A 2009 survey conducted by the California Academy of Sciences found that most adults flunked the most basic science tests. A few gems from the results:
Only 53% of adults know how long it takes for the Earth to revolve around the Sun.
Only 59% of adults know that the earliest humans and dinosaurs did not live at the same time.
Only 47% of adults can roughly approximate the percent of the Earth’s surface that is covered with water.*
Only 21% of adults answered all three questions correctly.
The researchers noted that while the US spends billions on short term economic fixes, a long-term solution has to include smarter denizens who get science, which happens to be a “major driver of innovation and industry”.
Lucky for us, James Lu Dunbar, the dude who wrote It’s Alive! will give you (or your kid) the digital version for free right here. And it’s under a creative commons licence so you can share and distribute is as you please. Dunbar also wrote Bang! The Universe in Verse. Both are also available in old-timey paperback for $US15 and $US13, respectively. So swallow your pride and do your country a favour and get some education. At least this way it rhymes.
olearymo
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 at 11:00 AMThis is the US we’re talking about.
So these statistics mean:
47% of adults know how long it takes for the Sun to revolve around the Earth.
41% of adults know that the earliest humans were made by God and dinosaurs did not exist and fossils were put there by God to test us.
53% of adults can roughly approximate the percent of the Earth’s surface that was covered in water when Noah built his ark.
79% of adults answered all three questions correctly.
Dianne
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 at 11:03 AMolearymo I think you mean 79% of adults answered all three questions INcorrectly.
Peter
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 at 2:30 PMIt would be, 79% of adults answered less than 3 questions correctly.
or
79% of adults did not get all three questions right.
nobody
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 at 8:44 PM100% positive olearymo is an American. LOL.
Nathan
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 at 1:07 PMEducation is the real loser. It seems that it is more and more the responsibility of parents to make sure their kids a decent education.
Too bad were already a generation behind, we may never catch up.
Hello Idiocracy.