 in 4...That's 20% of the population...Sigh. If you're going to complain about stupid Americans, at least get the math right.Is it one in four, which is 25%, or 20%, which is one out of 5? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 It drives my up the wall when I show up to check on mod updates and see threads like this. I see in the op where you were saying "Americans" are this and that. If anyone actually takes the time to search for results to these types of tests for other countries around the world, you will find similar results with other countries doing better or worse in different areas of the exam, but overall they are about the same. This has actually been discussed before : http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/69702-Squad-NASA-cooperation-needed-ASAP!Mods : I hope this gets closed soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robopilot99 Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 There's no way that's correct. I can't remember ever meeting anyone who seriously thinks that the sun orbits the earth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JokingHinge Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 This is anti-american propaganda, don't listen to it. You might just become anti-american just by looking at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NASAFanboy Posted July 27, 2014 Author Share Posted July 27, 2014 (edited) This is anti-american propaganda, don't listen to it. You might just become anti-american just by looking at it.This is not anti-American. This is statistics that show that American science education is horribly lacking in all areas.It drives my up the wall when I show up to check on mod updates and see threads like this. I see in the op where you were saying "Americans" are this and that. If anyone actually takes the time to search for results to these types of tests for other countries around the world, you will find similar results with other countries doing better or worse in different areas of the exam, but overall they are about the same. This has actually been discussed before : http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/69702-Squad-NASA-cooperation-needed-ASAP!Didn't see that. But even so, I want to remind the KSP forums that they are, very much, a minority regarding space issues and should try to educate people about this issues as much as possible. I also included more information regarding other topics, such as the general cluelessness of Americans towards hi-tech topics such as space explorations. Basically, I wanted to discuss ways of educating people about science to advocating science in ones community. Edited July 27, 2014 by NASAFanboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montyben101 Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Just one small problem: no one seems to care Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpast Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Hasn't there been some result showing that a certain number of people answer "yes" to basically any poll? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dispatcher Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 (edited) 1 in 5 American's think that the Sun orbits Earth in study released by Gallup in 1999, and more recently, another one done by the National Science Foundation. That's 20% of the population, or around 40 million people, who have a knowledge of astronomy as outdated as a Kindergardener. SOURCES:http://time.com/7809/1-in-4-americans-thinks-sun-orbits-earth/http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/02/14/277058739/1-in-4-americans-think-the-sun-goes-around-the-earth-survey-saysAround 48% of Americans are aware that humans evolved over time and history, while only 39% know about the Big Bang. Also, here's another thing I noticed.To top it off, 29% of Americans think that cloud computing uses actual clouds. Conclusion? May the spaghetti monster help us all!Having perused the links you supplied, I strongly suspect two things. First, that a significant percentage of "Americans" (this does not distinguish between North, Central or South Americans; let alone whether or not the polls occurred in preschools or at Universities) have a wry sense of humor. Second, if Gallop or other study pollers deign to ask such stupid questions of "Americans" or anyone else, the polling entity deserves all of the tripe responses it obtains.Whatever the percentage of respondents (regarding the sourceless bit about the Big Bang), everyone I've conversed with on the subject of science is indeed aware of the concept of a Big Bang.The same things apply to the statement about "cloud computing". Common sense (which I believe is a real attribute possessed by most people I associate with) would dictate that far fewer people (especially adults) really think that cloud computing involves real clouds. It may be that some people think that such is related to meteorological computations in the context of clouds and other weather phenomena.My advice for all on such discussions is; relax. Edited July 27, 2014 by Dispatcher Spelling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dispatcher Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 I´m not surprisd, especially considering the fact that the last 5 years also saw the resurrection of the Flat Earth Society, which now already has 500 members and rising While I've not taken the time to find sources, I've heard in the past that the FES is more of a social thing, rather than a facet of a belief system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThinkOutsideTheHangar Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 So much for the Mars missions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vger Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 It drives my up the wall when I show up to check on mod updates and see threads like this. I see in the op where you were saying "Americans" are this and that. If anyone actually takes the time to search for results to these types of tests for other countries around the world, you will find similar results with other countries doing better or worse in different areas of the exam, but overall they are about the