U.S. has more science smarts - sort of
Earl Evleth
reports in major newspapers, a figure that grew to 28 percent by 2005,"
Still not great. A lot of TV shows push supernatural themes and this
aids in brainwashing the general population.
Pseudo or junk science is also promoted by the Bush administration
and the conservative wing of the population who have gotten the
global warming story wrong. A leading Republican Senator, Imhoff,
actually says that God would not allow global warming to occur.
Creationism is also a form of "faith based" science.
As for Astrology however, my horoscopes are always accurate.
****
U.S. has more science smarts - sort of
By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer Sat Feb 17, 4:22 PM ET
SAN FRANCISCO - People in the U.S. know more about basic science today than
they did two decades ago, good news that researchers say is tempered by an
unsettling growth in the belief in pseudoscience such as astrology and
visits by extraterrestrial aliens.
In 1988 only about 10 percent knew enough about science to understand
reports in major newspapers, a figure that grew to 28 percent by 2005,
according to Jon D. Miller, a Michigan State University professor. He
presented his findings Saturday at the annual meeting of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science.
The improvement largely reflects the requirement that all college students
have at least some science courses, Miller said. This way, they can better
keep up with new developments through the media.
A panel of researchers expressed concern that people are giving increasing
credence to pseudoscience such as the visits of space aliens, lucky numbers
and horoscopes.
In addition, these researchers noted an increase in college students who
report they are "unsure" about creationism as compared with evolution.
More recent generations know more factual material about science, said Carol
Susan Losh, an associate professor at Florida State University. But, she
said, when it comes to pseudoscience, "the news is not good."
One problem, she said, is that pseudoscience can speak to the meaning of
life in ways that science does not.
For example, for many women having a good life still depends on whom they
marry, she said.
"What does astrology speak to? Love relationships," Losh said, noting that
belief in horoscopes is much higher among women than men.
The disclosure that former first lady Nancy Reagan consulted an astrologer
resulted in widespread derision in the media, but few younger people
remember that episode today, she said.
Miller said most readers of horoscopes are women, contributing to the
listing of "female" as a leading negative factor in science literacy. Women
also tended to take fewer college science courses, he said.
Belief in abduction by space aliens is also on the rise, Losh said.
"It's not surprising that the generation that grew up on `Twilight Zone' and
early `Star Trek' television endorsed a link between UFOs and alien
spacecraft," she said.
Pseudoscience discussion is often absent from the classroom, Losh said, so
"we have basically left it up to the media."
Raymond Eve of the University of Texas at Arlington had mixed news in
surveys of students at an unnamed Midwestern university.
The share that believed aliens had visited Earth fell from 25 percent in
1983 to 15 percent in 2006. There was also a decline in belief in "Bigfoot"
and in whether psychics can predict the future.
But there also has been a drop in the number of people who believe evolution
correctly explains the development of life on Earth and an increase in those
who believe mankind was created about 10,000 years ago.
Miller said a second major negative factor to scientific literacy was
religious fundamentalism and aging.
Having taken college science courses was a strong positive influence,
followed by overall education and informal science learning through the
media. Having children at home also resulted in adults being more
scientifically informed, he said.
Nick Allum of the University of Surry in England suggested belief in
astrology might be a simple misunderstanding of the question, with people
confusing astrology with astronomy.
In one European study about 25 percent of people said they thought astrology
was very scientific. But when the question was rephrased to horoscopes that
fell to about 7 percent.
___
Gregory Morrw
Earl Evleth wrote:
> As for Astrology however, my horoscopes are always accurate.
>
Especially in this "Year of the Pig"...
:o)
--
Best
Greg
Yitzhak Isaac Goldstein
> horoscopes
Well, mine too. Isn't that strange?? 'Monday 19 Feb: you will interact
with computers in a big way, and in the process will utterly and totally
thrash the living be-jesus out an uneducated, immature, inbred white
Southerner'.
Where _is_ Nazi Noles these days, anyway . . . ?
T.
