A Ray of Hope For Americans and Scientific Literacy?

An anonymous reader with a snippet from Politico: "A finding in a study on the relationship between science literacy and political ideology surprised the Yale professor behind it: Tea party members know more science than non-tea partiers. Yale law professor Dan Kahan posted on his blog this week that he analyzed the responses of more than 2,000 American adults recruited for another study and found that, on average, people who leaned liberal were more science literate than those who leaned conservative. However, those who identified as part of the tea party movement were actually better versed in science than those who didn't, Kahan found. The findings met the conventional threshold of statistical significance, the professor said. Kahan wrote that not only did the findings surprise him, they embarrassed him. 'I've got to confess, though, I found this result surprising. As I pushed the button to run the analysis on my computer, I fully expected I'd be shown a modest negative correlation between identifying with the Tea Party and science comprehension,' Kahan wrote. 'But then again, I don't know a single person who identifies with the tea party,' he continued.'" More at the Independent Journal Review.

Comments

Re:Medical professionals

[Pseudonym Authority]

Hint: most aren't social conservatives.

Funny, I've never met a single one who wasn't (and I've met a lot of them; not quite a million, but still a lot). The first type I've met is just as concerned about enforcing `family values' as taxes, and likely to believe shit like this. The other type is basically cold fjord but with even less understanding of economics.

This is only surprising if your idea of who supports the Tea Party segment of the Republican Party comes from MSNBC

LOL I don't even watch TV, like, ever. I'm surrounded by these people. Drenched in their stupidity because no one wants to arguing with them when they start shouting about secession (yes, this is Texas, how did you guess). Trust me, I know tea-baggers and they don't give two shits about whatever supposed economic principles the Tea Party originally stood for.

It's simple:

[ApplePy]

I support a good part of the Tea Party platform because I can do math. Taxes are too high, spending is too high, and if the segment of our populace that depends on taxpayer funds for its living grows much more in contrast to those who provide the funds, the whole system will collapse.

I'm also pretty liberal on social issues, a passionate environmentalist, and a gun owner. I believe in equal rights for all under the Constitution. I'm okay with gay marriage. I'm agnostic. And I've never voted for a Democrat in my life.

Kahan wrote. 'But then again, I don't know a single person who identifies with the tea party,' he continued.'"

That's because Mr. Kahan has never left his Yale Law ivory tower long enough to meet anyone unlike himself.

He is also probably unaware of some important historical facts. Tea Party was not originally a GOP subset. It was a non-affiliated movement called "Taxed Enough Already" consisting mostly of independent voters. I am not pleased that the movement has been co-opted and turned into something different, but someone has to carry the torch of smaller government.