1 in 4 Americans Unaware the Earth Orbits the Sun

[sheeny (Al)]

There could well be shortcomings in our educations systems these days but I'm with Mike on this one. I know plenty of people who are smart, but they don't know the basic physics. In some cases, their education (via business school at high school level) did not offer them the opportunity to learn science, however, in most cases I've come across its because that's not what interests them.

Sometimes I've witnessed the same Eureka moment more than once... because it didn't interest them enough to retain that info. I find it fascinating, 'cause to me its basic, but I guess there are things that don't interest me that I don't remember either... I can't think what...

Al.

[sheeny (Al)]

Originally Posted by Karls48

And that seasons change on start of the month.

It wasn't until recently that I found out the rest of the world isn't the same and why. It always struck me as illogical, but apparently it goes back the early colonisation. The guards got their new summer uniforms at the start of December. Eventually, that was accepted locally as the start of summer.

Al.

[OICURMT]

Originally Posted by Peter Ward

By definition, half of the population has an IQ below 100.

The mean IQ changes over time (current mean is about 90). Test results are normalized to 100 such that in theory, half the population is above or below the median. This process is generally done through restandardization of the general test itself as the IQ of the total poplulation rises (an range of about 2-4 point per decade).

There's a pretty good site here.

[Peter Ward]

Originally Posted by OICURMT

The mean IQ changes over time (current mean is about 90). Test results are normalized to 100 such that in theory, half the population is above or below the median.

Stanford-Binet tests, as many have suspected, favor WASP populations, hence it comes as no surprise to me that global IQ's may be dropping...as, indeed, global populations are changing.

Many IQ tests have a significant learning element, plus they may have minimal relevance to "what you need to survive" in a particular environment. (Judy Kearins did a cool study here when I was an undergrad)

Personally I'd like to see a "critical thought" index, that might measure an individual's ability to reason spin from fact, physical reality from a high likelyhood of injury or death......(eg speed doesn't kill..... rapid deceleration, however can hurt! )

[Karls48 (Karl)]

Originally Posted by sheeny

It wasn't until recently that I found out the rest of the world isn't the same and why. It always struck me as illogical, but apparently it goes back the early colonisation. The guards got their new summer uniforms at the start of December. Eventually, that was accepted locally as the start of summer.

Al.

Thanks for info. I was always wondering why.

[OICURMT]

Originally Posted by Peter Ward

Personally I'd like to see a "critical thought" index, that might measure an individual's ability to reason spin from fact, physical reality from a high likelyhood of injury or death......(eg speed doesn't kill..... rapid deceleration, however can hurt! )

The notion of a "Critical Thought Index" sound like a great place to start, sort of "Darwinistic" by some measures though, as those who would more than likely fail the test have probably been eliminated from the gene pool...

Rapid acceleration can kill as well, actually, any change in velocity sufficient to cause internal organs to deform to the point of failure (The engineer in me is coming out ... )

[glenc (Glen)]

People and politicians need some understanding of science when they have to vote on issues that involve science.

[Pinwheel (Doug)]

I question the method of I.Q testing "In the real world" as testing the intelligence of a university mind verse a county lad who never finished school. eg. A youngman out here showed me how too catch a Bardy grub out of a hole one metre underground to use it to catch a fish. I'd never seen anything like it! I would have staved to death in a survival senerio & he would have lived. You won't see this in any IQ test, & I'm guessing the psychologist would have staved too!

[multiweb (Marc)]

Originally Posted by Pinwheel

...to use it to catch a fish... I would have staved to death in a survival senerio & he would have lived.

hmm... in a survival scenario I'd eat the grub straight up. On the odd chance I might catch a fish with it....

[Pinwheel (Doug)]

Originally Posted by multiweb

hmm... in a survival scenario I'd eat the grub straight up. On the odd chance I might catch a fish with it....

The correct response in a country IQ test would be too eat half the grub and catch the fish with the other half. This way you have an entre'e before the main coarse...

[sjastro]

Since IQ has come up in the discussion, does low IQ result in individuals thinking that climate change is a hoax, autism is caused by vaccination or the Earth is only 6000 years old to name a few?

