1 in 4 "Americans" Don't Know Earth Orbits the Sun.

[Zioneer]

I think I worked on the Canadian version of this survey.

Do the results actually surprise anyone here?

I was unaware that one in four Americans were that stupid. I mean come on, that was one of the first things I was taught in first or second grade (i.e., when I was 8 years old).

[Zioneer]

I'm not especially alarmed by this. A number of people have little to no interest in astronomy, and for most people, advancing personal knowledge of astronomy offers little to no benefit.

I live in a very religious state which isn't especially known for science. I learned this in 1st grade in public school. This is very, very basic. How do people not remember that the earth revolves around the sun? It's basic, 2+2=4 stuff.

Oh, and it gets worse, the majority of young people think astrology is a science (though I suspect they're confusing it with astronomy or trolling.

And only half know that antibiotics don't kill viruses.

The thing is, 90% of Americans also say that they love science and hope that scientific research gets more government funding.

[Zioneer]

As someone who teaches astronomy, I can say I'm not surprised, and it's not about religion or politics. Moderate has part of the answer - people generally don't retain facts that don't apply to their everyday lives. Xahar also has part of the answer, when people hear an unexpected or unfamiliar question they easily misunderstand the question. One of the best predictors for success in college physics or astronomy at the introductory level is not one's math skill, but rather one's reading skill.

But astronomy doesn't apply to my everyday life and I still retain that information. I don't understand why it's so difficult to retain such a basic fact. I'm a history guy, I don't do math or science. By that logic I shouldn't be able to remember that the earth revolves around the sun.