One in four Americans is an idiot

Magical Realist

Magical Realist

Valued Senior Member
"Americans are enthusiastic about the promise of science but lack basic knowledge of it, with one in four unaware that the Earth revolves around the Sun, said a poll out Friday.

The survey included more than 2,200 people in the United States and was conducted by the National Science Foundation.

Nine questions about physical and biological science were on the quiz, and the average score -- 6.5 correct -- was barely a passing grade.

Just 74 percent of respondents knew that the Earth revolved around the Sun, according to the results released at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Chicago.

Fewer than half (48 percent) knew that human beings evolved from earlier species of animals.

The result of the survey, which is conducted every two years, will be included in a National Science Foundation report to President Barack Obama and US lawmakers.

One in three respondents said science should get more funding from the government.

Nearly 90 percent said the benefits of science outweigh any dangers, and about the same number expressed interest in learning about medical discoveries."---http://www.newsdaily.com/article/9f...in-4-americans-unaware-that-earth-circles-sun
 
Maybe all the religious stuff is playing here with regard to the evolution question.

Again, there are morons in every society, the ones who are just about smart enough to remember their names.
 
I hate saying it... but this is all a result of our laws. We make it WAY too easy for the chronically stupid to get along in life... seriously, if you are that dumb, there is this little thing called natural selection. Take the warning labels off of things and we'll quickly kill off the dumbest 20% or more...
 
Kittamaru said:
I hate saying it... but this is all a result of our laws. We make it WAY too easy for the chronically stupid to get along in life... seriously, if you are that dumb, there is this little thing called natural selection. Take the warning labels off of things and we'll quickly kill off the dumbest 20% or more...
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I like that, I really like that.:D
 
Hard not to to be honest... if we continually lower ourselves to our lowest common denominator, eventually we will be too stupid to function at all.
 
Does anyone have a link to the actual quiz? I'd like to see just how stupid we Americans are...
 
Sorcerer said:
You mean you can't find it?
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I anticipated this. I imagine I could track down the original article at Agence France Presse and go from there. Since you obviously already have possession of those nine survey questions, how about sharing?
 
Randwolf said:
I anticipated this. I imagine I could track down the original article at Agence France Presse and go from there. Since you obviously already have possession of those nine survey questions, how about sharing?
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I would never prevent you fom exhibiting your intellect.
 
And I would never prevent you from owning up to the fact you do not actually have those nine questions. So point blank, do you have them? Do you have a link to them? No? What a surprise...
 
1. The center of the Earth is very hot. True or false?

2. The continents have been moving their location for millions of years and will continue to move. True or false?

3. Does the Earth go around the sun, or does the sun go around the Earth?

4. All radioactivity is man-made. True or false?

5. Electrons are smaller than atoms. True or false?

6. Lasers work by focusing sound waves. True or false?

7. The universe began with a huge explosion. True or false?

8. It's the father's gene that decides whether the baby is a boy or girl. True or false?

9. Antibiotics kill viruses as well as bacteria. True or false?

10. Human beings, as we know them today, developed from earlier species of animals. True or false?



Answers (% who got it correct):

1. True (84%); 2. True (83%); 3. Earth around the sun (74%); 4. False (72%); 5. True (53%); 6. False( 47%); 7. True; (39%); 8. True (63%); 9. False (51%); 10. True (48%)

In the table below, you can also see how the U.S. performed in comparison to other countries.​
screenshot%202014-02-19%2011.50.11.png


Just wow...
 
I find the LASER results particularly fascinating, from all listed nations.

You can also easily see the influence of the fundamentalists in the USA evolution results.

Again, just wow...
 
the electron question I guess I could forgive, it doesn't make that much difference to peoples lives unless you happen to be in that field, the antibiotic one is the cause of SO many problems not only in the US but here as well. People don't really understand the differences between bacterial and vial infections, antibiotics are quite effective but antivirals aren't and people expect the doctor to be able to prescribe a pill and make them better and doctors hampered that view by over prescribing antibiotics to the point where the health departments are having to put media campaigns out that antibiotics wont cure the flu or a cold
 
Randwolf said:
I find the LASER results particularly fascinating, from all listed nations.
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Looks to me like the headline should have read
Only 25% of Americans Are Idiots
Other Countries Lag Behind.​

You can also easily see the influence of the fundamentalists in the USA evolution results.

Again, just wow...
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If I'm not mistaken approx. 13% of science teachers believe the Earth is 6000 years old. At a 25:1 student to teacher ratio and assuming they are better off today than in the past, we're pretty lucky to have 50% of people believing evolution.

Too bad they didn't correlate that with whether they vote Republican or not, and whether or not they believe Genesis should be interpreted literally.
 
Aqueous Id said:
Looks to me like the headline should have read
Only 25% of Americans Are Idiots
Other Countries Lag Behind.​
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I noticed that too, I am still saddened by the scores.

Aqueous Id said:
If I'm not mistaken approx. 13% of science teachers believe the Earth is 6000 years old. At a 25:1 student to teacher ratio and assuming they are better off today than in the past, we're pretty lucky to have 50% of people believing evolution.
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I find it depressing that we have to depend on luck for this.

Aqueous Id said:
Too bad they didn't correlate that with whether they vote Republican or not, and whether or not they believe Genesis should be interpreted literally.
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I don't think it takes much of a "leap of faith" to assume a strong negative correlation there. What would your prognostication be Aqueous?
 
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