> only 64% of Americans accept that “humans and other living things have evolved over time”. Meanwhile, 73% of Britons are fine with the idea
it's not great, but to be fair, it's a <10% gap and most people in BOTH countries accept it. I would have thought it was higher than 73% in the UK and the US is higher than i expected.
Given the normal distribution of intelligence, sanity, etc... an ~1/3 failure rate seems reasonable. Some people are disinterested in the topic, fairly stupid, poorly educated, but unaware of the (lack of) value in their views... and are all too happy to share them when polled.
>People don’t reject evolution because they’ve carefully studied the evidence. They reject it because it threatens their identity. This creates a context where education alone can’t overcome deeply held convictions.
I'd say unreflective skepticism of received wisdom post (pre)teen is a core part of "Calvinist" identities, rural or urban
> only 64% of Americans accept that “humans and other living things have evolved over time”. Meanwhile, 73% of Britons are fine with the idea
it's not great, but to be fair, it's a <10% gap and most people in BOTH countries accept it. I would have thought it was higher than 73% in the UK and the US is higher than i expected.
Given the normal distribution of intelligence, sanity, etc... an ~1/3 failure rate seems reasonable. Some people are disinterested in the topic, fairly stupid, poorly educated, but unaware of the (lack of) value in their views... and are all too happy to share them when polled.
Main takeaway:
>People don’t reject evolution because they’ve carefully studied the evidence. They reject it because it threatens their identity. This creates a context where education alone can’t overcome deeply held convictions.
I'd say unreflective skepticism of received wisdom post (pre)teen is a core part of "Calvinist" identities, rural or urban
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Points_of_Calvinism
IME this is sometimes mitigated by identity whiplashes at a young age eg smartest room elephant -> most foolish one
Check Murdoch's percentage control of media in both countries, meaning the anti-science agenda.