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One quarter of Americans believe the sun revolves around the Earth
CULTURE - FEBRUARY 14, 2014 7:18PM
A survey conducted by the National Science Foundation published Feb. 14 found 1 in 4 Americans believe the sun revolves around the Earth and not the other way around.
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The survey is prepared for the president and U.S. lawmakers by the NSF about every two years. The question, which can be found on page 406 of the 600 page report, was answered by 2,200 people in the U.S. in 2012. Only 1 in 3 respondents believe the U.S. should provide more funds toward science.
2
Based on previous reports, the U.S. has made little progress. In 2004, only 71% of the people answered the question correctly-- which was down slightly from 75% in 2001.
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Americans are not alone in answering the question incorrectly, data available from 2005 for the European Union found only 66% answered the question correctly. Likewise, a 2004 survey of India found 70% were able to answer the question correctly.
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While a recent Pew survey found one-third of Americans believe in evolution, the NSF had a different result. When asked if "Human beings, as we know them today, developed from earlier species of animals" was true, only 48% of respondents said the statement was true. [Reply]
One quarter of Americans believe the sun revolves around the Earth
Not to quibble but the earth doesn't revolve around the sun.
Everything has mass and is impacted by gravity. The sun is moving. The earth revolves around the center of the mass of our Solar System. The Sun barrycenter I think its called or something like that. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BigRedChief:
Not to quibble but the earth doesn't revolve around the sun.
Everything has mass and is impacted by gravity. The sun is moving. The earth revolves around the center of the mass of our Solar System. The Sun barrycenter I think its called or something like that.
One quarter of Americans believe the sun revolves around the Earth
CULTURE - FEBRUARY 14, 2014 7:18PM
A survey conducted by the National Science Foundation published Feb. 14 found 1 in 4 Americans believe the sun revolves around the Earth and not the other way around.
1
The survey is prepared for the president and U.S. lawmakers by the NSF about every two years. The question, which can be found on page 406 of the 600 page report, was answered by 2,200 people in the U.S. in 2012. Only 1 in 3 respondents believe the U.S. should provide more funds toward science.
2
Based on previous reports, the U.S. has made little progress. In 2004, only 71% of the people answered the question correctly-- which was down slightly from 75% in 2001.
3
Americans are not alone in answering the question incorrectly, data available from 2005 for the European Union found only 66% answered the question correctly. Likewise, a 2004 survey of India found 70% were able to answer the question correctly.
4
While a recent Pew survey found one-third of Americans believe in evolution, the NSF had a different result. When asked if "Human beings, as we know them today, developed from earlier species of animals" was true, only 48% of respondents said the statement was true.
Those idiots! The world revolves around Gaz! [Reply]
This talk about smart crows reminds me of the old video where they have cars crack their nuts. It turns out there are lots of interesting videos on YouTube where crows show their intelligence with cracking nuts.
One quarter of Americans believe the sun revolves around the Earth
CULTURE - FEBRUARY 14, 2014 7:18PM
A survey conducted by the National Science Foundation published Feb. 14 found 1 in 4 Americans believe the sun revolves around the Earth and not the other way around.
1
The survey is prepared for the president and U.S. lawmakers by the NSF about every two years. The question, which can be found on page 406 of the 600 page report, was answered by 2,200 people in the U.S. in 2012. Only 1 in 3 respondents believe the U.S. should provide more funds toward science.
2
Based on previous reports, the U.S. has made little progress. In 2004, only 71% of the people answered the question correctly-- which was down slightly from 75% in 2001.
3
Americans are not alone in answering the question incorrectly, data available from 2005 for the European Union found only 66% answered the question correctly. Likewise, a 2004 survey of India found 70% were able to answer the question correctly.
4
While a recent Pew survey found one-third of Americans believe in evolution, the NSF had a different result. When asked if "Human beings, as we know them today, developed from earlier species of animals" was true, only 48% of respondents said the statement was true.
Originally Posted by BigRedChief:
Not to quibble but the earth doesn't revolve around the sun.
Everything has mass and is impacted by gravity. The sun is moving. The earth revolves around the center of the mass of our Solar System. The Sun barrycenter I think its called or something like that.
Originally Posted by Donger:
Which just happens to be our Sun...
Technically he's correct. The sun is 99.8% of the mass of our solar system. But Jupiter still has enough mass to pull the sun just a tiny tiny bit, enough that they've defined what's called the barrycenter to adjust for the sun wobbling that tiny little bit from Jupiter's pull. Small enough to be considered irrelevant to most discussion but technically it's there.. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Fish:
Technically he's correct. The sun is 99.8% of the mass of our solar system. But Jupiter still has enough mass to pull the sun just a tiny tiny bit, enough that they've defined what's called the barrycenter to adjust for the sun wobbling that tiny little bit from Jupiter's pull. Small enough to be considered irrelevant to most discussion but technically it's there..
And the Earth still revolves around the Sun. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Donger:
And the Earth still revolves around the Sun.
Yes I agree. But if you were taking it to nerd extremes to make a point, you could technically say that the Earth revolves around the barrycenter of our solar system, which happens to be in the center of the sun. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Fish:
Yes I agree. But if you were taking it to nerd extremes to make a point, you could technically say that the Earth revolves around the barrycenter of our solar system, which happens to be in the center of the sun.
