 jklugman says: (my understanding is that the 71.2% who correctly said that it takes the earth 1 year to revolve around the sun is actually 71.2% of the 73.6% of respondents who correctly said the earth revolves around the sun. That means that only 52.4% of all Americans know it takes the earth one year to revolve around the sun. That noise you just heard is my jaw hitting the floor. Via Kieran Healy at Crooked Timber If it's a voluntary response, the entire data set is biased. We learned that in statistics... I am not sure what you mean by a "voluntary response". When asked if the earth revolves around the sun or if the sun revolves around the earth, 18.3% of respondents in a random sample said "sun goes around the earth" and an additional 8% said "Don't Know". I don't see how you can say there is some kind of measurement or response error going on here. BTW, the GSS (General Social Survey) is a very reputable survey that has been conducted in the US semi-biannually since the 1970s. OMG -- now I know how Bush got elected! What is the average IQ today? Maybe I don't want to know. I'll bet even more Americans think the Earth is closer to the Sun in Summer time. I'll bet even more than that have no idea about obliquity. I'll bet there are some that think we can change the Earth's rotation by jumping up and down or that we can cause the Earth's climate change. Most Americans know very little about science (apparently even a few that post on these boards), even fewer know more than basic math. I can attest to this because in the summers when I wasn't teaching, I scored the essay part of standardized tests from several states for Harcourt. At at least 60- 65% of graduating seniors couldn't answer questions about a graph provided. What's worse, even pre-cal students at several schools had serious problems. You can see this by just watching the "Jay-walking' section of the Tonight Show though. The Earth is closer to the sun in the summer time, if you happen to live in the Southern Hemisphere. +1 for kmcolo. The Earth is closer to the sun in the summer time, if you happen to live in the Southern Hemisphere.The poll was for Americans. which is why I precisely stated: " I'll bet even more Americans think the Earth is closer to the Sun in Summer time." I just love Kore7 cheer-leading. sheez. -1 for clarity and ability to comprehend the sentence on Kore 7's part. OMG -- now I know how Bush got elected!lol.. "That means that only 52.4% of all Americans know it takes the earth one year to revolve around the sun." No, it means 28.8% of the total focus group was never asked the second question, so we'll never know for sure if they actually knew the answer or not. All we know is that they didn't know answer A and have no evidence one way or the other on whether they know answer B. You assume they don't know answer B because they didn't know answer A, have no proof to certify that conclusion as true, then proceed to present conjecture as truth. Pot calling the kettle black? Filby, if a person doesn't know that the earth revolves around the sun, I don't see how how he/she could know that it takes a year for the earth to make a complete revolution around the sun. Some proportion of the 26% of people who did not answer A correctly may think that it takes a year for the sun to make a complete revolution around the earth, but they're still wrong. Stolen from APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day), 2/9/03: "Our Earth is not at rest. The Earth moves around the Sun. The Sun orbits the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. The Milky Way Galaxy orbits in the Local Group of Galaxies. The Local Group falls toward the Virgo Cluster of Galaxies. But these speeds are less than the speed that all of these objects together move relative to the cosmic microwave background (CMB). In the above all-sky map, radiation in the Earth's direction of motion appears blueshifted and hence hotter, while radiation on the opposite side of the sky is redshifted and colder. The map indicates that the Local Group moves at about 600 kilometers per second relative to... Remember that people will purposefully give incorrect answers to a survey for humor sake - especially if the question is obvious like this one is. This percentage goes up if the survey is voluntary - that is if the survey taker is at the mall asking people if they have time to take a survey - the jokers are more likely to have time. I think most statistics are bull crap anyway. There is the old theory in multiple choice if you don't know or don't care, guess the letter that seems right and rely on the law of averages. Probably get a D, but if lucky a B+. What about that phrase "Ask a stupid question,Get a stupid answer. " The nature of the stupidity isn't specified. The questions and answers can make you laugh, unless they are serious. There is nothing worse than stupidity that takes it's self too seriously. One of the fundamental rights of man, is the right to be wrong. Did someone say pot? That explains a lot of this I think. I smoke pot & i know the answers... I think they must be visiting one of those creationist museums  wow lol.... who knew? km's still correct, though. +1 for Bush.  I think most statistics are bull crap anyway.How so, heitz669 ? I do agree people mess with survey takers, especially on stupid questions. I do that myself. I also agree statistics are used to propagate lies and that if surveys do not confirm what we already know prima facia then they are usually, if not always, wrong. However, statistics are important and I find the attitude that you display just as bad as those that lie using statistics because it makes it easier for liars to do so. People need to learn how to look at statistics and apply a skeptical appraisal of them rather than just accepting the ones that confirm our bias or disregarding those that do not. km's still correct,Granted, he is correct if a majority of those Americans polled were to live south of the Equator. Not likey. Hate to say this, but when I traveled around your country (+-36 States), I found the level of ignorance pertaining to anything other than the USA, stupefying - on a par with a 3rd world country. I came home shocked and not a little disillusioned. So, I for one, am not surprised by this revelation. However, you have a beautiful country! We're not so bright, but we can lift heavy things... Everyone needs heavy lifters... What do you expect when the majority of Americans are educated in inferior Government schools...sheesh! I would like to see the results of the same asked of private and home-schooled Americans. This is funny (or sad, too) part of human nature; we usually try to hide our ignorance. Than funny (or sad) things could happen... http://clipmarks.com/clipmark/5FCF72C4-CA44-4060-8C6A-59DE9EFEB391/ It looks to me that if you got the first question wrong you were asked the second question anyway, that would explain the close percentages. What was the minimum age to be asked the question? I.m actually more surprised by the 8% who said they don,t know. At least 92% thought they new. It's true some people lie in surveys. An annoying telemarketer asked me to pick a number 1-10 I picked 17 a won a set of pens so there you go. Bob from Montreal |
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