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dimossi
Skeptic Friend
USA
141 Posts |
 Posted - 04/06/2002 : 17:36:20
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In Carl Sagan's book, Demon Haunted World, he claims that over 90% of North Americans are "scientifically illiterate".
Sagan doesn't go into any details of how he arrived at this number or what credentials one would require in order to be considered scientifically literate. Now I certainly do not have any complaints about Carl Sagan's book. It is one of the greatest books I have ever read. It is just that I started to ponder just how Sagan established these statistics.
Does anyone know, or speculate, that some study may have been done in order to get that statistic?
Does "scientifically illiterate" possibly mean that one could not pass a High School science class? Or perhaps, "scientifically illiterate" simply means one who prefers to believe in pseudoscience and disregards the scientific method, critical thinking and skepticism. If so, how would one do a study that would conclude that 90% of Americans are "scientifically illiterate"?
"Life is but a momentary glimpse of the wonder of this astonishing universe, and it is sad to see so many dreaming it away on spiritual fantasy." [Carl Sagan]
Edited by - dimossi on 04/06/2002 17:50:19
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Hook
Skeptic Friend
USA
79 Posts |
 Posted - 04/06/2002 : 18:29:12 [Permalink]
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This seems to be a commonly bandied statistic which I find easy to believe. Here is an interesting piece on the topic by Gentry Lee (from August 2000).
http://www.space.com/opinionscolumns/gentrylee/science_literacy_gentry_000804.html
In addition, here is a study citation that I found with a quick google (I only spent a minute or two at it, I think I will run a lit search at work this week using a "refereed journal only" index). This is from an editorial by the American Physics Society. I found the paragraph in which the cite appears interesting because, although it echoes the Sagan book, it also raises what is often presented as a criticism of science, but here is used to indict the anti-science or pseudo-science folks themselves-- that many people have knowledge-less faith in science and thus can be easily manipulated by psuedoscience:
"However, scientific illiteracy is rampant. The rate of scientific illiteracy in the U.S. was found to be 95% in a study by William Hively [American Scientist, Sept/Oct 1988], with similar results in other developed countries. Thus, although many people believe in "science" as an explanatory mechanism, they believe in it religiously - that is, by faith - not because they understand scientific principles. Such people can be victimized or deluded by others who take advantage of their illiteracy and claim the "prestige" of science using scientific language to support their fictitious claims. Much of the New Age mantra consists of putting old wine (mediums, chi, chakras) into the new bottles of pseudoscience: channeling, energy flows and the laws of thermodynamics, and "technobabble.""
From: http://www.aps.org/apsnews/0198/019827.html
Interesting question to raise. I'll see what I can dig up.
(P-)>
"I don't care whether my neighbor believes in zero gods or 20 gods, I care whether my neighbor believes in democracy."
--Bill Moyers |
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dimossi
Skeptic Friend
USA
141 Posts |
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Valiant Dancer
Forum Goalie
USA
4826 Posts |
Posted - 04/09/2002 : 09:56:58 [Permalink]
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quote:
Test Your Scientific Literacy:
http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/richard_carrier/SciLit.html
"Life is but a momentary glimpse of the wonder of this astonishing universe, and it is sad to see so many dreaming it away on spiritual fantasy." [Carl Sagan]
Oh bother. I got 8 wrong. I failed. (crap) I probably misinterpreted some of the questions that I got wrong. There were some which I truely believed that were wrong. Ick.
Cthulu/Asmodeus, when you're tired of voting for the lesser of two evils. |
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Trish
SFN Addict
USA
2102 Posts |
Posted - 04/09/2002 : 10:03:18 [Permalink]
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They did say to determine whether the answers were mostly true or mostly false. I came up with one wrong answer. The way the explained the answer I could see what they were saying. But I don't think I came up with more than a three of four answers where the truth or fallacious nature of the statement was definitive. A lot of my T answers were, 'Yeah, well Ok.'
---
...no one has ever found a 4.5 billion year old stone artifact (at the right geological stratum) with the words "Made by God."
No Sense of Obligation by Matt Young |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 04/09/2002 : 12:39:53 [Permalink]
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Yes, I'm an idiot......
I missed five, which ain't too shabby, but it took me 20 minutes to figger out the scoring.
Good quiz!
f
"The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason."--Benjamin Franklin, _Poor_Richard_, 1758
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13477 Posts |
Posted - 04/09/2002 : 20:52:22 [Permalink]
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Well, I missed three. It could have easily been more. I wavered on three other answers that I finally guessed correctly on. Really, 50/50. And I thought I would just go over and ace it.....
The Evil Skeptic
Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous. |
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jec96
Skeptic Friend
USA
61 Posts |
Posted - 04/10/2002 : 09:21:45 [Permalink]
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Missed two, but like any good science geek, I took educated guesses..
-It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
Aristotle
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