Scientific savvy lacking in U.S. - Taking the Measure

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Rick Nelson

Scientific savvy lacking in U.S.
August 31, 2005

In more bad news for technological literacy, Jon D. Miller, who directs the Center for Biomedical Communications at Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago, says that only 20 to 25 percent of Americans are "scientifically savvy and alert," according to a report in the New York Times. How unsavvy are the rest? Fewer than one-third of American adults can identify DNA as a key to heredity, he says, and one in five thinks the Sun revolves around the Earth.

A society exhibiting widespread ignorance of science is certainly not going to be conducive to inspiring engineering careers, but the situation Miller describes can lead to problems well beyond that. A political scientist, Miller says scientific illiteracy undermines any citizen's ability to participate in the democratic process.

Posted by Rick Nelson on August 31, 2005 | Comments (6)

September 16, 2005
In response to: Scientific savvy lacking in U.S.
DA Bolay commented:

The solution is obvious. However, neither the desire nor the will exists to attain it.

November 4, 2005
In response to: Scientific savvy lacking in U.S.
Acceleron commented:

I don't know which solution is obvious (there may be more than one which are obvious). However, it's a pretty pathetic state of affairs. And as long as we leave it to the government, we call know where it will end.

August 1, 2006
In response to: Scientific savvy lacking in U.S.
Steve Stovall commented:

So long as any college allows any student to graduate with a bachelor degree without taking at least one science course, then too many of the English, journalism, history, and other liberal arts graduates will be as ignorant of science and proud of it as so many of their teachers are today. The science course should also contain a section on logic. The worst part is that they go on to become the teachers and professors who perpetuate this way of thinking.