Why are people not so interested in Astronomy?

[Ophiolite]

 

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Such people are a lost cause, and it's sheer waste of time trying to make them interested in Astronomy. Or Science in general. They really don't want to know. All they're interested in is beer and copulation.

I believe Galileo was fond of these too.

Edited March 11, 2014 by Ophiolite

[imatfaal]

Such people are a lost cause, and it's sheer waste of time trying to make them interested in Astronomy. Or Science in general. They really don't want to know. All they're interested in is beer and copulation.

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I believe Galileo was fond of these too.

Too true. And one of the greatest works of antiquity - possibly of all time - is called the "drink's party" and is about love and sex

[orogenicman]

Hi imatfaal. I don't doubt that the skies are a bit darker here than in London. Still, we had to locate our observatory 55 miles away (and in another state) in order to have sufficiently dark skies. I think light pollution is a serious problem for every industrialized country. Unfortunately, most people don't understand how bad it really is.

Dekan, I agree that most people aren't interested in astronomy. But then, that has always been true. Having said that, the fact that we have managed to interest over 6,000 people in our programs in just one year says a lot about our efforts to inform the public. So I have to disagree with your conclusion that it is a lost cause.

[swansont]

Let's face it - only a minority of Intelligent people is interested in astronomy.

 

Probably true of any hobby, though. Only a minority of people are interested in brewing their own beer, or in knitting, or many other things.

 

The main thrust of the OP were the reasons, though, and I don't think he made a very good case. Of the ones given, I think only light pollution is a plausible detriment of any significance.

[ajb]

The few open events that have been run by astronomical societies that I have attended (not always as a member) have always been well attended by people with really no more than a passing interest in astronomy. So yes, some people are interested in astronomy and a small proportion of them will then be regular observers.

 

Personally, I am interested in astronomy, but my interest comes and goes over the years depending on where I am and what else I have to do!

[Airbrush]

Ok, I'll sum it up.

 

1- Space isn't accessible

2- Big Numbers

3- It usually doesn't benefit us

4- Astronomy education could be better

5- light pollution in big cities.

 

If you can think of something else, keep listing.

1 - Space is accessible to robotic probes, soon humans will be on the Moon, Mars, and then the asteroids.

 

2 - Yes, this is my pet peeve about scientists. When speeds are higher than one mile per SECOND, or if you grew up in a metric country, higher than one kilometer per SECOND, always give speeds in units per seconds. Not thousands or millions of miles per HOUR. The average persons eyes glaze over. That is beyond experience. Use experience in your favor, say 5 miles per SECOND, don't say 18 thousand miles per hour, like a nerd. Anything higher than several thousands sounds all alike to me. One SECOND IS within experience. (Also rpms, revolutions per minute, should be rps, revolutions per SECOND. Anyone can visualize that. Same for the height of an airplane, it is 5.2 MILES high, not 27 thousand FEET. The machine gun fires 10 rounds per SECOND, not 600 rounds per minute. And so on and so forth. Sorry, I'm done ranting. I like "Astronomy" magazine because they give numbers in both metric AND US.

 

3 - The space program has spin off technologies useful in other industries.

 

4 - Yes, Astronomy education COULD be better. Who could NOT love astronomy after being able to grasp it with common experience. The Science and History channels often have interesting programs about astronomy. Looks great on my 55" HD TV!

 

5 - Yes

Edited March 12, 2014 by Airbrush

[Cosmobrain]

1 - Space is accessible to robotic probes, soon humans will be on the Moon, Mars, and then the asteroids.

 

Tell me one person you know (friend, family member, etc.) that has sent a probe into space. Just one is enough for me

 

Let's face it - only a minority of Intelligent people is interested in astronomy. Sadly, the majority of the population isn't. No amount of well-meaning "access to dark skies, access to good scopes, and informed members to answer their questions", can ever enlighten them. They'd rather sit in front of their TV's and watch mindless stuff like the "X-Factor" or "American Idol".

 

Such people are a lost cause, and it's sheer waste of time trying to make them interested in Astronomy. Or Science in general. They really don't want to know. All they're interested in is beer and copulation.

 

This is a hard fact to accept. But it's been known throughout history. Which is why the Ancient Greeks invented the term "Philosopher", ie "lover of wisdom". They did that to distinguish elite "scientists", from the masses, who couldn't care less. And that still holds true today. Just try having an intelligent conversation about astronomy, or science, with most people you meet in everyday life. The dumb hicks don't know what you're talking about.

 

Thank goodness for an elite refuge like SFN!

I agree with every single word you said. Also, people will only care about something if that something can be dangerous or harmful to them. Otherwise they won't care less about, say, how a magnet can magically "glue" itself to a fridge.

 

I don't want to sound like an asshole, but geez, there are people who still blindly believe in the legend of the flying zombie jew.

Edited March 12, 2014 by Bonerfart

[Airbrush]

Tell me one person you know (friend, family member, etc.) that has sent a probe into space. Just one is enough for me

Why should it be someone that I know? Space agencies all over the world are currently working on space probes and space telescopes. New Horizons is on its' way to Pluto. What about the dozens of missions to the Moon and other planets? With miniaturization probes will get faster, more sophisticated and capable. They will "bring us with them" on a virtual voyage to other Earths.

[Cosmobrain]

Why should it be someone that I know? Space agencies all over the world are currently working on space probes and space telescopes. New Horizons is on its' way to Pluto. What about the dozens of missions to the Moon and other planets? With miniaturization probes will get faster, more sophisticated and capable. They will "bring us with them" on a virtual voyage to other Earths.

