Slashdot Mirror
US Adults Fail Basic Science Literacy
TaeKwonDood writes "Do you want the bad news first or the good news? The good news is that about 80% of Americans think science knowledge is 'very important' to our future. The bad news is most of those people think it's up to someone else to get knowledgeable. Only 15% actually know how much of the planet is covered in water (47% if you accept a rough approximation of the exact number) and over 40% think dinosaurs and humans cavorted together like in some sort of 'Land Of The Lost' episode. What to do? Pres. Obama thinks merit pay for teachers makes sense. Yes, it will enrage the teachers' union, but it might inspire better people to go into science teaching. It's either that or accept that almost 50% of Americans won't know how long it takes the earth to go around the sun."
Only 15% actually know how much of the planet is covered in water (47% if you accept a rough approximation of the exact number)...
47%? Last I heard, it was between 70-75%. The top three results from Google for the query "earth covered by water" all say that as well.
Was that 47% derived using a different definition, or is TaeKwonDood a charter member of the Science Is Only For Nerds Club?
the earth was fully covered with water, right before god created dry land and put all the fossils which seem to be older inside. The he created the animals in a way that their DNA looks like inherited from each other and created some species which are there to prove that he can also create species which evolve. All this is kind of obvious, so what are your irrelevant anti-christian scientific questions all about?
approximately write
Fucking facepalm. I can't believe I typoed that. :(
Yo man, why you down on us playas and our science skills? We gotta use some mad science skills to get the honeys. For instance ya gotta know the correlation coefficient that describes the relationship between yo bling and yo hos, to maximize the amount of hos per dollar of bling. And is the relationship between those sweet rims on yo pimped out ride, and gettin the honeys best modeled by a linear or logistic model? Mendelian genetics is important to know so you can figure out whether a girl's sister gonna be hot. We playas all about the science.
But everyone knows that the British are prone to over-generalisation.
It's like "stony" or "woody" but a lot better to make swords out of?
It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
ok let's start with simpler things.
How many states are there?
Three: Solid, Liquid, Gas.
How many MAJOR branches of the government are there and name them.
Three: Federal, State/Provincial, Municipal
How many stripes and stars are on the USA flag?
It depends on the year. Currently there are 63.
Name 3 countries in europe.
Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan
Name 3 countries in Asia.
Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan
Name 3 countries in south america.
The Netherlands, The United Kingdom, France
Name 3 countries in north america.
The Netherlands, The United Kingdom, France
(You gotta love transcontinental countries, and overseas protectorates.)
Explain how you can calculate your approximate destination time from your speed and distance.
The time at a destination changes approximately by one hour for every fifteen degrees of longitude. It will not be affected by speed, although at relativistic velocities the traveller's perception is that time slows down.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!