1 in 4 Americans unaware that Earth circles Sun

[Natural Citizen]

Yep. This, right here.

I think we've had this discussion before around here some place.

 

[Natural Citizen]

Who cares?

How does knowing what circles what help 99 in 100 Americans?

We do tend to think that we are just sooooo important in the grand scheme of things, don't we?

 

[green73]

Quite the contrary, I think. I recall seeing a Sherlock Holmes movie (Young Sherlock Holmes, maybe?) in which Holmes used the length of a shadow cast by the sun as a critical piece of information in his deductions. But in that situation - and in every other one that Holmes might actually encounter in his work - "the effects" would amount to the same thing, regardless of whether "the (ulitmate) why" was heliocentric or geocentric. IOW: The same sorts of information would be just as "deducible" if geocentrism was actually the case, rather than heliocentrism. It's all the "same difference," either way. That's why Holmes doesn't care about it.

If it is December 20th as opposed to May 3rd, one who understands the earth's yearly cycle around the sun can intuitively account for the difference in shadows, whereas one doesn't has to have a mental catalogue of all the positions of the shadows throughout the year.

For the very same reason, the fact that some people today don't know that the Earth circles the Sun doesn't particularly bother me. These sorts of polls come out regularly - and they always seem to be done in the context of inviting people to "feel smug & superior" and to "tut tut" over the "shameful" results (and, by direct and not-so-subtle implication, the need for "someone" - i.e., the government - to "do something" about it via "more funding for science education" or what have you). I recall one of these kinds of polls from several years back. There was much agonizing over the result - most people thought that alligators are more closely related to dinosaurs than chickens are. My reaction was: "Oh, c'mon! Who really needs to know that? What the hell does it really matter, when you get right down to it?"

I guess I expect more from humans. Man is not some two dimensional grazer; at least not in his fullest potential. Understanding one's position in the cosmos is important, like understanding history and one's position in time. It is not at all "tut tutting" for the sake of feeling superior to take pity on those living completely in the dark from all that, for they breed further dark dwellers; it's taking pity on--with all his potential--the state of Man.

It was once my ambition to become an astrophysicist - and I love the subject, so don't get me wrong. It's wonderful & interesting to know these sorts of things (and it is absolutely critical to know them in particular, specialized venues - such as professional astronomy). But in the end, how much does the fact of heliocentrism (or "chickens are closer cousins of tyrannosuaruses than alligators are") really figure into any of the significant issues of the day (either at the level of individuals or of society at large)? Not very, if at all, I think. (I find Sherlock Holmes' eccentric ignorance to be a delightful & appealing expression of this fact. And another of the things Holmes was oblivious to was politics ...)

In the pragmatic sense I'd wager that it makes a better farmer, gardener, survivalist...and in Holmes' case a better detective. Just as somebody who follows a cooking recipe by the letter but doesn't have clue about the processes involved will never be as good a cook as one who does.

 

[DamianTV]

1 in 4 Americans don’t know Earth circles Sun

http://rt.com/usa/science-education-survey-americans-178/

The nation that put the first man on the Moon is failing to make the grade today when it comes to basic knowledge of the solar system and other fundamental scientific insight.

That’s according to a new survey which concludes that while most Americans have a world of information at their fingertips, and show tremendous enthusiasm for new technology, they also lack fundamental knowledge of basic science.

Out of a total of nine questions on subjects related to physical and biological sciences, the average score in the survey was a narrowly passing 6.5 correct answers, according to a survey of 2,200 Americans conducted by the National Science Foundation. The result was announced at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, held Friday.

For example, only 74 percent correctly answered that the Earth revolved around the Sun.

Meanwhile, fewer than half (48 percent) of study participants were aware that human beings evolved from earlier species of animals, the celebrated scientific nostrum first demonstrated by British naturalist Charles Darwin in his 1859 book, “On the Origin of Species.”

That is despite the United States’ apparent fondness for so-called "informal science education." The survey has revealed that almost 60 percent of Americans have visited at some point a zoo, natural history museum or a science and technology museum.

According to the test, more than 90 percent of Americans are of the opinion that scientists are "helping to solve challenging problems" and are "dedicated people who work for the good of humanity."

Also, nearly 90 percent said the benefits of science outweigh any of its potential dangers, and about the same number expressed interest in learning about medical discoveries.

"It's important for Americans to maintain a high regard for science and scientists," according to John Besley, an associate professor in Michigan State University’s Department of Advertising and Public Relations. "It can help ensure funding and help attract future scientists."

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

The question of academic quality has become a hot political issue as a number of international tests show Americans falling behind.

A recent study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development showed that Americans scored far below average and higher than only two of 12 other developed comparison countries, Italy and Spain.

The US’s failure to keep academic pace with the rest of the world, which could have serious implications for the country’s future economic performance, has many led to many questioning the quality of the public school system in general and teachers in particular.

The National Council of Teacher Quality recently called America’s teacher preparation programs “an industry of mediocrity,” ranking just 10 percent of more than 1,200 of them as high quality, while most have low or no academic standards for entry.

Critics point to the fact that American school districts rely heavily on property taxes for their funding, which means schools in affluent areas get more money than those in middle and poor ones. Tax money to fill the void fails to make ends meet in school districts where poverty levels are greatest.

