1 in 4 Americans unaware that Earth circles Sun

[ParamouR]

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.

Ten 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.

1 in 4 Americans unaware that Earth circles Sun

[yoco]

LOL

Only in america

[Master Razor]

I once saw a street interview in which people could not tell the difference between a search engine and a web browser. And, as you said, only in America.

[zora]

I think there are some important pieces of information missing. What part of America are the people being tested? What is their religious background? What level of education did they have?

If people are deeply religious (like people in the south are said to be stereotypically), they would answer that humans were created by god instead of evolution. Hence the wrong answer. You can't properly analyze the data without actually knowing what you are looking at.

As a current science undergrad student, I am actually horrified by the quality of study. First of all, assuming that the study was nationwide that is a terrible sample size. Considering that the US has a population of 313.9 million, you really don't get a national feel of the science education level from a mere 2,200 people. I am very surprised that a study like this is conducted so poorly by the National Science Foundation.

Secondly I would just like to point out that 2/3 (66%) of people don't believe that researchers should get more funding and yet "nearly 90 percent said the benefits of science outweigh any dangers". Anyone else see the contradiction in that? I mean isn't loosing your investment/funding with no meaningful discovery a risk when conducting research?

[slikrapid]

enthusiastic about the promise of science but lack basic knowledge of it

science sells good, just don't mention any of its serious limitations (or manipulations)

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

lol
humans did not evolve from earlier species of animals
and you don't need more than common sense to come to this conclusion
the same applies for human bodies
the human species does not evolve into some 'higher' species, the same applies to any other species as well (nor did any of them have a less evolved predecessor)
human body (species) != human
'evolution' is simply confused with 'adaptation' (to their environment)
whats more, some arguments for 'devolution' can be made (you know, the general 'dumbing down' of humans, blindly accepting as truth whatever nonsense gets sanctioned by some authorities, not using own intelligence,...)

I am actually horrified by the quality of study....terrible sample size...I am very surprised that a study like this is conducted so poorly by the National Science Foundation.

nice catch, maybe this foundation needs more funds too (at least for a wider sample )

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.

seems the level of education doesn't play much of a role here if such ridiculous research gets presented to top governmental levels (supposedly bearing serious, insightful results)

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

Secondly I would just like to point out that 2/3 (66%) of people don't believe that researchers should get more funding

notice that your conclusion is not necessarily true, since we don't know their position regarding private funding (not to mention other available answers)

Nearly 90 percent said the benefits of science outweigh any dangers

seems these americans are still not aware that their country is basically a large testing field for all kinds of dangerous substances in numerous scientific, industrial, agricultural, medical,... projects - but then again, this quoted answer is exactly what the above mentioned association wants (to hear), not to mention that it is expected (due to the global hype surrounding any scientific result having some promotional/exploitable characteristics)

isn't loosing your investment/funding with no meaningful discovery a risk when conducting research?

depends, some funding is general (doesn't require specific/useful/expected results), scientific research arguably cannot really fail (every outcome is proof/argument pro or contra the original hypothesis, so regardless of how it turns out, some knowledge has been gained, thus not really a failure - convenient, huh?)

Only in america
And, as you said, only in America.

hehe, funny cliche but incorrect - there's plenty of people who don't know this information (for many of them such info is not particularly useful, other kind of knowledge has higher priority)

[maniak]

LOL, those ppl must be crack addicts

[Master Razor]

Some of us smoke weed...