This is an absolute disgrace.

[Guest]

I'll just leave this here again.

Source : http://www.sfgate.com/technology/businessinsider/article/Here-s-The-Basic-Science-Question-That-1-in-4-5248649.php

Somewhere around 50% of the world rejects the big bang theory. 25%-50% of the world rejects evolution. 34% of the people in the EU rejects the fact that the Sun is the center of the solar system. What does this mean? It's an absolute disgrace that this thread is still open.

[Godot]

Within the EU even just 66% of the people answered the question about heliocentric vs. geocentric correctly ...

I am speechless ... I´d love to see the individual percentage of countries within the EU

(I somehow cannot believe that the percentage in germany, france or GB is at this level ...

rather that some other EU countries push the percentage down to a large degree)

The big difference between the USA and almost all other countries (except russia) when it comes to the percentage giving the correct answer to the evolution question is remarkable however

[dbmorpher]

I really don't think we should bring this thread to talking about the nature of evolution *babum-tsh*

Anyways back to the problem this thread started with, the problem needed to be addressed isn't people are stupid but people don't want to learn. The reason for this is that people have tried to jam it in their heads for centuries. If learning is boring you're doin' it wrong.

This is where we come in. We play KSP. We can show people that rockets and orbital trails and reentry profiles can be FREAKIN' AWESOME!

So basically what I'm trying to say here is that we shouldn't be mad at people who know less then us, we should be trying to show them how cool the universe we live in is.

[TheDataMiner]

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.

For some of these, it makes more sense to just keep saying the same thing. I personally don't say "Shooting Star," I say Meteorite. But sometimes the correct astronomical terms aren't exactly efficient.

"Hey, kids, come inside, we're passing into Earth's Umbra."

Edited July 28, 2014 by TheDataMiner

[Kinglet]

I'll just leave this here again.

Source : http://www.sfgate.com/technology/businessinsider/article/Here-s-The-Basic-Science-Question-That-1-in-4-5248649.php

http://i.imgur.com/N1NCvOn.png

Somewhere around 50% of the world rejects the big bang theory. 25%-50% of the world rejects evolution. 34% of the people in the EU rejects the fact that the Sun is the center of the solar system. What does this mean? It's an absolute disgrace that this thread is still open.

What the quail? The Big Bang is described as "a huge explosion". ITS NOT. Almost everybody does not understand the Big Bang theory. 50% of people think: "The universe came from a big explosion? LOLOLOL STUUUPPPIIDD!" The name "Big Bang" is inaccurate and misleading, causing the large disbelief. The organization who made the graph does not fully understand the theory either.

[quasarrgames]

I really don't think we should bring this thread to talking about the nature of evolution *babum-tsh*

Anyways back to the problem this thread started with, the problem needed to be addressed isn't people are stupid but people don't want to learn. The reason for this is that people have tried to jam it in their heads for centuries. If learning is boring you're doin' it wrong.

This is where we come in. We play KSP. We can show people that rockets and orbital trails and reentry profiles can be FREAKIN' AWESOME!

So basically what I'm trying to say here is that we shouldn't be mad at people who know less then us, we should be trying to show them how cool the universe we live in is.

YES.

∞ TIMES YES.

Until we create machines that can deposit information in people's minds, this must happen in order for the human race to survive. History and Geography? Have a Civilization type game! The Sciences? Something like Portal but with different mechanics and tools for every topic! The Arts? Kid Pix with more and better functions!

I guess a problem would be that some kids wouldn't like the games, but then just make several games for each subject, each with their own play style, and have kids choose which ones they like best!

Now. Please make this now. I'm looking at YOU, education system!

[Noname117]

If you add two positive things together, they do not get less? What kind of worthless 'fact' is that?

Though, interestingly enough, if you add all the positive integers together, you get -1/12.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/04/science/in-the-end-it-all-adds-up-to.html

[vger]

What the quail? The Big Bang is described as "a huge explosion". ITS NOT. Almost everybody does not understand the Big Bang theory. 50% of people think: "The universe came from a big explosion? LOLOLOL STUUUPPPIIDD!" The name "Big Bang" is inaccurate and misleading, causing the large disbelief. The organization who made the graph does not fully understand the theory either.

