Mr. Wizard Would Be Proud

July 10, 2009      Admin

At the risk of signaling my age, I’m pleased to report that all those Saturday mornings of watching Mr. Wizard on black & white TV paid off. I just scored 100% on Pew Research Center’s science quiz. Mr. Wizard would be proud!

You can take the quiz here.

Of  greater significance, Pew has just released a survey looking at attitudes of the public toward scientists, and vice versa.

Scientists enjoy high status amongst the American public … 70% say scientists have contributed "a lot" to society’s well-being. Only members of the military at 84% and teachers at 77% outrank them.

Many nonprofits  base their fundraising case on the scenarios, views and claims of scientists … global warming has been a "hot" one lately. So it is gratifying to see that such high standing exists. Which isn’t to say that scientists and the public share the same beliefs, as the following table indicates …

Some scary ones there!

Tom