While we're on the topic of the public being exposed to junk science, consider these other common areas of misconception: Most of us were taught a misleading version of how the greenhouse affect is purported to work, and most people cannot explain the concept of relative humidity without straying into erroneous phrases like "...the percentage of water that the air can hold..." (Air is not a container, and it doesn't hold anything). While I think the teaching of these things should be straightened out, there are probably dozens of other aspects of the USA's science education that are even more in need of attention. The case of the "restoration ecologist" who wasted money planting trees where they couldn't survive is bad, but to me it's not nearly as serious as the fact that a huge percentage of our population don't understand (or at least can't articulate) the basic mechanisms of evolution.
Martin 2011/5/27 David L. McNeely <[email protected]> > ---- Wayne Tyson <[email protected]> wrote: > > (stuff cut) Most people don't have any idea what a moisture gradient is, > but are they well- or ill-informed by science writing that implies or states > outright that roots can detect water and seek it out; that is, that roots > can grow through almost anything, no matter >how dry, to "find" water? (more > stuff cut) > > Of course not. There is nothing we can do about it on this list. I can > teach people with whom I have contact and who are prepared to learn, but not > otherwise. A gradient is a pretty simply notion to convey, btw. > > mcneely >
