Not Doing Copernicus Proud

More sobering news regarding problems with basic scientific literacy in our culture, a white paper (PDF) on the Public Understanding of Science reveals the following:

Only half of US adults know that the Earth rotates around the Sun once each year (NSB, 2000). One in five US adults say that the Sun rotates around the Earth, and 14 percent of US adults think that the Earth rotates around the Sun once each day (see Figure 2). A comparative study with Britain in 1988 found that only one-third of British adults understood that the Earth rotates around the Sun once each year … The level of adult understanding of the solar system shows little change over the last decade.

It's ironic that at one time the work of Copernicus et al was suppressed by those in power because ideas like the earth revolving around the sun were so revolutionary and presented a threat to the established view. Now, centuries later, the concepts of celestial mechanics are readily available and are universally taught, yet 1 in 5 US adults still hold a 15th Century understanding of our solar system.

On a positive note, anyone taking even the briefest look at the Rotation/Revolution of Near-Earth Planets Gizmo will come away with a clear understanding that the Earth does indeed rotate around the Sun.