And while we are at it why does it appear the necessary prerequisite for claiming the subject matter is wrong is to know absolutely nothing about the subject at hand.

Unfortunately this type of behaviour seems to afflict a sizeable percentage of the population and if equated to the distribution of an IQ curve we are indeed in a lot of trouble.

Regards

Steven

[AstralTraveller (David)]

Originally Posted by strongmanmike

.....she .... has no idea which way north south east and west are

Sorry to get off topic but this reminds me of a (somewhat) funny story about the legendary surveyor Len Beadell. Len surveyed most of the roads through the western deserts and was probably Australia's last explorer.

The minister who married him says that at the point where Len was told to take the ring in his right hand and put it on the bride's left hand he started with the ring in his left hand, realised that was wrong and moved it to his right hand. He then stood, flumoxed, unable to decide which of her hands he should take. Nerves had got the better of him. The minister said under his breath 'the one on the west' and Len was right. He put the ring on the correct finger and the ceremony continued.

Originally Posted by strongmanmike

.... facilitator who has organised the Prime Minister ...

You understand this may not be seen as a positive?

[TrevorW]

Americans are idiots look at the Obama, what moron would flirt with a blonde two seats from his wife,no less at someones funeral in sight of all those cameras so his antics and her disgust could be beamed across the world. Go figure and he is the President of that country what hope do the others have

[Pinwheel (Doug)]

Originally Posted by sjastro

Since IQ has come up in the discussion, does low IQ result in individuals thinking that climate change is a hoax, autism is caused by vaccination or the Earth is only 6000 years old to name a few?

I'd like to know this " Why does the phone always ring after you get into a bath".....

[OICURMT]

Originally Posted by sjastro

does low IQ result in individuals thinking that climate change is a hoax

Actually, I suspect that more and more people, regardless of IQ, understand that the climate is changing (as it always does)... the real question is whether there's an anthropogenic link or not.

Most deniers are claiming no link, which, in my opinion, flies in the face of the evidence.

As for Trevor's comment about idiotic American's, I'll ignore it, as you don't have look far to find flirtatious politicians on any continent... as far as the circumstance, that's a single point of view.

Regards,
OIC!

[Barrykgerdes]

This discussion is getting a bit away from the original thread and moved to a discussion of IQ.

I earlier posted a rather facetious comment about the lack of knowledge that the earth revolves around the sun. Of the remaining 75% who do know, how many only know this because they remember what they were taught in school.

I would say that 99% of them have just accepted what they were told even when they looked up at a moving sky and saw it moving rather than themselves and wondered!

Put yourself in their place. Would you have known which was which without being told of knowledge that took thousands of years and many executions to be accepted by the world leaders and their subjects?

Barry

[sjastro]

Originally Posted by Pinwheel

I'd like to know this " Why does the phone always ring after you get into a bath".....

Or why paper clips magically link up without any assistance.

Originally Posted by OICURMT

Actually, I suspect that more and more people, regardless of IQ, understand that the climate is changing (as it always does)... the real question is whether there's an anthropogenic link or not.

Most deniers are claiming no link, which, in my opinion, flies in the face of the evidence.

OIC!

Even on the subject of anthropogenic warming (or the lack of it), how many individuals base their opinions on the actual science.
There is a considerable disparity between the percentage of climate scientists that believe in anthropogenic warming compared to the general population. The general population is more likely to be swayed away from anthropogenic warming based on factors such as political ideology, standard of living issues and a good old dose of anti intellectualism.

Regards

Steven

[Pinwheel (Doug)]

Recently on the SBS was a documentary about moving some aborigines from the crash or drop zone where rockets were to come down while testing from the Woomera rocket range. Now the aborigines had never seen White man, a truck or even metal.

As the doco progressed it was almost futile for white man to approach the natives because they though white man was a devil and he had the power to make rocks move & ride them. The rocks of coarse were the trucks.

The men sent to clear the area spent months tried in vain to make contact & move the aborigines. When they finally caught them the aborigines were absolutely terrified. So I guess the point is without being told the men were the same DNA as they are & the truck was a machine built from metal mined from the ground that ran on oil has nothing to do with ones IQ, it's life experiences & education that counts. I assume the aborigines in this example also thought the Sun orbits the Earth.