same.It's only politically correct to make fun of Americans though, so the hands of the media are pretty much tied in that regard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanamonde Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 These surveys were taken in America, so it is not surprising that they therefore cite statistics about Americans. That doesn't mean the thread is anti-American though. Please allow your tempers to cool and leave pro- or anti-national sentiments out of the discussion, or we might just need to close the thread after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7499275 Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 I'm going to throw my two cents in as I did on a thread identical to this one months ago.I am a high school student (junior) and I hate going to science class. not because I don't enjoy science, I love it. However, no one else in my class seems to. They all just half arse pay attention to get a passing grade. The science teacher tries his best to educate those who cares and those who do not he just barely passes them. Its not a problem with people's stupidity as you all put it. It's a problem with the youth not caring about having a free education available to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas988 Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 You know what annoys me? How our American education system thinks that astronomy and physics isn't important! IT IS! The lack of knowledge when it comes to basic astronomy in my school is simply appalling. No offense to her or anything, but there was a girl in my history class who didn't know what the International Space Station was! AGH! Astronomy isn't just a science, it is our future. If we can't find a way to colonize other planets beyond Earth we are all going to go extinct sooner or later. And, oh, how embarrassing to us it will be when we wish that we would have cared a little more about our space programs.As 7499275 put it, too many kids don't care about science. And by the looks of it, it doesn't seem the education system cares too much either. Put space back into the curriculum, America! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpast Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 You know what annoys me? How our American education system thinks that astronomy and physics isn't important! IT IS! The lack of knowledge when it comes to basic astronomy in my school is simply appalling. No offense to her or anything, but there was a girl in my history class who didn't know what the International Space Station was! AGH! Astronomy isn't just a science, it is our future. If we can't find a way to colonize other planets beyond Earth we are all going to go extinct sooner or later. And, oh, how embarrassing to us it will be when we wish that we would have cared a little more about our space programs.Humanity will go extinct sooner or later. What did you expect? It won't be very embarrassing at all, because a) we'll all be dead (sorta by definition) and putting a bit more investment into a space program wouldn't stop humanity from going extinct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanamonde Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 For the second time, with reference to some deleted posts, please leave politics and national characters for other forums, as we do not want those arguments here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camacha Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 [Post edited by moderation staff]On a slight side rant, it's interesting how many educated people think cloud computing is actually a new concept. It's been going on for decades. Napster? Seti@Home?Neither can be considered cloud computer (as vague as that term is). The former is peer to peer, the latter a network cluster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kinglet Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Somehow I don't think fringe cults can account for this, Godot. I don't even think Westboro Baptist rejects the heliocentric view of the solar system. Does this just boil down to people not paying attention in science class, looking up and thinking, "Yep... sure looks like the sun is moving around us."On a slight side rant, it's interesting how many educated people think cloud computing is actually a new concept. It's been going on for decades. Napster? Seti@Home?Take a look at the astronomy terms for fools: "Shooting star" "The sun is going down" etc.There is a large mount of stupid and inaccurate terms that many people use for astronomy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas988 Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Humanity will go extinct sooner or later. What did you expect? It won't be very embarrassing at all, because a) we'll all be dead (sorta by definition) and putting a bit more investment into a space program wouldn't stop humanity from going extinct.But we might last a little longer if we can relocate to another planet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Padishar Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 (edited) Hasn't there been some result showing that a certain number of people answer "yes" to basically any poll?Yes.(Sorry, couldn't resist)And, more on topic, it isn't just science education that is sorely lacking, and not just in the US either. I have had to explain to people:Carrots grow underground.Chickens lay eggs.Beef comes from cows (and milk does too).If you add two four digit (positive, before anyone gets needlessly pedantic) numbers together the result can never be 3 digits....along with many other things. It can be funny at the time but, on later reflection, really does make me worry for the future of humanity... Edited July 28, 2014 by Padishar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camacha Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Yes.If you add two four digit (positive, before anyone gets needlessly pedantic) numbers together the result can never be 3 digits.If you add two positive things together, they do not get less? What kind of worthless 'fact' is that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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