A Scientific American article says,Just 66 percent of millennials firmly believe that the Earth is round,” read the summary from the pollster YouGov.I just don't find that believable. It might be a fashionable meme to say. It might be people goofing on the poll. SciAm asked YouGov for the data, and found reasons to doubt the result; although their reading of the data brings the number only up to 82.5% of millenials, and 81.8% for the 25-34 crowd. But then, even though they found problems with the data, they conclude
Clearly, despite the discrepancy between the results, younger people are less likely to agree with the scientifically established view of the shape of the Earth.They give more reasons for doubt, but still seem to think some fraction of millenials, ~20%, think the Earth is flat. Even 1/5th of them can't be that stupid, right?
PS: Go to the top of Sandia Peak in New Mexico, outside Albuquerque, and look south, west and north. You can see the curvature.
but still seem to think some fraction of millenials, ~20%, think the Earth is flat.
ReplyDeleteThat's not what the results show. The percentage of 18-24 year-olds reported by yougov as believing the Earth is flat was 4%. In SA's reanalysis it was <2%, not really different from any other age group. The results indicate that 18-24 year-olds are more unsure on the question.
Paul, thanks for that clarification.
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