Do Sci Fi attitudes reflect our times?

[Dave Monroe]

Is this a sign of the times -- correlated with the public's attitudes
toward science?

For Congress now speaks a full grade level lower than it did in 2005.
Falling from grade 11.5 to 10.6. Using the Flesch-Kincaid test that
gives your kids the "reads at a 10th grade level" score, the Sunlight
Foundation has measured the vocabulary used in Congressional speeches
over the years and found that the level has dropped suddenly. For both
parties, but particularly amongst Republican Congressmen, particularly
amongst the newest batch, such as Rand Paul (3rd worst, speaks at an
8th grade level.) Indeed the entire worst ten are Republicans (eight
of those are freshmen.) And the more conservative they are, the worse
their speech (dropping by three full grades from center to fringe.)
Interestingly, amongst Democrats with less than 10 years in Congress,
the trend is similar, those closest to the political centre have the
most complex speech, while those further to the left drop by about a
grade. But for Democrats in Congress for more than 10 years, the trend
is sharply reversed. Are candidates dumbing down their speech, or are
parties dumbing down their candidates?

http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/2012/07/do-sci-fi-attitudes-reflect-our-times.html