1) The Sun revolves around the Earth - True or False?
2) What is a molecule?
A) A very small living thing
B) Two or more atoms bonded together
C) A wave
D) Silicon
E) All of the above
3) Which of these is a form of radiation?
A) Radio waves
B) Micro waves
C) Light waves
D) Gamma waves
E) All of the Above
4) Which of the following molecules stores hereditary information?
A) Silicon
B) Water
C) DNA
D) Sperm
E) All of the Above
5) What is a stem cell?
A) A cell which can grow into many different cell types
B) A cell from a cloned mammal
C) A cell which grows into a stem shape
D) A cell from an aborted fetus
E) All of the Above
Not to be all professorial, but I just read this article and it freaked me out. So I want to be sure all of my readers are up to snuff. Write your answers down before clicking the comments link to see which were right. No cheating.
8 comments:
1) False: The Earth revolves around the Sun
2) B (Silicon is an atom, not a molecule. Molecules do not behave as waves, sub-atomic particles like photons do. No single molecule is alive, living things are made of many molecules)
3) E (Electron kinetics or atomic nuclear decay can cause the emission of virtually any kind of electromagnetic wave. For instance highly concentrated plutonium emits lethal levels of gamma waves (or rays) but it also emits light waves, as evidenced by the fact that you can see it glow).
4) C (Silicon and Sperm are not molecules and water does not have the structural complexity to store hereditary information)
5) A (Stem cells can come from many kinds of tissues, so the source of the tissue is not what characterizes a stem cell. A stem cell is better characterized by what it has the potential to become after it has been given a chance to grow.)
a few reflections/comments:
though i also find it abhorent that there is a fragment of the public that is ignorant of basic science, i find the author's premise a bit misguided in that our republic is built on the understanding that the general public will not have perfect or even complete or accurate knowledge of all subjects which the elected representative will be asked to cast votes on. We elect representatives based on our belief that their viewpoints/ideologies reflect our viewpoints/ideologies and as such they will invest the time to gain the in-depth knowledge of an issue and then vote as we would if we were also to have the time to study the subject in the depth that they are supposed to. Of course there are a lot of suppositions in this republican (little 'r') form of government and as most things human do it is vastly imperfect. This means that if an individual believes in a geocentric system of planets then she would want to also elect a representative that shares their belief. Are they idiots? Yes. Does that mean that they are any less deserving of the right to vote for an rep that shares their view? No. Our national ideology in a republican form of government asks that voters be informed, but it makes no distinction on how they are informed or that they be 'correctly' informed, but there are times when 'correct' information is also up to debate.
because i dont remember how to spell you last name so you gmail account does me no good! :)
http://s33.photobucket.com/albums/d98/sabotabby/?action=view¤t=libertarianbingo_big.jpg
Tell me who you are anonymous,a nd I'll send you an email. Nice link.
Spike I essentially agree with all of your points. I basically stopped caring about what the rest of the article said when I learned that a third of Americans believe the sun revolves around the Earth. As in blow-my-mind shocked. I also get that your comment speaks in part to what you didn't like about the movie "idiocracy".
But despite all that, just at the most basic level, don't you think this would be a better country if we were all better educated? even just a little? Isn't that really the main point?
of course i owuld love for there to be a higher level of education in america, but again the country has since its very origins been an anti-intellectual/anti-elisist space (of course this ideology of body vs mind benfits certain classes but we can get into that later). there needs to be a wholesale rethinking of what america is and what america wants to be because our education system is hampered precisely because education/thinking/reality are anathema to many americans. :)
oh btw, i am anon who needs your email address! :)
Ah, OK well I've just sent you an email to your various email addresses.
Is it a coincidence that students receive substandard education in the US?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PpMdTmVMpo
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