I have always been a bit puzzeled by why I got into professional astronomy as opposed to becoming a rock star or a traveling salesman. So, in one of my moments of weakness, I put together a True/False survey of what I thought were statements that might distinguish professional astronomers from other equally stimulating and profitable professions. I distributed this questionnaire to astronomers and non-astronomers, and sat patiently while the results came in.
In the table below, I show the responses to the survey questions received by . Note that because of small number statistics, the sampling error is the square root of the number of participants in each category. If the difference between true and false responses in each question is less than about 3 times the sampling error, there is probably no significant difference in the number of true and false responses. In other words, for 25 respondents, the sampling error is +/-5 for the true and false responses in a given question. Unless the responses are farther apart than 3x5 = 15 points, you would have to conclude that about equal numbers of true and false responses could have been given by a larger sample. Any trend that I describe requires almost unanimous True or False responses for a given question to make my point with any confidence.
The column "Public" refers to survey results from non- astronomer, non-Internet, non-student interviews. These people were not asked whether they are savvy with the Internet, only that they were not astronomers! These include librarians, neighbors, teachers, secretaries, computer programmers and architects who reflect the general public's interest in science, but not to the extent of taking classes in the subject at the time of the interview.
'Internet' refers to non-astronomers who responded via the web site and therefore have some interest in astronomy that brings them to this site to participate in the survey.
'Students' refers to students of adult education or college courses in astronomy.
Updated
| Question | 28 | 20 | 35 | 32 |
| Astronomers | Public | Internet | Students | |
| True..False | True..False | True..False | True..False | |
| I am a professional astronomer | 28..0 | 0..19 | 0..31 | 0..32 |
| I built my first telescope before the age of 18. | 6..15 | 3..17 | 3..25 | 2..30 |
| I like to collect things | 10..7 | 16..4 | 32..3 | 24..6 |
| I would rather play sports than study math. | 10..12 | 16..4 | 9..19 | 24..6 |
| I enjoy physics and math. | 23..0 | 5..15 | 28..2 | 11..19 |
| I read science fiction. | 16..7 | 9..11 | 28..7 | 16..14 |
| I have a subscription to at least one science magazine. | 21..3 | 6..14 | 26..12 | 11..19 |
| I have spent many cold evenings outside looking at the stars. | 17..6 | 7..13 | 30..1 | 15..15 |
| I have seen at least one eclipse. | 23..0 | 18..2 | 32..4 | 25..5 |
| I prefer small groups of people to crowds. | 20..3 | 17..4 | 33..1 | 26..4 |
| I have many close friends. | 8..15 | 11..9 | 4..27 | 15..15 |
| I have one or two close friends. | 18..4 | 9..11 | 34..2 | 17..13 |
| I studied dinosaurs when I was young. | 11..11 | 7..12 | 21..11 | 16..14 |
| I have spent long hours practicing a musical instrument. | 10..16 | 12..8 | 26..9 | 14..16 |
| I enjoy being alone. | 17..2 | 14..6 | 29..5 | 26..4 |
| I like working on cars and tinkering with mechanical things. | 14..8 | 5..15 | 15..15 | 9..21 |
| I like tinkering with electronic things. | 11..10 | 5..15 | 23..11 | 6..24 |
| Math and science were always easy subjects for me. | 18..5 | 5..15 | 26..4 | 12..18 |
| I would like to visit the moon. | 15..7 | 11..9 | 29..2 | 22..8 |
| I prefer reruns of Lost in Space to Hellraiser II. | 11..4 | 11..7 | 19..3 | 12..18 |
| Chemistry is more exciting to me than physics. | 0..24 | 7..11 | 5..23 | 9..19 |
| Biology is more interesting to me than physics or chemistry. | 1..18 | 13..6 | 7..23 | 13..15 |
| I have always done well in english classes. | 13..8 | 16..4 | 21..12 | 20..10 |
| I prefer Robert Heinlein to Steven King. | 17..2 | 6..10 | 17..3 | 6..1 |
| I read the newspapers almost every day. | 15..7 | 12..8 | 14..22 | 16..14 |
| I am a member of an amateur astronomer club. | 4..18 | 0..20 | 12..24 | 0..8 |
| I would be thrilled for a subscription to Sky and Telescope magazine. | 14..8 | 3..17 | 26..4 | 10..20 |
| I had a dumb nickname like The Brain or Dr. Einstein when I was young. | 4..19 | 0..20 | 16..18 | 1..28 |
| My friends were all hard working students in the Honor Society. | 7..14 | 4..15 | 9..22 | 9..21 |
| I prefer The Simpsons to the nightly news. | 1..11 | 8..11 | 13..18 | 10..20 |
| I wanted to learn math faster than it was taught to me. | 14..8 | 4..16 | 25..6 | 8..21 |
| I am more intrigued by E = mc squared than by F = ma. | 14..7 | 5..11 | 26..3 | 12..17 |
| Calculus is beautiful. | 18..5 | 1..15 | 17..9 | 6..23 |
| Space Shuttle launches still give me a thrill. | 17..6 | 15..5 | 32..4 | 23..7 |
| A galaxy is bigger than a solar system. | 23..0 | 14..1 | 32..0 | 26..4 |
| I never took chemistry or physics. | 0..23 | 3..15 | 6..30 | 3..27 |
| I took math and physics and got a B+ grade overall. | 1..16 | 7..10 | 14..20 | 15..14 |
