“…who is totally unacquainted with the revolution of the Sun and Moon, and the other stars…All freemen, I conceive, should learn as much of these branches of knowledge as every child in Egypt is taught when he learns the alphabet…I…have late in life heard with amazement of our ignorance in these matters; to me we appear to be more like pigs than men, and I am quite ashamed, not only of myself, but of all Greeks”
-Plato
Laws Book VII
“Scientific results and conclusions are only valuable to a civilization of they can be successfully communicated both verbally and in writing. This scientific method depends on independent verification of experimental data which is impossible without accurate written communication.”
- Steven A. Kuhl
IPFW Biology Professor
The Problem The act alone of representing the universe and how it works using the limitations of language is a difficult task. Then having to represent that knowledge accurately and in a way the general public can understand is even more difficult. Thistle (1958) found that by the time scientific information reaches the public, only an unbelievable one ten thousandth of a percent of the research findings are understood by the general audience.
What is Scientific Literacy?
Scientific literacy is, “an acquaintance with science, technology, and medicine, popularized to various degrees, on the part of the general public and special sectors of the public through information in the mass media and education in and out of schools” (Shen, 1975).
Civic scientific literacy refers to having enough scientific knowledge to solve everyday problems as an individual in a technologically-advanced society (Shen, 1975; Fernandez et al., 2009).
Practical scientific literacy: “the possession of the kind of scientific knowledge that can be used to help solve practical problems” (Shen, 1975).
Cultural Scientific Literacy: “Cultural science literacy is motivated by a desire to know something about science literacy as a major human achievement…It solves no practical problems, but it does help bridge the widening gulf between the ‘two cultures’ ” (Shen, 1975).
Historical Overview
The dilemma of how to properly communicate scientific information to the public has been present since the time of Plato (Sagan, 1975; Shamos, 1995).
Expanding science knowledge flourished during the 17th and 18th century, in part by the industrial revolution and the many scientific discoveries of the 17th century (Shamos, 1995).
The late 19th century until World War I communicating science did not hold priority among scholars (Shen, 1975).
The scientific literacy movement in the United States rose out of the post-Sputnik era of the 1960’s when the American government realized its need to expand science knowledge in order to not fall behind other countries (Paisley, 1998).
What I plan to research:
Overall research question: How can professionals help to enhance scientific literacy in America, specifically within the general public?
Regarding Paper One: I plan to concentrate on the relationship between the level of scientific knowledge and religiosity.
Is religiosity a determining factor in the amount of scientific knowledge among the general public?