One Way To Appear Less Ignorant

Thanks to the Intersection blog, I saw this article reporting on how the American National Science Foundation removed the results of two survey questions from its annual report. Specifically, it was the data indicating how many Americans believe "[h]uman beings... developed from earlier species of animals" (45% do) and "[t]he universe began with a big explosion" (only 33% do). As the article writer notes toward the end of the piece, this clearly suggests an attempt to "hide a national embarrassment." What a sad statement on the scientific literacy of the once-great nation to the south of us.