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Science a Mystery to U.S. Citizens

Posted by michael on from the quelle-surprise dept.

maddugan writes "CNN and probably others are posting their synopses of the National Science Foundation's biennial report on the state of science understanding in the US. Sixty percent of those surveyed believe in ESP, psychic power, and alien abduction."

5 of 1,173 comments (clear)

  1. And how many believe... by simetra · · Score: 2, Flamebait

    in god?

    Talk about wide-spread ignorance!

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  2. Re:The solution to this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Ban atheism while you are at it, too.

    In the 20th century, atheist regimes murdered well over 100 million people. Far, far more than had ever been killed by non-atheist regimes.

  3. surprised? by tps12 · · Score: 1, Flamebait
    Frankly, I'm not surprised. And what I'm about to say has nothing to do with the deplorable state of education in America or the world, the horror that is Pop Culture, or anything else that elitists love to ramble on about.

    No, there is a simpler explanation for why Science has proven so unpopular, and that is: who cares? Seriously, since the Industrial Revolution there has not been a single example of a scientific discovery that affected human life more than superficially. Science is little more than a hobby. Far more important is R&D (which is unknown, not because it is arcane, but because it is kept a secret).

    Yes, boo-hoo go the Scientists. Well, I have news for you. There are garbage men too, and no one finds their jobs so enchanting. Same goes for janitors and programmers. In fact, the vast majority of people have occupations that no one gives a shit about. Any Scientists who have a problem with this should sign up for the fucking NFL. Free clue: you are not entitled to a job that gets you laid; you are not entitled to a job that requires you to give autographs; you are not entitled to a life. If you are disillusioned by Science, time to switch careers, sucker.

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  4. Re:So what? by tps12 · · Score: 1, Flamebait
    Galileo claimed the Earth revolves around the Sun, which at the time was quite controversial and extraordinary. However, simply observing the planetary motions proved him right.

    Note that "the Earth revolv[ing] around the Sun" is part of "the planetary motions."

    How does this jive with my own intuition and experiences?

    Not being skilled in Ebonics, I wouldn't know, but I do recommend looking up the word "jibe".

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  5. Re:So what? by Com2Kid · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    Considering how LSD works (fucks up your sensor inputs to hell) and what fractals are (damn nearly everything in existence, oh fucking wow, congrats you managed to see what was right in front of your eyes. . . .) no duh;

    you saw shit in f*ed up pretty colors.

    Congrats.

    ....

    What was amazing about Mandelbrot sets was the mathmatics of them, hell fractals have existed on this earth far longer then our entire species has, no fucked up hippy on LSD 'discovered' them.

    Besides, it ain't worth 'discovering' shit if you are too damn messed up to know WTF you are seeing. . . .

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