Gallup has released the results of a national poll on science, and unfortunately, modern biology didn’t fare well:
“Forty-six percent of Americans believe in the creationist view that God created humans in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years.”
In fact, only 15% believed in evolution with God playing no part in everything (ie: the major premise of modern science.)
Here in America we used to have a competitive edge in science… now we are falling way behind competing countries. We need to start taking science seriously again – ignorance costs far too much. Results such as those of the Gallup poll should serve as a wake-up call.
Neil deGrasse Tyson gave a lecture a few years ago on the “philosophy of ignorance,” in which he said a lack of appreciation for basic scientific principles will hurt America’s scientific output, which has traditionally been the nation’s largest economic engine.
“If nonscience works its way into the science classroom, it marks … the beginning of the end of the economic strength this country has known,” Tyson said.
If you care about American economic competitiveness you have to care about science.