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Topic: Americans fail science< Next Oldest | Next Newest >
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Malcolm Search for posts by this member.
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PostIcon Posted on: Sep. 11 2015,10:28  Skip to the next post in this topic. Ignore posts   QUOTE

HAHAHAHAHA.  A "D" technically isn't failing, but back in uni, any grade in a hard science class below "C" wasn't accepted.

Edited by Malcolm on Sep. 11 2015,10:29

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PostIcon Posted on: Sep. 11 2015,10:48 Skip to the previous post in this topic. Skip to the next post in this topic. Ignore posts   QUOTE

Some Americans fail science.  Of the questions they listed in TFA, I knew all of them.

I'd guess about 90% of Americans would not get 100% of the questions correct.


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PostIcon Posted on: Sep. 11 2015,10:58 Skip to the previous post in this topic. Skip to the next post in this topic. Ignore posts   QUOTE

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More than 1 in 5 (22 percent) of those taking the test said astronomy was “the study of how the positions of stars and planets can influence human behavior.” The answer they should have given was astrology.

That should constitute failure right there.


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Diogenes of Sinope:

"It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."

"Other dogs bite only their enemies, whereas I bite also my friends in order to save them."

Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC:

"Better dead than smeg."
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Alhazad Search for posts by this member.
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PostIcon Posted on: Sep. 11 2015,13:43 Skip to the previous post in this topic. Skip to the next post in this topic. Ignore posts   QUOTE


(Malcolm @ Sep. 11 2015,10:58)
QUOTE
QUOTE
More than 1 in 5 (22 percent) of those taking the test said astronomy was “the study of how the positions of stars and planets can influence human behavior.” The answer they should have given was astrology.

That should constitute failure right there.

Both answers are wrong, as is the question. There is no "study", only generalizations that encourage self-sorting.


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Malcolm Search for posts by this member.
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PostIcon Posted on: Sep. 11 2015,14:51 Skip to the previous post in this topic. Skip to the next post in this topic. Ignore posts   QUOTE


(Alhazad @ Sep. 11 2015,15:43)
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(Malcolm @ Sep. 11 2015,10:58)
QUOTE
QUOTE
More than 1 in 5 (22 percent) of those taking the test said astronomy was “the study of how the positions of stars and planets can influence human behavior.” The answer they should have given was astrology.

That should constitute failure right there.

Both answers are wrong, as is the question. There is no "study", only generalizations that encourage self-sorting.

After further thought, astronomy is the correct answer, even though they don't intend it to be.

If you interpret "stars and planets" to be "any celestial body," you can argue the moon influences tides influences us.  Even if you take the phrase literally, one can argue our behaviour is influenced by the position of the sun relative to our planet.


--------------
Diogenes of Sinope:

"It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."

"Other dogs bite only their enemies, whereas I bite also my friends in order to save them."

Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC:

"Better dead than smeg."
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PostIcon Posted on: Sep. 11 2015,14:59 Skip to the previous post in this topic. Skip to the next post in this topic. Ignore posts   QUOTE


(Malcolm @ Sep. 11 2015,14:51)
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After further thought, astronomy is the correct answer, even though they don't intend it to be.

If you interpret "stars and planets" to be "any celestial body," you can argue the moon influences tides influences us.  Even if you take the phrase literally, one can argue our behaviour is influenced by the position of the sun relative to our planet.

So the real answer would be that branch of astronomy that intersects with human behavior. 'Celestial navigation'?


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PostIcon Posted on: Sep. 11 2015,15:00 Skip to the previous post in this topic. Skip to the next post in this topic. Ignore posts   QUOTE

Think of all the times they tide has influenced a construction project, battle at some point in time, etc.  We didn't know how/why tides happened until we started doing serious physics and astronomy.  We have, by definition, understood how the moon influenced our history and engineering.  The relative position of the sun to the Earth is what allows life to exist, something we also didn't know until astronomy, and that helps along biology which helps along anthropology.  Without astronomy, we wouldn't know exactly how seasons work.  If that last bit hasn't directed humanity's development, I don't know what has.  How about all the big-ass monuments ancient societies built to function as sophisticated calendars?  Lots of man-hours have gone into those things, all for the purpose of tracking things in the sky.  Did they attribute some bullshit to those movements?  Sure.  Gods weren't chasing each other across the heavens doing battle every day, that's just dawn and dusk.  They probably also knew when the growing and harvesting seasons were coming, as well as winter, thanks to the stars.  They navigated the oceans by the stars.

Whoever wrote the question was also stupid.


Edited by Malcolm on Sep. 11 2015,15:09

--------------
Diogenes of Sinope:

"It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."

