Trust Me, I'm a Scientist

Jan. 30, 2015

The American public believes in science — just not its findings What's behind the "debate" over issues like climate change and vaccination? Can evidence change people's minds? A Pew Research Center poll suggests the American public and U.S. scientists are light-years apart on science issues — and 98% of surveyed scientists say it's a problem that we don't know what they're talking about. Some examples: + Genetically modified foods: Eighty-eight percent of scientists say they’re "generally safe" to eat; 37% of the public agrees. + Vaccines: Eighty-six percent of scientists believe they should be required in childhood, compared to 68% of the public. + Climate change: Ninety-four percent of scientists say it’s a “very serious" or "somewhat serious" problem; 6% of the public agrees. While 87% of scientists blame humans, only 50% of the public does too. + Evolution: Ninety-eight percent of scientists say they believe humans evolved over time, compared to 65% of the public. + Ninety-seven percent of the scientists criticized the educational system and see major problems if communities don't invest in science literacy. + "It's not about being smart or dumb," American Association for the Advancement of Science CEO Alan Leshner told the AP. "It's about whether, in fact, you understand the source of the fact and what the facts are." Girls are beating boys in schools everywhere — even in places where they lack basic rights A new study from Gijsbert Stoet of the University of Glasgow and David C. Geary of the University of Missouri found that girls tend to outperform boys in educational achievement in most countries around the world. Even more impressive, the girls' stellar performances extended to countries in which women face major obstacles to social, political, economic or gender inequality. + The report looked at 1.5 million 15-year-olds in 74 countries around the world the world, examining their performance on the Programme for International Student Assessment, a global survey that aims to evaluate education systems worldwide. + In 70% of countries, girls scored significantly better than boys on the standardized test, which includes reading, mathematics and science literacy sections. + Even in places that typically rank poorly when it comes to gender equality, such as Qatar, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, the gap between the sexes is fairly high, and girls come out on top. + Boys did better in just three places: Colombia, Costa Rica and the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.

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Photo of the Day A two-man crew on Thursday beat the 5,209-mile record set in 1981 for gas balloons, crossing the Pacific Ocean from Japan in the process.

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