Gauging America’s Scientific Mind – American Intelligence Test #14

Is America still the leader in scientific research? Questioning America’s dominance in the sciences would have been unthinkable not that long ago; but while Americans probably like to assume that we are still the world leaders in research and discovery, the question cannot and should not be casually dismissed today. This in itself is a serious indication that one of the most salient factors that has benefited America’s competitiveness and buttressed our society and economy is perhaps being indiscriminately frittered away. So whether the US is or is not the world-leader in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics is not the direct subject of this test; but instead this test assesses the issue of who the suspects or even the responsible parties in our national decline. The term ‘science’ will be used in this test to refer to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics solely for brevity purposes.

If you’re not good at tests, don’t worry; if you fail this one it’s only because you have failed many and much more important ones already. If you’re older then you have failed your parents’ test, if you’re simply ‘mature’ then you have failed yourselves and everyone else, and if you’re younger then you are failing yourself but may have time to redeem yourselves. It’s a short test, only five questions, not much to fear.

OK, there is no reason to delay further; this is a discussion that the nation is long overdue in having. It’s test time.

Q-1: Is science a primary political issue in America’s elections?    Yes         No

Q-2: Does the Government have a principle roll in insuring the quality and competitiveness of America’s scientific standings?          Yes         No

Q-3: Are the members of Congress competent to establish national policies for science, intelligent enough to direct funding for scientific programs, and adequately suited for judging the value of the scientific worth and value derived from government funding?    Yes         No

Q-4: Which of the following are responsible for the decline in America’s scientific rankings among other nations?
A. Congress        B: Presidents     C: Media    D: Dept. of Education     E: Democrats     F: Teacher Unions G: Republicans   H: Public      I: Businesses   J: Religious orgs/groups   K: Courts    L: Lawyers

Q-5: From the list of choices given in Q-4 above, which of those entities would you trust to place your life and future, and the lives and futures of your families into based on their decisions and intelligence?

That’s it! And if you’re interested in how well you scored on the test; then the correct answers are:

Q-1 is No,  Q-2 is Yes,  Q-3 is No,   Q-4 is ‘all of them’ (you must have seen this coming), Q-5 is already answered, you have already relied upon these groups to get the nation to where it is; not only in science but also in its economic and societal conditions.

If you want confirmation of these answers, pay attention to the Presidential and other election campaigns that will illuminate the capabilities of our leaders, parties, and special-interests.

The solution is unfortunately only to be found through a scientific approach to dealing with our challenges, problems and needs. So unless you demand more of the people that you elect in these areas than you have in the past, they will continue to ‘believe’ that they are capable of handling America’s scientific paths, priorities, and purposes.

Prior tests can be found at now4yourconsideration sourced at blogspot.com.