Every Fifth russian  Believes that the Sun Revolves Around the Earth

The degradation of the population is accelerating in the rf. New surveys show a sharp decline in scientific literacy and a rise in belief in pseudoscience.

Although two-thirds of respondents declare an “interest in science”,  the actual figures show the opposite. 62 % never or almost never look for news about scientific achievements, 43 % do not even discuss them in everyday life. Only 12 % can name at least one contemporary russian scientist of world renown.

The decline in interest in science has become systemic. Chemistry, materials science, mathematics, and engineering technologies have lost the most. Only older people are most actively interested in scientific news, while young people show a growing belief in the paranormal.

The picture of ignorance is becoming increasingly clear. 20 %  of russians surveyed believe that the Sun revolves around the Earth (compared to 14 % in 2022). 16 % believe that humans lived alongside dinosaurs, and among young people aged 18–24, this figure reaches 18 %.

Epidemics have not changed the situation either: 36 % still believe that antibiotics are effective against viruses. In the 18–24 age group, this figure is 44 %. At the same time, 39 % believe in sorcerers, while  34 % believe in the ability of psychics to predict the future.

The test confirmed the gap between declared “awareness” and actual knowledge: those who considered themselves well-informed,  answered only half of the questions correctly. Half of them are convinced that the Sun revolves around the Earth.

Scientists call this a classic manifestation of the Dunning-Kruger effect: the lower the competence, the higher the self-confidence. In the case of russian society, this is the result of many years of cultivating illusions of self-importance.