Take the 'ignorance' test

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These questions are based on highly specific numerical information. I know my car needs petrol but I have no idea if it is 30%, 20% or 10% full. I know enough to know what I need to do: fill it up.
 
So I just took the test and scored every one right. What does that prove? Likely nothing. I admit to not understanding how answering questions with 3 choices randomly will yield a 50% score, so there are some biased reporting going on. I guess I should not be surprised, though.
 
StephieNorthCo said:
So I just took the test and scored every one right. What does that prove? Likely nothing. I admit to not understanding how answering questions with 3 choices randomly will yield a 50% score, so there are some biased reporting going on. I guess I should not be surprised, though.
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The Ted Talk video gives it better perspective. Monkeys guess closer to the truth than educated people
It’s relevant in that it shows we don’t really understand what progress has been made on global problems and what is the current scope

The Ted video is below
https://www.gapminder.org/ignorance/

Here are the results of the US survey

 
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Disliked the questions about population growth. Multiple schools of thought exist; some models predict lower populations. Moreover, world population increases via a number of factors.
 
1john418 said:
Disliked the questions about population growth. Multiple schools of thought exist; some models predict lower populations. Moreover, world population increases via a number of factors.
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ingBut reference the UN projection seems a reasonable thing for such a quiz.
 
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Interesting quiz!

It’s like that video I once saw, that many people think that having a baby now would be the worse timing—history wise. And then they show expectant couples that the exact opposite is true.

It’s great to challenge our perception, because it is sometimes very biased. 🙃
 
Maybe it’s the teacher in me, but I would have liked this quiz so much more if, after each question, they had commented on the question, rather than who got it right.

I know, the quiz is supposed to show our ignorance – “oh, look at all of us modern idiots, don’t know what’s going on in the world” – just like those copies of “eighth grade graduation tests from 1900,” but I still think it would have been great to learn about how literacy among adults has risen to 80%, or how we’ve managed to get 80% of the world’s children vaccinated for measles.

I only got two right. Big whoop. These statistics are not as important to me as the 550 children I teach day in and day out. Ask me any one of their names, or ask me to match them up with their family members, and I’ll be pushing 80-90% on most days. Now that’s the sort of knowledge that can make a difference in the world. :+1:t4:
 
Hans Rosling was right to point out how many in the West think the worst of third world countries. They do face many challenges but some of the good things are completely overlooked. For example, there are remarkable innovative ideas and technological advancements coming from the Africa continent but most aren’t even aware of them. And many from Africa, particularly those whose lives have improved a lot in the past few years, feel there’s too much negativity in how Western media cover the continent.
 
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ATraveller said:
Hans Rosling was right to point out how many in the West think the worst of third world countries. They do face many challenges but some of the good things are completely overlooked. For example, there are remarkable innovative ideas and technological advancements coming from the Africa continent but most aren’t even aware of them. And many from Africa, particularly those whose lives have improved a lot in the past few years, feel there’s too much negativity in how Western media cover the continent.
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This little quiz would have been a great opportunity to dispel some of that ignorance, but instead they used the few minutes we gave them to tell us who’s the most ignorant. Again, it’s the teacher in me, but this platform could have been used for so much more good.
 
He was a brilliant man.
Here’s how Dr. Rosling challenged those who fear overpopulation:


And here’s him presenting some statistics with fancy graphics:

 
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Gertabelle said:
This little quiz would have been a great opportunity to dispel some of that ignorance, but instead they used the few minutes we gave them to tell us who’s the most ignorant. Again, it’s the teacher in me, but this platform could have been used for so much more good.
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I think he’s trying to shake up your belief that the perceptions most have are the opposite of fact. Making people question standard thought is an important break. He’s less concerned about the individual facts.
 
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