Re: OT: are you scientifically literate?

On Mon, 19 Dec 2011 00:52:27 -0500, Wes Groleau
<Groleau+news@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Not a very good test. Several items were way too obscure for even a
"scientifically literate" person. I got some of them just because I
read a lot, though I know little about that field.

Then there were a lot of them that I got by my knowledge of languages,
not my knowledge of science (and a lot that I knew but _could_ have
gotten that way). Or a knowledge of mythology.

And some that I got because I happened to know one tiny part
of the question. When you ask which planet has moons W, X, Y, & Z,
knowing one of them gives the answer. If they had asked me to match all
four to their correct planet, I probably would have missed two
or three.

So, I got 84% FWIW
Sometimes knowing too many things, or thinking you know them, can get
in the way. I knew that the answer to one of the questions was Joule,
but I thought Joule was French (sad mistake, he's actually British)
and went for Watt, because the question said named after a British
physicist.

Like you, it was extraneous information which helped me solve some, as
well as the effect of all "pick the option" tests, that of recognising
the answer when given as a choice. I could not have told you the
answer in some cases, because I didn't know the actual question being
asked (I never knew Venus could cast a shadow, nor that Mars & Mercury
have approximately the same surface gravity), but given the options
available, the answer was obvious.

AS! ds++:+++ a++ c+++ p++ t+ f-- S+ p+ e++ h++ r++ n++ i+ P+ m++ M
I've been ignored by better people than you.
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: OT: are you scientifically literate?
    ... :>knowing one of them gives the answer. ... I knew that the answer to one of the questions was Joule, ... but I thought Joule was French (sad mistake, he's actually British) ... May not be scientific literacy, but some scientific reasoning was involved ...
    (alt.support.diabetes)
  • Re: OT: are you scientifically literate?
    ... "Wes Groleau" wrote in message ... "scientifically literate" person. ... If they had asked me to match all four to their correct planet, I probably would have missed two ... knowing what certain prefixes are in other languages helped with a few. ...
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  • Re: OT: are you scientifically literate?
    ... I knew that the answer to one of the questions was Joule, ... but I thought Joule was French (sad mistake, he's actually British) ... And I didn't notice the "British" part but got the gist of what the answer might be by the question itself apart from the British thing, lol). ... Oh, and I was really stupid with Watt and horsepower, lol. ...
    (alt.support.diabetes)