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[Phys-l] Solving American Stupidity



Two points:

1. Regardless of who is pushing for their agenda and what that is, the fact remains that the USA has not been doing well in a large number of measures of knowledge. Not just scientific knowledge either. The recent survey on the content of the Bible where atheists demonstrated substantially better biblical knowledge than the average Christian shows that this knowledge issue is diverse and wide spread.

So it seems to me that accusing each other of being the source is of marginal use. What realistic things can we do to help solve the problem? For starters it almost certainly needs a political solution as part of it. Lets face it, they hold the microphone and also the purse strings. But what else will it take and what can we do as science educators? Judging Science Fair and doing outreach traveling physics shows is all great, but it isn't making a big dent.

The problem is that the intellectuals (of either party) are not connecting with the population on anything beyond a gut response of anger be it against oil companies or against climate research.

So I come back to the question of WHAT CAN I DO? I've already given up a high paying job in industry to push the education agenda, but it is only reaching a small few. Yes, I can do conceptual physics to the few hundred introductory students that I might have access to in my classes, but that isn't doing much for the overall problem. How do we get the public to understand that evidence and data are valuable and should be considered, even when it is uncomfortable? How do we get people to place value in knowing more about our world, our economy, our history, etc.

If we can get a focused program going then we might have a chance to get people to read, to listen, to question.

Respecting each other is a good first step and agreeing to work hard to a solution. I just don't know what that solution is.

2. In reply to the message segment below, it is not hard to find the anti-intellectualism in the Republican Party, at the moment at least, it is harder to find it in the Democratic Party. Anyone who thinks Utah isn't hopelessly right wing is not reading the news. There is an open distrust and anger between the state's flagship university, the University of Utah, and the state legislature. Looking a bit wider, several elections ago Karl Rove made an attack on Al Gore calling him a "know-it-all." The obvious implication is that we don't want a president that is a knows anything, that being knowledgeable is uncool and unwanted. By any definition that strikes me as being anit-intellectualism.

There are other examples (listen to a bit of Christine O'Donnell for example, or, shudder, look up statements by Utah state senator Chris Butters) but I don't want this post to be about politics directly. What I want are suggestions for solutions to our abysmal lack of interest (on average) in science and engineering. Solutions that we, as educators, can put in place to make a real dent. After all, that is part of what we have been hired to do.

John

- - - - - - - - -
John E. Sohl, Ph.D.
Professor of Physics
Weber State University
2508 University Circle
Ogden, UT 84408-2508

voice: (801) 626-7907, fax: (801) 626-7445
cell: (801) 476-0589
e-mail: jsohl@weber.edu


marx@phy.ilstu.edu> 11/9/2010 3:02 PM >> ( mailto:marx@phy.ilstu.edu )
I have also failed to see the anti-intellectualism in the Tea Party that you all have
spoken about. You are speaking in stereotypes and repeating things you've heard without taking time
to find out what people really think.