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A general AP-GfK Poll taken in March of 2014 had responses which rather reenforce the idea that many Americans view science with suspicion and aren't going to let facts stand in the way of what they believe.
For instance:
"The Earth is 4.5 billion years old" -- 36% of the respondents answered that they were no too/not at all confident that this was true.
"The universe began 13.8 billion years ago with a big bang" -- 51% of the respondents answered that they were no too/not at all confident that this was true.
"Life on Earth, including human beings, evolved through a process of natural selection" -- 42% of the respondents answered that they were no too/not at all confident that this was true.
Strangely, when the statement was "Overusing antibiotics causes the development of drug-resistant bacteria", only 9% of the respondents answered that they were no too/not at all confident that this was true, which makes one wonder if so many people don't believe in the idea of evolution, how do they think the bacteria became drug-resistant?
To me, this is a reflection of why we shouldn't be teaching religion-based propaganda in science classes, and why the U.S. tests no better than average against other countries in math and science.
For instance:
"The Earth is 4.5 billion years old" -- 36% of the respondents answered that they were no too/not at all confident that this was true.
"The universe began 13.8 billion years ago with a big bang" -- 51% of the respondents answered that they were no too/not at all confident that this was true.
"Life on Earth, including human beings, evolved through a process of natural selection" -- 42% of the respondents answered that they were no too/not at all confident that this was true.
Strangely, when the statement was "Overusing antibiotics causes the development of drug-resistant bacteria", only 9% of the respondents answered that they were no too/not at all confident that this was true, which makes one wonder if so many people don't believe in the idea of evolution, how do they think the bacteria became drug-resistant?
To me, this is a reflection of why we shouldn't be teaching religion-based propaganda in science classes, and why the U.S. tests no better than average against other countries in math and science.