Literacy, Scientific Illiteracy and the American Voter

Ignorance by Doug X with DALLE

I saw this tweet earlier today which asked is “Scientific Illiteracy” a major problem in the U.S.

I don’t want to claim credit for the question so see the embedded tweet above. My first thought on the matter was a study I remembered, summarized on this website https://www.thinkimpact.com/literacy-statistics/ that found 54 percent of American adults read at a 6th grade level or lower.

Now clearly scientific understanding and reading level are different aspects of education. But it is hard to understand science at a 6th grade level without the reading ability (and vocabulary) above a 6th grade level. How would that understanding be imparted? You could say that people could hear information from youtube or audiobooks aimed at a higher level. I don’t have the specific knowledge of what is tested in reading level? Is it the mechanics of reading, the speed, or is the understanding of vocabulary and ability to retain concepts.

That is actually a highly tempting wormhole to go down. Do poor readers get more out of audio books or lectures than they…