Quite a few Americans are skeptical of science

[davidn3600]

http://news.yahoo.com/poll-big-bang-big-most-americans-074034813.html

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

1. While none of those are 'good' numbers

the most dangerous in the short term are the 33% on anthropic climate change, and the 53% on childhood vaccinations.

That tells me that A) we're unlikely to move quickly enough on addressing the problem of climate change, and B) we're ever more likely to see larger and larger outbreaks of preventable contagious diseases as the herd immunity is lessened because of people being misled by idiots like Jenny McCarthy.

[Reter]

12. I'm surprised it's as high as 53%

I've seen many here blame them for autisms.

[DanTex]

2. This explains a lot about the state of our nation. nt

[gollygee]

3. A lot of people

seem to only believe science that confirms beliefs they already had. I know someone who doesn't believe in evolution, global warming, the Big Bang, etc., but who thinks free market economics is a hard science that is 100% certain to always produce the wealthiest and healthiest society.

[NuclearDem]

4. Note how the lowest-accepted fields have religious "explanations."

If communion involved Pall Malls, I can bet a fair number of people would call cancer a conspiracy by Satan.

[pangaia]

5. Cancer caused by smoking.

I find this also interesting...
"Marsha Brooks, a 59-year-old nanny who lives in Washington, D.C., said she's certain smoking causes cancer because she saw her mother, aunts and uncles, all smokers, die of cancer."

Now, I don't know all the facts about her mother's death, in fact I know none of the facts. But, how does Marsha know her mother didn't die from eating Wheaties?

I'm being a little facetious, obviously, but...

[KurtNYC]

6. Are we the last country on Earth to NOT use the metric system?

That change alone would boost science test scores 15%.

"Ask not how many pints are in a bushel, ask WHY the HECK are we STILL on avoirdupois?!?"

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. Madagascar is the other

[Nuclear Unicorn]

13. They like to Move it! Move it!

[Gothmog]

7. Fox News and CNN keep on pushing the idea that there are two sides to this issue

The science is clear and there is no real case for climate deniers.

[Arugula Latte]

8. Pathetic. The "magical thinking" of religion is mostly behind this sad state of affairs.

[pnwmom]

10. Is that all skepticism or is some of it just not knowing all the information?

I could imagine that many people might not correctly guess or pick out the age of the earth, without being skeptical if told that scientists believe it was about 13.8 billion years ago.

[cthulu2016]

11. Stated Differently: We believe in science in direct relation to how close it is to ourselves

The highest belief topics are all about Y-O-U, and about things that might actually affect your health or the health of people you know.

The low-belief topics are abstractions... cases where there is no perceived harm in believing nonsense.

Climate change is in the middle of the pack... both abstract and potentially about Y-O-U.

[Blue Idaho]

14. There is a concerted effort to undermine the general understanding of scientific method.

I see it in the college where I teach. Incoming students think all opinions are equal... "Well, that's just your opinion..." Generally speaking, many people do not understand the meaning of "theory" as it relates to science and proof. The idiot box is doing its bit to rapidly dumb down the population to the point where scientific and magical thinking hold equal weight in any discussion.

All I can say is welcome to the new dark ages...

[RainDog]

15. Religion is the chief cause of scientific illiteracy in the US

People don't want to have to face the reality that their religious leaders are liars, so they refuse to look at the lies.

The cognitive dissonance so many students face is the result of being raised in an environment that promotes religious belief at the expense of the students' well being.

If someone outside of a recognized religion told their children they would go to hell if they didn't believe in lies - most all of us in society would call that child abuse.

When it occurs within religion, we call those people "good."

Not in my understanding of the word.

[Blue Idaho]

16. I agree completely.

Religion in all its many faces teaches blind obedience and magical thinking.