From 7:23.

People tend to grab onto what they see. Most probably don't even catch Bill saying "This took place over billions of years." But they see a massive shockwave and people diving into a pseudo-TARDIS to survive it.

Edited July 28, 2014 by vger

[Javster]

Well, Americans aren't known for their intelligence! (I'm joking, of course, plus any Americans on here are 99% likely not stupid if they play KSP)

Seriously, that's the problem. People don't know about stuff.

I know that from personal experience: On a school trip a while back, I was watching a live Ariane 5 launch, and I explained it to someone. The day after, he asked me how the Shuttle launch went... (This was after it was decommissioned.)

Then he said that sending the winter Olympic torch to space was a waste of money. He didn't know they sent it with the crew...

I'll just say this: If I ever kill anyone (I won't), it will be someone who says something on that level of stupidity.

Edited July 28, 2014 by Javster
Reworded to remove unintentional problem blame on the US :P

[vger]

I really don't think we should bring this thread to talking about the nature of evolution *babum-tsh*

Anyways back to the problem this thread started with, the problem needed to be addressed isn't people are stupid but people don't want to learn. The reason for this is that people have tried to jam it in their heads for centuries. If learning is boring you're doin' it wrong.

It's more of a problem than just making it fun though. Most people simply operate on a 'need to know' basis. Technically, ANY knowledge that we can't apply to our practical daily lives can be considered trivial. The only exception to that might be history, but schools are mostly teaching that for the sake of propaganda anyhow.

Except for those of us flying around space, knowledge of the Earth orbiting the Sun changes nothing. The only time John Doe needs to know that is when some reporter is doing research on how stupid the John Does are. It won't impact his life in any other way. For those of us who know and care about such things (and aren't working for JPL), it's technically a hobby since we can't really apply the knowledge.

That's just the unfortunate truth of a lot of public education. You could take away 75% of what I learned in school and my life would be no different, aside from maybe having ample time to pursue things that actually interested me.

It would be nice if everyone could at least be taught how to think like a scientist. Knowing how to experiment properly can be applied to all walks of life. But that's real problem-solving, and that's not what school is about. In my experience, school doesn't teach people how to think. The thinking has already been done for them. School just teaches us how to memorize stuff that was figured out by thinking people, so hopefully someday we can win at Final Jeopardy.

YES.

∞ TIMES YES.

Until we create machines that can deposit information in people's minds, this must happen in order for the human race to survive. History and Geography? Have a Civilization type game! The Sciences? Something like Portal but with different mechanics and tools for every topic! The Arts? Kid Pix with more and better functions!

I guess a problem would be that some kids wouldn't like the games, but then just make several games for each subject, each with their own play style, and have kids choose which ones they like best!

Now. Please make this now. I'm looking at YOU, education system!

Games that do education well are far and few between. KSP is by far one of the best in that department. It'd be even cooler if it had more onboard stuff to teach people how to do calculations.

But gosh, we don't need another disaster like the games I remember in school from the 80's. Just one example: Math Bomber. You had to solve problems in a certain amount of time in order to fuel and arm your plane before going into an arcade-style battle. It felt downright patronizing, like they thought we wouldn't notice that it was basically bribing us to do flash cards with the promise of a little fun later. I was convinced that Apple computers got their name because of the apple's association with being the teacher's pet.

Edited July 28, 2014 by vger

[Elthy]

When i start thinking about it i cant remember that we ever learned the solar system in school...

That could be because when i entered school they changed the schoolsystem from 13 to 12 years and everything was a big mess. But perhaps its considered so trivial (and doesnt fit in any subejct) that noone teaches it or i just forgot it because it was in the early years.

[SelectHalfling0]

I live in America, and luckily, I live in a town known for its education (we have remarkably smart kids here). But I have been to other, middle of nowhere places in america, where they believe exactly this, mostly because of a lack of or no care for education.

[dbmorpher]

That's just the unfortunate truth of a lot of public education. You could take away 75% of what I learned in school and my life would be no different, aside from maybe having ample time to pursue things that actually interested me.

