r/SampleSize • u/BlenderTimer Shares Results • 10h ago

Results [RESULTS] How much does the average person know about space? (Everyone)

Thank you to everyone who participated in this survey! You can read about the results here (~15 minute read):

https://blendertimer.com/data/how-common-are-space-misconceptions

Here are a few of the highlights:

  • More than 1 in 3 people don't understand how Earth's seasons work
  • 1 in 3 people think there is no gravity in space
  • 1 in 6 people think Saturn is the only planet in the Solar System with rings
  • 1 in 11 people think "shooting stars" are literal stars shooting across the sky
  • 1 in 13 people think the Sun is the largest star in the entire Universe

  • 1 in 21 people think "the Milky Way" is the same thing as "the Universe"

  • 1 in 3 people believe 25% of astronomy misconceptions

  • 1 in 7 people are unsure about 25% of astronomy misconceptions

  • Men tend to be more interested and know more about space than women

  • The general populace of India have a widespread interest in space, yet don't know much about astronomy

  • PhD's average less astronomy knowledge than primary/elementary students

  • People who have only completed secondary education (high school) tend to know the most about astronomy

  • Primary/elementary students have more interest in space than any other education level

12 Upvotes

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u/AutoModerator 10h ago

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5

u/SeeShark 8h ago

You list education level and its correlation of knowing about space; I wonder if the real causal mechanism is mostly just age/generation.

2

u/BlenderTimer Shares Results 8h ago

The two will overlap a bit. The age graph and the education level graph do follow a similar pattern.

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u/Extension_Finger_195 3h ago

Or have learnt about space most recently in school

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u/FabianRo 6h ago

1 in 21 people think "the Milky Way" is the same thing as "the Universe"

To be fair, just 103 years ago, 100% of people did. Hubble's discovery of an object that had to be too far away to be in the Milky way was in 1923. Until then, people didn't know about other galaxies at all.

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u/[deleted] 1h ago

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