"Other dogs bite only their enemies, whereas I bite also my friends in order to save them."

Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC:

"Better dead than smeg."
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PostIcon Posted on: Sep. 11 2015,15:26 Skip to the previous post in this topic. Skip to the next post in this topic. Ignore posts   QUOTE

So, the correct answer to "What is the study of how the positions of stars and planets can influence human behavior?" would be anthropology.

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PostIcon Posted on: Sep. 11 2015,15:53 Skip to the previous post in this topic. Skip to the next post in this topic. Ignore posts   QUOTE

Theology

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PostIcon Posted on: Sep. 11 2015,15:55 Skip to the previous post in this topic. Skip to the next post in this topic. Ignore posts   QUOTE


(TPRJones @ Sep. 11 2015,15:53)
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Theology

No, stars and planets are real.

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PostIcon Posted on: Sep. 11 2015,16:02 Skip to the previous post in this topic. Skip to the next post in this topic. Ignore posts   QUOTE

Their influence on the daily lives of individual humans is not real.  Not in the way the question was apparently intended.

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PostIcon Posted on: Sep. 11 2015,16:45 Skip to the previous post in this topic. Skip to the next post in this topic. Ignore posts   QUOTE

The sun is a star though.

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PostIcon Posted on: Sep. 11 2015,17:18 Skip to the previous post in this topic. Skip to the next post in this topic. Ignore posts   QUOTE

It's position has no bearing, however.

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PostIcon Posted on: Sep. 11 2015,18:28 Skip to the previous post in this topic. Skip to the next post in this topic. Ignore posts   QUOTE

I know you're not stupid, so I'm going to assume I don't understand your point.

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PostIcon Posted on: Sep. 11 2015,21:01 Skip to the previous post in this topic. Skip to the next post in this topic. Ignore posts   QUOTE


(TPRJones @ Sep. 11 2015,19:18)
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It's position has no bearing, however.

Bah.  There are approximately 93M reasons why the position of the sun is important.

--------------
Diogenes of Sinope:

"It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."

"Other dogs bite only their enemies, whereas I bite also my friends in order to save them."

Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC:

"Better dead than smeg."
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PostIcon Posted on: Sep. 11 2015,21:04 Skip to the previous post in this topic. Skip to the next post in this topic. Ignore posts   QUOTE

No there aren't.  There's 93M reasons why the current rotational attitude of the earth is important.  

The position of the sun has nothing to do with where it appears in our sky.  Contrary to the opinion of some, the sun is not rotating around the earth.

EDIT: Yeah, I'm a real pain in the ass lately.  The nits, I pick 'em.  But given the original purpose of this discussion I think this particular nit is somewhat appropriate.


Edited by TPRJones on Sep. 11 2015,21:08

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PostIcon Posted on: Sep. 11 2015,21:08 Skip to the previous post in this topic. Skip to the next post in this topic. Ignore posts   QUOTE

I don't give a fuck where it appears in the sky.  I care about its proximity to the planet and that it's somewhere between too close and too far.

--------------
Diogenes of Sinope:

"It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."

"Other dogs bite only their enemies, whereas I bite also my friends in order to save them."

Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC:

"Better dead than smeg."
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PostIcon Posted on: Sep. 11 2015,21:13 Skip to the previous post in this topic. Skip to the next post in this topic. Ignore posts   QUOTE

Technically still more about the position of the earth than that of the sun.

Edited by TPRJones on Sep. 11 2015,21:13

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PostIcon Posted on: Sep. 11 2015,21:31 Skip to the previous post in this topic. Skip to the next post in this topic. Ignore posts   QUOTE

I heard somewhere that the Moon doesn't orbit the Earth.  It orbits the Sun along with the Earth.

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PostIcon Posted on: Sep. 11 2015,21:33 Skip to the previous post in this topic.  Ignore posts   QUOTE


(TPRJones @ Sep. 11 2015,21:04)
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No there aren't.  There's 93M reasons why the current rotational attitude of the earth is important.  

The position of the sun has nothing to do with where it appears in our sky.  Contrary to the opinion of some, the sun is not rotating around the earth.

EDIT: Yeah, I'm a real pain in the ass lately.  The nits, I pick 'em.  But given the original purpose of this discussion I think this particular nit is somewhat appropriate.

The earth is not really orbiting the sun, either, but I'm not pedantic enough to point it out. And because the earth orbits elliptically, the sun's varying position is slightly important, especially to sundial societies.

And like Mal implied, if something (rogue supermassive hole) should lengthen or shorten the orbit of the sun or earth, we'd be pretty fucked.


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