 

[green73]

<squeaky nerd voice>We have a post on this already. </squeaky nerd voice>

It's been a knock down drag out fight between Banana and me. I don't see how our friendship will survive it.

 

[FindLiberty]

1 in 487 RPF Members (currently on line) didn't know this article has already been posted in another thread!

 

[FloralScent]

It's not the schools, it's the quality of the inhabitants. I'm sure if I hadn't spent a single day in school I'd still know the Earth circles the Sun. If we'd simply let nature take its course, the collective IQ of the United States would match that of Germany's within a decade.

Don't get me wrong, our schools suck but they're not meant to 'educate', they exist to indoctrinate.

 

[enhanced_deficit]

1 in 4 Americans think the sun revolves around Earth

Our voting democracy is in well informed hands.
Despite all the evidence, 1 in 4 Americans probably still think that Iraq invasion was based on nobel reasons.. it's not just Ted Cruz ( this comment is opinion, not scientifically tested fact)


Saturday, Feb. 15, 2014

[h=1]1 in 4 Americans think the sun revolves around Earth[/h] By Jasmine Bailey


This one might be one of the most disturbing stories you'll hear all day. Does the sun revolve around the Earth, or does the Earth revolve around the sun?
The National Science Foundation posed this question to 2,200 Americans back in 2012. The results were published Friday and 26 percent of people surveyed believe the sun moves around the Earth.

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/national/1-4-americans-think-sun-revolves-around-earth/ndQBb/

 

[NorthCarolinaLiberty]

Hoo boy, I don't even drink, but I laughed out loud reading that thread title. I'm still laughing as I type this.

LOL!

 

[Warrior_of_Freedom]

this is crap. I can see people be stupid enough not to know what revolve means in the context but not that the sun goes around the earth

 

[Origanalist]

1 in 4 Americans think the sun revolves around Earth- #4

Please discuss.

 

[NorthCarolinaLiberty]

this is crap. I can see people be stupid enough not to know what revolve means in the context but not that the sun goes around the earth

I sometimes mention to people that a solar eclipse is when the sun comes between the moon and the earth. I'm sure some of the people who nod are not paying attention, but others really seem to believe it.

 

[Natural Citizen]

There is like 5 threads on this now, O. The original one was started last year and is very good.

 

[Origanalist]

There is like 5 threads on this now, O. The original one was started last year and is very good.

I missed that one, I'll see if I can change my thread title.

 

[Natural Citizen]

I missed that one, I'll see if I can change my thread title.

Meh. That's OK.

Here's the lowdown...



Looks about right.

 

[Origanalist]

There is like 5 threads on this now, O. The original one was started last year and is very good.

I missed that one, I'll see if I can change my thread title.

Nope, can't do it. Only three showed up in search.

 

[green73]

wtf lol

 

[Weston White]

That it is likely attributed to the intended context of the question being posed or perspective of the person being asked; to clarify:

1. Technically over the course of 24-hours the sun does circle once around the earth.
2. Technically over the course of 365/366 days the earth does orbit once around the sun.

 

[kcchiefs6465]

They need 18,000 hours of forced attendance. 17,000 isn't doing the job.

I mean, what kind of world would we live in if people did not know that the earth is not stationary in place with the sun revolving around it?

Truth be told, I'd sooner travel to a time where they did not know that the earth revolves around an ever traveling sun so long as they appreciated human rights.

I get that it illustrates how uneducated the voting populace may be but let's be real: who practically needs to know this piece of information? Or is just a means so that the as-uneducated can feel superior about their mediocre intelligence. "Look at those stupid 25%ers. They aint even know the earf revolve around the sun!" GTFOH. It's probably why grammar nazis and their ilk annoy me as they do. I'll take a society that can't add, so long as they understand natural law, before I take a society of "geniuses" who think rights come from a majority's say so. And it isn't even as if those who know this fact are even geniuses. No doubt they don't know other meaningless trivia... If they knew morality, we'd get along just fine.

 

[Natural Citizen]

.

Only three showed up in search.

You know what's really funny? A year from now everything we have written and discussed here today will be gone if the model continues. Seems like kind of a waste of time, doesn't it? So many times we spend a great deal of time discussing something and researching it so others may learn from it and perhaps develop some semblance of synergy but then eventually the entirety of the discussion and all of the data gathering and forward motion (in fact, the time line itself) is lost because of some dumb ass web storage setting. And then, we have to start the whole thing back over again whenever the question comes up again. Assuming, of course, that it actually does and that the new version of the old question places into relevance the knowledge attained from the old discussion. Which it rarely does. Consider this...you find a car that won't get you to point B from point A because the engine is blown. Well...you and yer buddies spend a great deal of time figuringout how to make it work but then you get to doing something else for a period of time and then the vines grow over it. Eventually someone else comes along and say's gee whiz...the tires are flat. That must be the problem. Let me go ask my buddies how to deal with these flat tires. And then the whole cycle keeps repeating itself.

It's a hoot alright. I was actually reminded of this phenomenon in the astroid thread that CJ started in the science and tech section a bit ago.