Republicans: More Education, Less Reality

February 27th, 2012

Via Chris Mooney to Digby to Krugman then me — this remarkable item from a Pew report:

College-educated Republicans are more likely to deny scientific reality.

They don’t spend their time in college (or life) trying to learn how the world works; they spend it learning how to mine, harvest, cherry-pick, and twist any “facts” they can find to conform to, and support, their faith-based beliefs.

Is it any wonder that among scientists — who devote their lives to trying to figure out how the world works — 55% are Democrats and only 6% are Republicans? (Click for source.)

Curious about the reality of Republican thinking? Check out Mooney’s The Republican Brain: The Science of Why They Deny Science—and Reality, due out in April from Wiley.

Cross-posted at Angry Bear.

Related posts:

  1. Jim Manzi: Correlation, Causation, Understanding, and Predicting
  2. 520 Traffic is Declining — Despite 15 Years of WSDOT Projections to the Contrary
  3. Will the Right Kill the Republicans? Ask the Whigs.
  4. Kristol’s Conservative Economic Cluelessness
  5. Republican Strategy: “When you’re playing with house money, it makes sense to go all in on every hand.”
  1. Olav Martin Kvern
    March 2nd, 2012 at 19:14 | #1
    Reply | Quote

    Hi Steve,

    Since no one else comments on your social/ideological posts, I’ll do it.

    Duh!:-)

    I’m shocked, shocked to find that….

    re: “They don’t spend their time in college (or life) trying to learn how the world works; they spend it learning how to mine, harvest, cherry-pick, and twist any “facts” they can find to conform to…”

    You know, further study would probably reveal that the set of subjects taken by reactionaries is limited to topics that won’t upset their belief system–unless they encounter a good professor. If that happens, then, by all means, play the “conservatives are discriminated against in universities!” card. Got to keep that cognitive dissonance under control, after all.

    Mooney’s book looks pretty good, but I’m not sure it’s necessary, given Robin’s “The Reactionary Mind” and Altemeyer’s “The Authoritarians.” QED, eh?

    Thanks,

    Ole

  2. Asymptosis
    March 2nd, 2012 at 20:02 | #2
    Reply | Quote

    @Olav Martin Kvern

    As usual, what you said. Hadn’t though about course selection. Somebody should study that!

    I did get a rambling little thread on this over at AB, but really, how much more is there to say on this topic that we don’t already know?

  3. Randy Ingle
    March 4th, 2012 at 10:24 | #3
    Reply | Quote

    It’s nice to see that some body out there is wise to their BS. Where I live I am surrounded by Republicans and no amount of evidence or reasoning will sway them. Very scary.

  4. dave
    March 7th, 2012 at 17:26 | #4
    Reply | Quote

    they must really hate the internet, instant access to information. granted as long as it is correct info. (god i love it)

Comments are closed.