France and astrophysics

The left-wing blogosphere often tells us that the Americans are much more ignorant about science than the citizens of more secular nations. For example, 20% of the U.S. citizens think that the Sun revolves around the Earth. So let us look into another country that is based on cultural elites and a country that most of us admire, namely France. As mentioned in the previous link, 2% of the Americans think that the United States have won their independence from France, so it is a rather important country. ;-)

The guy below can win 3,000 euros in "Who wants to be a millionaire". However, he must first answer a rather difficult question: which celestial body gravitates around the Earth? It is a) the Moon, b) the Sun, c) Mars, d) Venus. If it happens to be tough for one particular French intellectual, he can still rely on the French public, can't he? ;-)



OK, maybe the people just wanted to have some fun. Who knows. But you could also call the opinion of the public to be an example of scientific consensus, especially once those 42 percent of skeptics - and let's say it openly, heretics - are decertified. :-)

See also Blonde American geography.