I don’t think that this should be a big surprise. Have you seen what passes for modern discourse? We are flooded with too much information and opinion to process so we fall back on blind faith in what we think we know and how we want it to be and abdicate our responsibility to question, challenge, and analyze the problem, facts, and options available to us.
I doubt the problem is that people can't learn to think critically.
I believe that the real problem is that critical thinking isn’t a valued trait or ability. Who wants critically thinking individuals? Not marketers, not governments, not politicians, not fundamentalists (of any stripe) – basically, not anyone that wants mass order and adherence to their way of behavior and thinking.
Hear! Hear! Engineers are very good at solving problems using math, science, and technology. The problem occurs when they are solving the wrong problem. To get to the correct answer (solution) you need to be working on the correct question (problem). Most implementation failures that I have seen have been because the problem wasn’t properly understood and communicated.
The Tech World's Enduring Problem - Grant McCracken - The Conversation - Harvard Business Review
Research on STEM education from The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation.
Refueling the U.S. Innovation Economy: Fresh Approaches to STEM Education
By 2020, the demographic they refer to as Generation C – connected, communicating, computerized, and, as a rule, born after 1990 – will make up 40 percent of the population in the U.S., Europe, and the BRIC countries.
Read more at strategy+business (free registration) - The Rise of Generation C.
Team collaboration is the way to solve today’s and tomorrow’s big problems.
The American Geological Institute has announced Earth Science Week 2011.
Earth Science Week will encourage people everywhere to explore the natural world and learn about the geosciences.
Food, drink and scientific conversation. Can’t get much better than that.
Innovation and creativity comes from exploring fields outside your expertise and experience.
Find a Science café and join in the conversation.