hi all. im only recently on this list, so i apologize if im saying things that were already written here.

> > 1) What ideas from or attitudes about science have most clearly spread into
> > broader culture?
>
> > 2) Why have these insights spread while others have not? (Here I'm trying
> > to identify what happens at the dissemination channels that leads to either
> > accurate or inaccurate notions being spread.)

E=mc^2 is a good one. heres a few i just thought of, and possible reasons:

atoms - because of the cool logo (nucleus with 3 orbiting electrons) and the bomb. (oddly though, i dont think nuclear physics ever got popular in this way - i think most people think of it as "splitting the ATOM" rather than the nucleus... maybe we already had atoms, so what is gained by subdividing further? either way, stuff is made of tiny parts.)
DNA - because of the pretty, simple, visual image of the double helix, because of DNA-fingerprinting by detectives, and because genetics is very human and visible (kids look like their parents). also adequate assimilation of the notion of DNA comes just from knowing that it exists at all! there is SOME stuff that looks helical, and transmits genetic info, and it has a name.

big bang - because its simple and grand: something like "universe spread out from a point, or an explosion."
evolution - a recent scientific american article claimed that darwin had the greatest influence on scientific thinking in the world of any scientist in the last [some large number i forget of] years. survival of the fittest might be easily incorporated because its so simple (to the point of some large inaccuracies, i suspect?) and familiar in ordinary life.

acids - (but not bases for some reason) are known for their destructive ability.

i would speculate, then, that sexy and/or simple are the things that make science catch on. massive explosions, police procedures, competing for survival, tiny atoms, acids "melting" things. cute visuals help too (3-ringed atom, double helix picture, nuclear and biohazard symbols.

these are good pieces of science to know: they are very simple, and to understand the full structure behind such a theory (take big bang for example) doesnt add all that much to it (the important part is that the universe started small and got big).
we may discover with other ideas posted here, that science is more likely to be assimilated when its sexy, but it is can ONLY be assimilated if its extremely simple. (eg, it may be completely impossible to generate widespread awareness of contention that the universe is geometrically "flat").

CT