Spanish
Madrid.- Only 63% of Spaniards are completely sure that man has reached the Moon, 12% believe that he "probably" did, another 11% believe that he "probably" did not, another 11% directly deny it, and the remaining 3% have no opinion on the matter.
And the fact is that, although the vast majority of Spanish society does not defend conspiratorial and anti-scientific theories, some of these beliefs - mainly spread through social media - have an impact "on significant segments of the population", according to the latest study on Scientific Culture by the BBVA Foundation based on surveys of 4,056 people.Extraterrestrials and Vaccines
Thus, although 94% of Spaniards reject that "the Earth is flat", there are 28% who believe that "extraterrestrials have visited Earth but the powers have hidden it", 15% who deny the existence of climate change and 6% who still think that vaccines cause autism.We recommend reading:NASA begins assembling Artemis II for "historic" manned launch to the Moon
Despite these exceptions, the majority of Spaniards are interested in science (80%), "for the pleasure of learning new things" (58%) or for "its practical utility", and six out of ten consider themselves informed about scientific topics, information that seven out of ten respondents obtain from YouTube videos, television, social media, the press and radio. Only 35% is reported through the websites of universities, research centers, public bodies and companies.The interest of Spaniards in science
According to the survey, the majority understands how knowledge is obtained and validated (72% give a lot of importance to the results published in a scientific journal, compared to 33% who give it to those that appear on television or in the press), and also that the validity of scientific theory is not definitive, but is always subject to revision. Interest in and information about science is greater in people with education, among young people (up to 54 years old) and among those who are employed (studying or working), but there are no differences by sex.Scientific Knowledge Level
Among other sections, the survey contains 18 questions to assess the level of scientific knowledge. Thus, most people know that "personality is formed by a combination of social and biological factors", that the "oxygen we breathe comes from plants" or that the Earth is not at the center of the universe, but only 34% know that the statement that "antibiotics destroy viruses" is false.
Special mention deserves climate change, a topic on which there is much misinformation, the result of ideological influence and social networks. Thus, barely 25% deny that "climate change is caused by the hole in the ozone layer" and only 46% consider false the statement that "climate change is due to natural cycles of the Earth and not to human activities". The statistic, which indicates that 15% of respondents question the existence of climate change, clarifies that this belief is significantly associated with ideology: 29% of right-wing people deny its existence compared to only 6% of left-wing deniers. According to the survey data, Spaniards show a medium and medium-low level of scientific knowledge, with 25% having a high level, 27% with a medium level and 28% with a low level. You can also read: Asked about important scientists, the most cited are Albert Einstein, Marie Curie and Isaac Newton, and among the top ten appear the Spanish Santiago Ramón y Cajal and Severo Ochoa, but a quarter of Spaniards are not able to name a single scientist.Among the scientific production powers, the United States is seen as the predominant nation "throughout history", and not only as a host country for the numerous European scientists who fled Nazism, but also now, attracted by the great resources offered by American universities. China and Germany follow in second and third place.
