Are you smarter than an American?

[brendude13]

allenmaher said:

brendude13 said:

allenmaher said:
How is it that 93% of respondents did not know all of these very basic things?

I wouldn't call them very basic.

I teach first year earth sciences at a university and I would expect anyone coming out of highschool to already know all of these things.  So from my perspective I would consider them very basic.  But there is seldom enough emphasis put on sciences in the school system, even though it is vital to understanding the world and yourself.  So for those who went through a lackluster education system you may be right. The survey speaks volumes about the need for more science litteracy in society.

Then you expect too much.

Only around 6/13 of those questions were strictly tought at my school. I'd say 4/13 were common sense and the other 3/13 were more obscure general knowledge.

Either way, I wouldn't look down on somebody for getting a few wrong.