| I took math and got a B average. | 1..17 | 11..5 | 15..19 | 16..14 |
| I took physics and got at least a B+. | 19..1 | 6..11 | 19..12 | 11..19 |
| I enjoy world history. | 18..1 | 17..3 | 28..5 | 21..9 |
| I don't believe in evolution. | 2..18 | 3..17 | 2..30 | 6..24 |
| All theories are of equal value. | 1..19 | 3..17 | 10..21 | 4..26 |
| Scientists should have an open mind about astrology. | 3..16 | 11..9 | 10..21 | 15..15 |
| Scientists are too narrow in their thinking and not very flexible. | 4..15 | 3..15 | 7..20 | 2..27 |
| If Creationism is taught in school, so should evolution in church. | 15..5 | 8..9 | 18..10 | 15..15 |
| We are not investing enough money in scientific research. | 20..1 | 13..6 | 32..2 | 7..1 |
| Scientists are all atheists. | 0..22 | 1..19 | 0..29 | 0..8 |
| Scientists know things that are frightening. | 11..9 | 9..10 | 21..7 | 8..22 |
| There is something wondrous about the night sky. | 21..0 | 19..1 | 35..0 | 32..0 |
| Constellation lore is fascinating. | 12..9 | 12..7 | 24..7 | 19..11 |
| I like to read about UFOs. | 4..16 | 9..11 | 17..14 | 14..16 |
| I like to read about ESP. | 6..15 | 8..12 | 14..13 | 15..15 |
| I sometimes wonder about supernatural phenomena. | 11..12 | 15..5 | 26..8 | 26..4 |
| You don't need facts to prove everything. | 3..15 | 8..12 | 7..24 | 7..23 |
| Religious books accurately describe the physical universe. | 0..21 | 1..17 | 1..23 | 4..26 |
| Scientific facts are less important than gut feelings or intuitions. | 4..16 | 2..16 | 1..19 | 3..27 |
| Science destroys the natural beauty in the world. | 0..22 | 0..20 | 1..33 | 1..28 |
| I would rather be a musician than a painter. | 11..6 | 14..5 | 19..11 | 13..17 |
| I like to show off. | 7..14 | 6..12 | 8..21 | 7..23 |
| I went to the Senior Prom in high school. | 7..12 | 10..8 | 16..12 | 23..7 |
| I am handy with tools and don't require much instruction in their use. | 16..1 | 8..12 | 25..6 | 4..4 |
| I would consider tackling almost any project. | 17..4 | 10..10 | 25..6 | 2..6 |
| I complete the projects that I start no matter how hard they are. | 7..14 | 13..7 | 16..12 | 21..9 |
| The longest project I tackled lasted more than a year. | 21..1 | 10..10 | 19..10 | 13..17 |
| I would rather program a computer than play a computer game. | 15..5 | 4..15 | 20..12 | 6..23 |
| I spend much of my free time relaxing by watching TV. | 1..21 | 6..13 | 6..28 | 7..23 |
| When I jog or take long walks, I sometimes find myself not thinking. | 6..15 | 6..14 | 6..24 | 9..21 |
| I have nightmares. | 5..15 | 9..11 | 13..17 | 17..13 |
| I like to be by myself for long periods of time. | 16..4 | 6..14 | 21..10 | 13..17 |
| I study better in a library than alone in a quiet room. | 4..15 | 7..13 | 10..22 | 5..25 |
| I am afraid of the dark. | 1..21 | 2..18 | 2..31 | 0..32 |
| I feel uncomfortable when my environment is disorganized and cluttered | 10..10 | 11..9 | 13..19 | 19..11 |
| I would rather plot points on a graph than edit a paper. | 10..7 | 7..14 | 20..11 | 13..17 |
| Scientists have no sense of humor. | 2..18 | 2..17 | 0..31 | 2..28 |
| I use recreational drugs once a month or more. | 0..19 | 0..19 | 2..33 | 4..26 |
| I like beer better than soft drinks. | 8..13 | 2..18 | 9..24 | 3..5 |
| I usually got top grades in physical education. | 3..15 | 6..14 | 14..20 | 21..8 |
| I would rather go for a hike than read a book. | 6..11 | 4..16 | 6..16 | 17..13 |
| I have often wondered how a TV works. | 8..11 | 5..14 | 18..16 | 12..18 |
| I have asked the Dentist for a look at my X-rays. | 18..2 | 13..7 | 26..7 | 16..14 |
| I have figured-out how most thinks in my house work. | 14..3 | 5..13 | 28..5 | 11..19 |
| I found the ending to 2001: A Space Odyssey very stimulating. | 8..10 | 6..12 | 17..7 | 6..24 |
| Mercury and Venus are the only two planets without satellites. | 18..0 | 6..10 | 24..5 | 2..6 |
| A parSEC is smaller than a light YEAR. | 0..22 | 3..12 | 9..22 | 5..23 |
| The majority of all astronomers accept the Big Bang Theory. | 22..0 | 13..3 | 19..4 | 19..11 |
So there you have it. If my little survey is accurate ( HA!!) we have much to celebrate. Apart from minor details like not all non-astronomers realize that a galaxy is bigger than a solar system, there is much that we have in common.
The differences, however, suggest that old stereotypes about why some people become astronomers are not completely accurate.
Students who are taking astronomy courses seem to be a cohort that is not as interested in science, and have a significantly broader acceptance range for ideas be they rational or otherwise. I was surprised that Students think that astronomers are still undecided on Big Bang Theory despite the fact that I was hard pressed to find a single astronomer who still has doubts about its validity. What message are educators providing their students that leave them thinking that the majority of astronomers are still undecided?
As for the general public, their responses were very mixed, but in terms of social/personality and opinion traits, they seemed a lot more like astronomers than the other groups!