Oh I'm with you there. I simply hate school especially "Common Core" (Something in America). I simply can't wait for college, if all education was like grad school I would be happy but the reason we can't do that is because many people A. don't know what they want or B. "The worse version" are lazy. I'm pretty sure the problem in america is B. People are lazy though from a source, we are taught to do it. Whether TV, Movies or Music kids, like me, are being told the best way to live is to consume. I see it everywhere too, but the worst part is anyone who doesn't follow this conformity is either shunned or glorified beyond social acceptance. I don't really like it when people call me smart, I just like learning.

[Godot]

When i start thinking about it i cant remember that we ever learned the solar system in school...

That could be because when i entered school they changed the schoolsystem from 13 to 12 years and everything was a big mess. But perhaps its considered so trivial (and doesnt fit in any subejct) that noone teaches it or i just forgot it because it was in the early years.

I went to school when it still was 13 years.

AFAIK we had a short introduction to the solar system in geography in earlier school years ... maybe 5th or 6th class ...

but I can confirm that afterwards they didn´t care anymore to include lessons in astronomy ... neither in further courses of geography, nor in physics

[vger]

I went to school when it still was 13 years.

AFAIK we had a short introduction to the solar system in geography in earlier school years ... maybe 5th or 6th class ...

but I can confirm that afterwards they didn´t care anymore to include lessons in astronomy ... neither in further courses of geography, nor in physics

I think my early schooling had astronomy, for no other reason though than the fact that I still have one of my old 'science projects,' a 'map' of the solar system. But then I don't know if I was actually taught it in school or if I read about it at home on my own time. Maybe I was just too young to retain the memory of it? Similarly, I apparently had Bible school when I was a kid, but I have no recollection of any of it. Everything I know of the Bible now is stuff I relearned later in life, or derived from one of the classic films about the subject.

But I CAN remember in primary school, that space was pretty popular. A lot of random projects we were given to hone our skills in any particular field of study had something to do with space travel. The shuttle was the epitome of cool and the school took complete advantage of it to keep us engaged. UNTIL the Challenger explosion. Once that happened, space seemed to completely disappear from the classroom.

Edited July 29, 2014 by vger

[tygoo7]

This is pretty sad. My school only has one chapter of astronomy and then that's it for the year. Funny thing is that I literally knew everything in that entire chapter because of KSP. I am really happy that KSP is growing in popularity because if more people play it, then more people get interested in space, and more people will work in Aerospace and that sort of line of work.

[NASAFanboy]

This is pretty sad. My school only has one chapter of astronomy and then that's it for the year. Funny thing is that I literally knew everything in that entire chapter because of KSP. I am really happy that KSP is growing in popularity because if more people play it, then more people get interested in space, and more people will work in Aerospace and that sort of line of work.

One chapter? My school doesn't even have astronomy and the space race is but a paragraph and a essay.

[Javster]

This is pretty sad. My school only has one chapter of astronomy and then that's it for the year. Funny thing is that I literally knew everything in that entire chapter because of KSP. I am really happy that KSP is growing in popularity because if more people play it, then more people get interested in space, and more people will work in Aerospace and that sort of line of work.

Yeah, same. Our physics teacher put off teaching it until the very end of the year, then he skipped the lesson... He set cover work of writing notes on the chapter :/

[Rus-Evo]

All countries have stupid people and also normally intelligent people who take no interest in certain subjects and are therefore ignorant of them. So we shouldn't just pick on Americans!

Having said that there is possibly a legitimate argument that could be had about which nations are properly (or not) investing in education and the USA may be one of the ones that isn't.

[gooddog15]

I think those studies where horribly misguided, or they picked alot of stupid people. Seriously, how stupid could those people be? If you come to where I live, they wouldn't have a problem answering those questions correctly. You would have to be living under a rock to not know this stuff.

Besides, they teach you about this stuff at school's around the US for a very long time now (except for the cloud)

Edited July 30, 2014 by gooddog15

[ZedNova]

Studies like this are usually better if they're done by professionals, in person or over the phone, and over several years.

To me it seems like they got these results from an internet survey.

[Vanamonde]

With reference to some removed posts, this thread will now be closed. This forum has members from all over the world, and we can not and will not allow some to insult others over nationalities and politics (2.2.b).