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People are sure about smoking causing cancer, but not the big bang theory
According to a recent poll, many Americans question wither or not the big bang theory is accurate. Note that we aren’t talking about the hit TV show here. Rather we are talking about the theory on how our universe formed.
The survey was conducted by the Associated Press-GfK reports Fox News. While many Americans aren’t sure about the big bang theory, when it comes to smoking causing cancer or generics determining who they are Americans are sure.
The survey asked people to rater their confidence in statements about science and medicine. Only 4% of people doubt that smoking causes cancer and only 6% question if mental illness affects the brain. Only 8% are skeptical of the genes locked away in our cells.
The survey found that over 15% of people have concerns about the safety of childhood vaccines. Out of those surveyed, 4 in ten aren’t confident or outright disbelieve that global warming is happening. When it comes to the big bang theory, 51% question whether it is accurate.
“Science ignorance is pervasive in our society, and these attitudes are reinforced when some of our leaders are openly antagonistic to established facts,” said 2013 Nobel Prize in medicine winner Randy Schekman of the University of California, Berkeley.
One scientist said that to the public most often “values and beliefs trump science.”
“When you are putting up facts against faith, facts can’t argue against faith,” said 2012 Nobel Prize winning biochemistry professor Robert Lefkowitz of Duke University. “It makes sense now that science would have made no headway because faith is untestable.”