How old is the Earth?
If they can't correctly answer this then they are incapable of accepting basic realities or are unable to accept that better information leads to better decisions. After all if you tell a creationist that the oceans are acidifying faster than they have in the last 300 my why do they care? They think the Earth is only 6,000 years old so to them it's just more "wrong" science.
Patrick Whelley commented
A more interesting way to put it might be... "How is the age of the Earth estimated?" Or maybe a different angle " Is it important for every American to know basic facts about our solars system such as: the Sun is 8 billion years old, the Earth is 4.5 billion years old, and is the 3rd planet from the sun and has an unusually large moon?"
Erik Bigglestone commented
This may not be a "gotcha" question, but it is by no means an "easy" one to answer. I firmly believe in evolution, the big bang, etc., but I don't keep the empirically estimated age of the Earth in my head for immediate recall. Besides which, from what point in the formation of the Earth are you expecting the answer? The earliest protoplanetary collection of gases and dust, or the point at which it was recognizable as a distinct body, definable as a planet by modern scientific standards?
The simplistic wording of the question and the belligerent tone of its explanation speaks more of challenge and grudge than interest in actually listening to anyone's answer.
Why don't we vote for questions that probe a candidate's views on science and the future. Not on questions that probe their religious beliefs. Jobs/Careers in STEM fields are leaving the US at a record pace and we are voting to ask a candidate how old the earth is??? Seems like we can predict a candidates answer to this question without needing to ask them.
"A "gotcha" question is beneath the dignity and seriousness of this site."
The creators of this website allow people to vote on these questions, so I guess we'll see how important it is to most people. Oh, and by the way, this isn't a "gotcha" question. This is by far one of the easiest questions to answer.
A "gotcha" question is beneath the dignity and seriousness of this site.
This is a great question, because candidates can't weasel around it as they can with policy questions (on one hand, but on the other hand...) No matter what they answer, we will learn something important about them.