How long does it take for the Earth to go around the sun? It’s a simple question.
But when Australians were asked it in a national survey commissioned by the Australian Academy of Science in 2013, only 59 per cent of respondents chose the right answer.
Hopefully we will do better. Victoria University researchers in conjunction with Stuff, are running a similar survey to test our science knowledge. I completed it last weekend, while killing time on the Picton to Wellington ferry.
It took about 25 minutes and the middle part was like a science-themed pub quiz. A couple of the questions gave me pause for thought.
Lasers work by focusing sound waves. True or false? False surely, lasers emit light. But then I’d seen a headline on Facebook a couple of weeks back, about scientists being able to send a whispered message across a room into a person’s ear – using a laser. I briefly had that feeling I often get when watching The Chase, second-guessing myself on seemingly simple questions.
This is why you should do the survey. We all need to take time now and then to test our assumptions about what we think we know to be true.
Life is a blur of decision making and as the British are currently discovering with Brexit, some of the biggest decisions aren’t based on robust evidence, but rely more on our values and attitudes.
Indeed, the more challenging and telling part of the Stuff survey probes our attitudes towards a range of pressing science-related issues facing society. Yes, I answered confidently, I believe that human CO2 emissions cause climate change. It is a fact.
But am I willing to make sacrifices to my standard of living, accept higher prices, drive less and conserve energy, in order to protect the environment? As the ferry’s diesel engines throbbed, that question hung in the air. It is surely the question of the age.
By the way, lasers can send sound across the room. The technique uses what is called the photoacoustic effect. Water vapor in the air absorbs light and forms sound waves. There you have it, light before sound!
The Victoria University survey will be open until April 14 – complete it here.
Originally published on Stuff.co.nz.
PETER GRIFFIN 