Study Highlights Gap Between Views of Scientists and the Public

ZeroSerenity was one of many to write with news of a survey from the Pew Research Center which sought to find out how Americans feel about science and contrast that with the opinions of actual scientists. The study showed that "nearly 9 in 10 scientists accept the idea of evolution by natural selection, but just a third of the public does. And while 84% of scientists say the Earth is getting warmer because of human activity, less than half of the public agrees with that." 27% of the respondents said that the advances of the US in science are its greatest achievement, down from 44% ten years ago. The study is lengthy, and it contains many more interesting tidbits. For example: scientists decry the level of media coverage given to science, and they also think research funding has too much influence on study results. 32% of scientists identify themselves as Independent, while 55% say they're Democrats and 6% say they're Republicans.

Comments

Re:Education Gap

[rohan972]

Should we still be surprised that the more educated someone is, the more liberal (generally speaking) their political views tend to be?

Not at all, although that doesn't necessarily mean they are thinking better.

The Communists have not invented the intervention of society in education; they do but seek to alter the character of that intervention, and to rescue education from the influence of the ruling class. The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

Since the communists publicly declared their intention use education to transform society, it ought not surprise us that those longest exposed to the influence of formal education have been more thoroughly persuaded to follow left-wing politics. In addition, the rule of an intellectual elite is obviously going to be most palatable to those who will exercise that power.