--
Yitzhak Isaac Goldstein
AADP's 'left-wing Jewish intellectual'
* The Official AADP FAQ: http://www.chez.com/desmondcoughlan/dp/faq/
* The AADP Spectrum:
* http://www.chez.com/desmondcoughlan/dp/aadp_spectrum.gif
* http://jewish-and-proud-of-it.blogspot.com/
* See Jim Noles get comprehensively hammered over his idiotic
belief that 'kippa' is not a Hebrew word, and 'yarmulke' is not
a Yiddish word: http://minilien.fr/a0juqb
* See Nazi James Noles trip himself up by giving _two_ different
answers concerning his lies in the space of 12 seconds ...
http://minilien.fr/a0jtex
* One of the funniest fuck-ups yet ...Nazi Noles says that 'English
is written in the English language' .. http://minilien.fr/a0jtjh...
<fx: *roars* with fucking laughter!!!>
* Better and better... Nazi Noles shows that he can't use that expensive
copy of _The OED_ that he has, and that because the word 'clause' appears
in the entry for 'if', he thinks that that means that 'if' is a clause ...
go on, guys 'n' gals..ask him how a single word can be a clause ... better
yet...ask him to post the definition of 'clause' from his _OED_. He'll
rant and rave.. but he won't post it. Here is my _apocalyptic_ destruction
of him ... http://minilien.fr/a0ju6s
Earl Evleth
Goldstein" <yit...@yahoo.fr> wrote:
> Earl Evleth <evl...@wanadoo.fr> wrote:
>
>> horoscopes
>
> Well, mine too. Isn't that strange?? 'Monday 19 Feb: you will interact
> with computers in a big way, and in the process will utterly and totally
> thrash the living be-jesus out an uneducated, immature, inbred white
> Southerner'.
>
> Where _is_ Nazi Noles these days, anyway . . . ?
>
Mine today was (in the Washington Post)
Sagittarius November 22 - December 21
For Monday, February 19 -You'll be quite a whirlwind of activity today --
and the people around you will have to step aside to give you room. Like a
tropical storm, you'll hit the scene with quite an impact. But unlike a
hurricane, your presence will be all about creation, not destruction. The
energy you have today will build upon itself over and over again, priming
you for an evening of fun and excitement. If you don't have any social
plans, make them!
****
How true, how very true. Whirlwind Earl at work.
Planet Visitor II
news:fs1na4-...@zeouane.org...
> Earl "Axis Sally" Evleth <evl...@wanadoo.fr> wrote:
>
>> horoscopes
>
> Well, mine too. Isn't that strange?? 'Monday 19 Feb: you will interact
> with computers in a big way, and in the process will utterly and totally
> thrash the living be-jesus out an uneducated, immature, inbred white
> Southerner'.
>
> Where _is_ Nazi Noles these days, anyway . . . ?
Poor Nazi Coughlan still expressing his fear of me. After all, I've
been exposing his lies, and showing that he finds the Shoah was
NOT "evil," but executing proven MURDERERS is "evil." There
is much about my exposing him for him to hate me as he does.
Planet Visitor II
Official publisher of AADP Official dictionary
http://www.planetvisitor.name/dictionary.html
> T.
>
>--
>Yitzhak Isaac Goldstein
>AADP's 'left-wing Jewish intellectual'
Yitzhak was a victim of the Holocaust, Nazi Coughlan.
Just because you stole his "yellow star" so you could
whine that you are a victim of the Holocaust, you can't
legally use his name. Tell everyone again how I made
you wear it, when I don't accept that you are Jewish,
much less deserving to wear a "yellow star" from one
of your own victims.
You're not Jewish. See John Rennie spank you about
your claim that you are --
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.activism.death-penalty/msg/92c993bba5d24130
Poor Nazi Coughlan would like to take even the Hebrew language
from the Jews, after supporting taking away their lives in the
fiery crucible of the Holocaust. Hebrew in written in Hebrew. The
word Nazi Coughlan claims is Hebrew is a French word. See --
http://www.planetvisitor.name/dipshit_Gimmicks/gimmick_8.html
Poor Nazi Coughlan still can't accept that his claim to being Jewish
is being laughed at by everyone in AADP except the racist "death
to Blacks" and Grüber. You really do have a unique following
Nazi Coughlan. Have you been trolling for help in White Power
groups? You remember how I caught you doing that last time.
Imagine... Nazi Coughlan insists that he know more than the
Oxford English Dictionary, as he pronounces in his raving claim
of his infallibility that "if" is not a "conditional clause," when the
Oxford English Dictionary states precisely that it is. See --
http://home.earthlink.net/~onetimeuse/if.html
Damn... it's just so sweet to have the OED on my side, and
a claim that Nazism is superior from Mad Dog Coughlan.