Re: US science survey

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Date
Some people have not seen the NSF-sponsored survey of adult American
science understanding published in all major American newspapers.  Here is
a summary of that and references to the NSF Web sites for interested
persons.

>Hi
>        Jere Lipps e-mailed me privately that "47%" do not know that the
>earth revolves about the sun, "52% believe dinosaurs and man lived
>together, and only 44% think that humans evolved from earlier species of
>animals (that one is not too far off the number of people that believe
>literally in the bible)."
>
>        Grim stuff.
>
>        This morning I heard on TV news that a big percent of our
>graduating college seniors cannot calculate the perimeter of a room (with
>the dimensions given).

AND ANOTHER:

>Grim stuff indeed.  It seems to me almost the ultimate in fraud in science
>to quote unsubstantiated private email, or TV news, as the source for
>seriously disturbing data, and particularly on a list such as this devoted
>to challenging authoritarian but unauthoritative dogma.

Let me clarify:  It was a survey by the International Center for the
Advancement of Scientific Literacy at the Chicago Academy of Sciences for
the US National Science Foundation, as reported by Associated Press on May
24.  It was a national survey of 2006 adults selected by random digital
dialing from among American adults who have telephones.  Margin of error
was plus or minus 3 percentage points.  The report,  Science & Engineering
Indicators1996,  was issued (apparently May 23) by the  National Science
Board.  More comment is available on the NSF Web site at
http://www.nsf.gov:80/nsf/press/pr9625.htm.  The report is available at
http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/seind96/start.htm


Here's a summary of the AP release.  Perhaps you will understand my concern
about public science understanding.  I thought it was just Berkeley
undergrads, but it looks more general than that.

Only 25% of American adults surveyed got a passing score on what people
know about science and economics.  Even fewer felt they were well-informed
about technical subjects.

Of the 10 economics questions, 22% of the people answered 7 or more
correctly.  We did better:  of the 10 science questions, 27% answered 7 or
more.  One good thing:  72% believe that science research is worthwhile but
13% felt the opposite.  I guess 15% couldn't answer that question.  90% of
college grads said research benefits outweighed risks, but 48% of those who
did not complete high school felt that way.

Genetic engineering:  43% good; 35% dangerous; about 20% undecided.
Medical discoveries:  Most interesting of science topics = 69%
Space exploration:  Most interesting 25%

The ten science questions:

1.  The center of the earth is very hot (78% said true).
2.  Oxygen we breath comes from plants (85% said true)
3.  Electrons are smaller than atoms (44% said true).
4.  The continents on which we live have been moving their location for
millions of years and will continue to move in the future (79% true).
5.  Human beings, as we know them today, developed from earlier species of
animals (44% true).
6.  The earliest human beings lived at the same time as the dinosaurs (48%
said false).
7.  Which travels faster:  light or sound?  (75% said light).
8.  How long does it take for the earth to go around the sun:  one day, one
month, or one year?  (47% said one year).
9.   21% could define DNA.
10.  9% knew what a molecule was.

33% understood the effects of a thinning ozone layer.
14% knew where the ozone holes were located.
5% could explain acid rain.

The report itself has a lot more than just this survey, and is worth
studying if you are concerned about this stuff.

Jere H. Lipps, Professor and Director
Department of Integrative Biology and
Museum of Paleontology
University of California
Berkeley, California 94720 USA

Voice:  510-642-9006.  Fax:  510-642-1822.
Internet:  jlipps@ucmp1.berkeley.edu
WWW:  http://ucmp1.berkeley.edu