Education - the key to salvation?

[KevinC]

I can't see how society will ever evolve with current social trends:

Go to any bookstore and compare the number of books on Science vs. Magic - your likely to find a 1:50 ratio in favor of magic.  Everyone wants to be believe in something for nothing.

Even harder may be the change from a sports oriented society where the strong and physically gifted are worshipped to one that values those with strong minds.

Any ideas on how we can pull off such implied changes?

It basically means the end to most religions (again, I exempt, in general, karma based religions).  There goes 95% of the votes...

It means the acceptance of personal responsibility for one actions (no priest to forgive ones sins).

It means understanding that scientific knowledge is a progression, not an absolute. (Rewrite laws that limit "detectable" levels of polution when our detection skills have increased 1000X (no kidding folks, what we use to be able to detect in parts-per-million we can now detect is parts-per-billion or less).  Science is our best bet at understanding the universe.  But knowledge evolves, like everything else.  For instance: electrons are no longer considered particles but much harder to conceive of "wave forms".  Howevewr, wave forms explain simple things like how electricity can travel at a serious fraction of the speed of light, which actual particals could never do (at least in the quantity we use them).

The implications span a number of subjects:

Global warning is the latest
Sex education comes to mind (no, you can't drink a capful of bleach before having sex to prevent pregnancy - yeah, many girls in the USA believe that today, and yes, you can get pregnant having sex standing up!)
Societal impacts to our longer lifetimes probably needs to be addressed as well.  Perhaps marriage just becomes a voluntary contract to raise kids, renewed annually, with pre-known consequences for not renewing associated with child support and prehaps parential reintroduction to the work force for whatever parent stays home to care for the children).

[KevinC]

I should note that science is not infallible.  Its run by people, and people are influenced by their own desires (perhaps to be published, or to receive funding for the latest scientific fad) and seldom go against the established rules.  That is why science often takes generations to improve on it results.  Those that dis-believe a newly discovered scientific theory simply die of old age.  Those born afterward assume the theory is correct until proven wrong.