Sorry but I disagree. So far only governments have managed to explore space. It's gotta be more open to the public in general. Go to the street right now and ask a random stranger if he knows the New Horizons spacecraft, for example. He won't know it.

It has gotta be more open to the public, or at least the space agencies should do something more interesting, like I said in the article, a reality show on Mars. THAT will bring the public with them

[Airbrush]

Sorry but I disagree. So far only governments have managed to explore space. It's gotta be more open to the public in general. Go to the street right now and ask a random stranger if he knows the New Horizons spacecraft, for example. He won't know it.

It has gotta be more open to the public, or at least the space agencies should do something more interesting, like I said in the article, a reality show on Mars. THAT will bring the public with them

"Sorry but you disagree"? Hahahahahahahaha.

 

Yes, governments have been the only ones, so far, that can afford to work on space missions, and build aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines, infrastructure, etc. etc. Why are you only looking back? Why not look FORWARD? Space X is a private company that works for NASA. There will be more, this is only the beginning.

 

"It's gotta be more open to the public"?

 

Let's have better science education in high schools. A good teacher can set his class on fire about ANY science, IF he or she is clever. I totally hated my high school physics and chemistry classes, because I had many more interesting things to do. In college I had a few good profs in physics, biology, and astronomy. That set me on fire about science! Just tell people about the Science Channel or History Channel on cable TV. There are some wildly speculative documentaries, but there are also good science programs for the general public.

 

You can bet that when people are walking around on Mars, there will be all kinds of public interest. And, yes, have a Mars-based reality show.

Edited March 14, 2014 by Airbrush

[swansont]

Point #1, if true, would imply that people were not interested at all in astronomy before ca. 1960.

[ccwebb]

Airbrush you beat me to it...

 

Sorry but I disagree. So far only governments have managed to explore space. It's gotta be more open to the public in general. Go to the street right now and ask a random stranger if he knows the New Horizons spacecraft, for example. He won't know it.
It has gotta be more open to the public, or at least the space agencies should do something more interesting, like I said in the article, a reality show on Mars. THAT will bring the public with them

 

It is very expensive simply purchasing an airline ticket (say $300 - $1000). The price jumps to nearly $62,000 if you wish to become a simple commercial pilot! It even skyrockets (pun intended) if you want to build a rocket that can reach the low orbit. Of course only governments can explore space, but not for long! (Space X)

 

So people like me are stuck to studying news releases and programs on tv to get our fix. Living in a big city, all you can make out is the moon, Venus and only parts of Orion. So of course the interest is going to wane some...

 

However, look at Mars-One. A company trying to colonize Mars. They had over 200,000 applications! That does not sound like a lack of interest.

[swansont]

An effort to map the craters on the moon via crowdsourcing. Sounds like plenty of people are interested

http://cosmoquest.org/x/press-releases/press-release-cosmoquests-moonmappers-shows-everyday-people-can-map-the-moon/

[Cosmobrain]

An effort to map the craters on the moon via crowdsourcing. Sounds like plenty of people are interested

http://cosmoquest.org/x/press-releases/press-release-cosmoquests-moonmappers-shows-everyday-people-can-map-the-moon/

that means nothing

Edited March 16, 2014 by Bonerfart

[Ophiolite]

It has gotta be more open to the public, or at least the space agencies should do something more interesting, like I said in the article, a reality show on Mars. THAT will bring the public with them

You seem to be making an argument for dumbing down the science of astronomy. If people have to watch a reality show on Mars to get interested in astronomy, then what they are then interested in is not astronomy. It's a reality TV show.

 

Why do you equate space exploration with astronomy? Certainly much of what we have learned is a consequence of probes to the planets, or projects like Hubble or Chandra, but there is plenty of ground based astronomy occurring too. And really, why should the average person be interested in New Horizons. I'm fascinated by it and it would be nice to have more people to talk with about it, but I'm not aggrieved that there is a general lack of interest.

Edited March 16, 2014 by Ophiolite

[swansont]

that means nothing

 

How so? People are doing this because they aren't interested?

[jeffellis]

I wish humans were more interested in astronomy and the cosmos. Why aren't they? Here are 3 possible answers------ 1. Organized religion---it has dumbed down humanity. We are complacent with the God factor. 2. World governments----they want us to be passive and controllable. So they don't inspire us to be curious. 3. Perhaps our star doesn't think we are ready to meet other humanoids, so it doesn't allow many Einsteins or Teslas to be born (perhaps in the future).

Edited October 15, 2015 by jeffellis

[imatfaal]

I wish humans were more interested in astronomy and the cosmos. Why aren't they? Here are 3 possible answers------ 1. Organized religion---it has dumbed down humanity. We are complacent with the God factor. 2. World governments----they want us to be passive and controllable. So they don't inspire us to be curious. 3. Perhaps our star doesn't think we are ready to meet other humanoids, so it doesn't allow many Einsteins or Teslas to be born (perhaps in the future).

 

I think that is a false premise. Humans are inordinately interested in Astronomy, the Stars, the Cosmos. The moon and possibly even Mars are better understood than the very deep ocean trenches on our our planet. I am not sure there exists any culture that did not have a significant portion of its founding mythology based on the heavens - prehistoric humans could predict solar and lunar eclipses, the ancient greeks had used their understanding of the sun and shadows to reckon the radius of the earth and their observations had already persuaded them that it was a globe and no turtles were involved, the ancient indian mathematicians, the chinese astrologer/astronomers etc.

[jeffellis]

Ok