![]() ![]() Frustratingly, YouGov was unable or unwilling to provide further assistance. The discrepancy between the data underlying YouGov’s original report and the data provided in the spreadsheet undermined our understanding of both data sets. ![]() And those aged 25–34 turned out to fare a tad worse, with only about 81.8 percent agreeing. Puzzled but undeterred, we used the information in the spreadsheet to calculate acceptance of the round Earth by age groups and found that only about 82.5 percent of millennials (as YouGov called 18–24-year-olds) agreed with “I have always believed the world is round.” That’s still dismayingly low, of course, but it’s not as dismayingly low as 66 percent. But it was impossible to reconcile the data with the original report’s results for a number of technical reasons, most importantly because the spreadsheet’s data were more numerous, reflecting 10,374 respondents as opposed to the report’s 8,215. When we asked YouGov for the actual response frequencies categorized by age, a public relations representative provided a spreadsheet with data. Unfortunately, when we investigated the details, the result was as much confusion as clarity and as many questions as answers. So, anyone concerned about the understanding and acceptance of science in contemporary society-like us, a psychology professor at the Air Force Academy and a long-time staffer at the National Center for Science Education-might be expected to be fascinated by the YouGov survey. ![]() For example, why is the scientifically established view on the shape of the Earth less popular among younger respondents (according to YouGov) when the scientifically established view on the history of life and on the cause of global warming have been, in poll after poll, more popular among younger respondents? Moreover, the results raised a number of compelling questions that deserve attention. ![]() For despite the recent prominence of flat-earthery among musicians and athletes, YouGov’s survey seems to have been the first systematic attempt to assess the American population’s views on the shape of the Earth. Kids today, right? But it’s not only curmudgeons eager to complain about the younger generation who ought to find the survey of interest. “Just 66 percent of millennials firmly believe that the Earth is round,” read the summary from the pollster YouGov. ![]()
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