Science Dims In American Public's View

[OhioChick]

Only 27 percent of Americans polled believe that science, medicine, and technology are America's greatest achievements -- a 20% drop over a decade, study finds.

July 10, 2009 09:36 AM


Americans still have high regard for scientists and the impact that science can have on society, but they are not so sure about the superiority of U.S. science, according to a new poll.

Only 17 percent of the public -- compared to 49 percent of scientists -- said that U.S. scientific achievements are the best in the world, according to a survey of the public and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) conducted by the Pew Research Center this spring.

Americans are also less sure than they were 10 years ago that science, medicine, and technology are America's greatest achievements.

Only 27 percent agreed with that statement, a drop of 20 percentage points since 1999. More Americans now call civil rights the country's greatest achievement, or have no opinion on the question.

Most scientists, meanwhile, said the public doesn't know much about science -- 85 percent agreed with that statement. Many criticized the news media for not distinguishing well-established scientific findings and for oversimplifying science. They diverged sharply with the public on several other issues as well.

For example, scientists are less likely than the public to believe that government is "inefficient and wasteful" and more likely to say that businesses tend to have a hard time striking "a fair balance between profits and the public interest."

They are also far more likely than the public to believe in evolution, global warming, and the use of animals for scientific research.

A large majority also believe in federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, more nuclear power plants, and a requirement that all parents vaccinate their children.

The biggest obstacles to doing good science, according to scientists, are lack of federal funding and limitations on H1B visas for foreign-born workers.

There are areas where scientists and the public agree, though. A majority of both groups viewed medicine and life sciences as important achievements and said that government funding is essential to good science. They also believe government funding will pay off in the long run.

Despite the bad economy, scientists are upbeat about their profession. Three quarters of those surveyed said these are good times for science and their specialties.

That opinion may be related to politics, the survey notes. More than half of the scientists identified themselves as Democrats and liberals, and many said they are optimistic about the Obama administration's impact on science.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=218401424

[Democrats_win]

1. The article makes sense. Americans still win many Nobel Prizes in science.

Yet science is more a parlor game trick to most Americans. They have "science guys" on TV showing us that Mentos in two liters of Coke produces a nice you-tube video.

In 1981, my freshman physics professor told us that we weren't that smart. We wanted to be physicists, mining engineers, and petroleum engineers. The smart people were going into business, he said.

He was right. The smart people went into business and cheated aunt Millie (recall the Enron quote). But, at least we enjoy what we're doing and we can sleep at night. That is, when we're not overly excited about the work we're doing.

Of course this is true for most professions in America--that is the professions that haven't been outsourced by the crooks on Wall Street.

[FiveGoodMen]

2. Talk shows, 700 club, "reality" shows, hate radio

The dumbing down of the public is not an accident and should not be a surprise.

Billions are spent each year to convince Americans not to think.

[bulloney]

4. You got that right. Americans are conditioned to make the quick buck fast with minimal thinking.

Anything that requires advanced skills and critical thinking is a turnoff.

It's also too easy to listen to the RW hatemongers on the media and believe that any setbacks these people experience can be blamed on the libruls.

[bemildred]

3. It's almost like all the drool on TV dumbs people down. nt