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The Challenge Network www.chforum.org

Scenario working paper

Scenario working paper

Development and knowledge: rich-world ignorance

Development and knowledge: rich-world ignorance

It is possible to overstate the amount of knowledge that it takes to develop an economy. Not all people in the wealthy countries are very well informed. Here are some examples.

From Tate Survey, California 2003

Participants who:

17%	Agreed that the government was manipulated by non-human forces
27	Agreed that the government were hiding fundamental truths about humanity
11	Believed that they had personally met an extraterrestrial
36	Agree that scientists were consciously acting to turn people away from religion
46	Agree that astrology plays a major role in their decision-taking
38	Believe that good or bad luck is more than chance/ is a coherent force
51	Believe that the dead can communicate with the living

From Research! America 1999

Levels of understanding of science:

‹5%	have basic technical understanding of the term 'energy'
10	understand the term 'molecule'
20	understand the term 'DNA'
‹50	understand that an electron is very small as compared to an atom
‹50	understand that the Earth orbits the Sun yearly
50	understand that dinosaurs existed and became extinct before humans arose
60	humanities students class science as 'irrelevant' to their lives

From UK Student Survey 2004

Participants who:

33%	Did not know that milk came from cows.
18	Thought that tap water came from special wells
41	Agreed that eating "organic" food made you thinner
54	Could not name one ingredient of bread
18	Could not name the ruling political party
74	Could name five cabinet ministers
67	Could name four cabinet ministers
44	Could name three cabinet ministers
32	Could name two cabinet ministers
27	Thought that a cabinet minister was automatically in the House of Lords
31	Thought that civil servants were members of Parliament
26	Thought that votes placed in Scotland influenced who won English seats in Parliament
32	Thought that European law did not apply in Britain
42	Thought that social security payments and pensions did not come from taxation

EuroStat 2004 reported that:

57%	German citizens thought that Germany state is more than 200 years old
45	Italians thought that Italian state is more than 200 years old
18	Europeans cannot place Mexico on the map
39	Europeans cannot place Belgium on the map
26	Europeans cannot place Poland on the map
87	Europeans cannot place Lithuania on the map.
22	Europeans think that the European Parliament is made up of national Presidents.
78	Europeans have not heard of the Council of Ministers.
34	Europeans think that the European Commission is a law court.
84	Europeans did not know that there is a Parliament building in Strasbourg
26	Europeans did not know that there is a Parliament building in Brussels
33	Europeans did not know that Brussels is in Belgium