[extropy-chat] Sacry statistic

[kevinfreels.com]

 I was reading a New York Times article and found the following:

"Dr. Allmon, who directs the Paleontological Research Institution, an affiliate of Cornell University, began the training session here in September with statistics from Gallup Polls: 54 percent of Americans do not believe that human beings evolved from earlier species, and although almost half believe that Darwin has been proved right, slightly more disagree ". It seems to me that as technololgy is advancing, these numbers are getting worse. 

This is scary, yet not surprising. The educational system does a horrible job of teaching evolution. I did not understand it myself until I began some self-directed research while I was in my twenties. The number of children attending private schools is increasing and "Creation Science" seems to be creeping in. Christians are seeing the recent numbers and rallying with religious fervor agains evolution.  How can the US ever expect to remain in the top ranks of biotech while in denail about evolution? Asimov's "Foundation" series comes to mind when I try to picture our future. Will we see the fall of the empire through stagnation, or the Salvor Hardin years where the technology is created and ran by an elite few while the users of the technology have all sorts of religious explanations about how things work.  
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