Actually, I couldn't agree more with what you wrote here... A movie "Idiocracy" comes to mind..
But.. all this is a hard reality, unfortunalely - we all have to eat - and the only way to improve this situation is education of people... which is extremely important and sensitive activity (it must be conducted in a right way, with almost individual approach.. because what works for me won't work for Alex and vice versa), and at the same time it is very non-profitable, money-throwing exercise from fiscal and business point of view.
Back to analogies..
When thinking about counter-intuitive concepts of residual and/or "emerging" forces, aerodinamic lift comes to my mind.
I bet that 90% of public do not realise that the force that keeps the aircraft in the air is a result of difference of speeds of airflow below and above the wing.. resulting in difference of static pressures between upper and lower side.. and hence the lift.
This is another interesting read on gravity as emerging force:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entropic_gravity
http://arstechnica.com/science/2011/...hermodynamics/