Do you Know more about Science than the Average American

[Hermit]

Only seven percent got all 13?

That's stunning.

"Worrying" might be better.

Both, really.

What the fuck are our education systems intending to achieve? Churning out obedient production units for offices and factories - industrial cannon-fodder? That's "schooling" in the worst sense of the word.

[Svartalf]

It's hard to believe a country with such bad education could still send men to the moon

[Ayaan]

It wasn't always this bad. For a time it was fairly decent because many US leaders wanted to show that the US could do better science than the USSR and her satellite countries. Now the intention seems to be the goals that Hermit highlighted.

[Hermit]

It's hard to believe a country with such bad education could still send men to the moon

"If they can send a man to the moon, why can't they send them all?"

On a more serious note, I doubt that the education systems in many other developed nations is much better. We need a lot more data-entry clerks, welders, nurses and car mechanics than we need engineers, let alone people who can recite the law of gravitation or do calculus. That is why curricula are weighted the way they are.

And keep in mind that the country that sent men to the moon also produced the more Nobel laureates than any other. Not sure how it works out on a per capita basis, though.

[PsychoSerenity]

On a more serious note, I doubt that the education systems in many other developed nations is much better. We need a lot more data-entry clerks, welders, nurses and car mechanics than we need engineers, let alone people who can recite the law of gravitation or do calculus. That is why curricula are weighted the way they are.

I'm not convinced. Low education work is certainly selected for in business because it's a safe investment, - whereas pushing the boundaries of science and technology is sporadic and difficult to get a return on. But a lot of work done ends up being pointless shuffling of paper with very little real world benefit. Who's to say what advances might have been achieved with greater focus on science? We might have developed the technology to make most of the other jobs fully redundant.

[Hermit]

It wasn't always this bad. For a time it was fairly decent because many US leaders wanted to show that the US could do better science than the USSR and her satellite countries. Now the intention seems to be the goals that Hermit highlighted.

In the main, education has always been task-related, and the tasks in turn were determined by the perceived needs of the time. Anything beyond that was a result of overabundant resources allowing time for "idle pursuits", such as obtained during the golden age of classical Greece. Not until Charles the Great, himself illiterate to his dying day in 814, realised that he needs a more capable system for administrating his empire, did education begin to become more accessible to people who were not permanently occupied with eking out a living off the land or preserving theocracy.

Scientific knowledge per se was never a priority of any education system ever. It has always been the luxurious result of surplus wealth and to a small extent a nation's desire for prestige and kudos.

[Hermit]

On a more serious note, I doubt that the education systems in many other developed nations is much better. We need a lot more data-entry clerks, welders, nurses and car mechanics than we need engineers, let alone people who can recite the law of gravitation or do calculus. That is why curricula are weighted the way they are.

I'm not convinced. Low education work is certainly selected for in business because it's a safe investment, - whereas pushing the boundaries of science and technology is sporadic and difficult to get a return on. But a lot of work done ends up being pointless shuffling of paper with very little real world benefit. Who's to say what advances might have been achieved with greater focus on science? We might have developed the technology to make most of the other jobs fully redundant.

Full marks for idealism, PsychoSerenity.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

It is true that demons get on-the-Job training?

[cronus]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-20498356

UK education sixth in global ranking, US falling out of chart.....nearly.

[Hermit]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-20498356

UK education sixth in global ranking, US falling out of chart.....nearly.

"The weightings for the rankings have been produced for Pearson by the Economist Intelligence Unit."
"...there are direct economic consequences of high and low performing education systems, the study says, particularly in a globalised, skill-based economy."

I guess education systems focusing on churning out boiler-makers and cash-register operators in order to produce the best cogs for the economic infrastructure are missing the mark then.

[Tyrannical]

It's hard to believe a country with such bad education could still send men to the moon

School was dumbed down to the level where they expect everyone to be able to graduate now.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

It's hard to believe a country with such bad education could still send men to the moon

School was dumbed down to the level where they expect everyone to be able to graduate now.

Meh, my brother got through high school on "social promotion" before they knew what the term was. He graduated in 1968.

[Jason]

Makes sense. It was the most esoteric of the lot. I should know what Fracking is about, but I didn't.. just made an educated guess.

Fracking and Mountaintop removal mining are both pretty controversial extraction techniques as of late. Matt Damon even made a movie about one of dem! At least, I think he did.

Yeah. That's why I said I should [have] known what it was. It's also not strictly a 'science' question..

[SteveB]

Makes sense. It was the most esoteric of the lot. I should know what Fracking is about, but I didn't.. just made an educated guess.

Fracking and Mountaintop removal mining are both pretty controversial extraction techniques as of late. Matt Damon even made a movie about one of dem! At least, I think he did.

Yeah. That's why I said I should [have] known what it was. It's also not strictly a 'science' question..

I mixed up the two. Fracking does sound like it could be slang for blowing up a mountaintop. It's pretty frackin' cool to blow up a mountaintop (in theory).

[Hermit]

Makes sense. It was the most esoteric of the lot. I should know what Fracking is about, but I didn't.. just made an educated guess.

But ... but ... but ... it's elementary stuff. Literally. 78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen, .7% Argon. I knew that when I was probably 8 years old.

Fracking on the other hand has only been on the public radar for the last few years, but it is rapidly becoming a political hot potato, if it it's not that already in some places.

The demographic breakdown to the answers to the survey's questions is really weird in that regard. The tendency is that the older you are, the less likely it is that you answer correctly. The result about the question about fracking stands out in stark contrast despite it being a relatively recent issue. Why is it the case that younger people are generally better informed about topics that have been around for centuries while older ones beat them comprehensively on a topic that has arisen only a few years ago?

Oops, the link only works once you have completed the quiz.