(Via Boing Boing):

The Lemelson-MIT Program released the results of its 2005 survey of teens – see this MIT news release. They asked 500 teens about their perceptions and attitudes about science, technology, innovation, and invention. Some thought provoking results:

The 2006 Lemelson-MIT Invention Index, which gauges Americans' attitudes toward invention and innovation, found that a third of teens (33 percent) predict the demise of gasoline-powered cars by the year 2015. One in four teens (26 percent) expects compact discs to be obsolete within the next decade, and roughly another one in five (22 percent) predicts desktop computers will be a thing of the past.

Teens are also optimistic that new inventions and innovations will be able to solve important global issues, such as clean water (91 percent), world hunger (89 percent), disease eradication (88 percent), pollution reduction (84 percent) and energy conservation (82 percent).

…

The Lemelson-MIT Invention Index found that teens believe they have developed some of the critical skills that will be needed to address these problems. More than three out of four teens surveyed (77 percent) believe they have learned problem-solving skills well while in school. They also feel prepared to work in teams (72 percent), think creatively (71 percent) and lead others (61 percent). However, they fall short when it comes to budgeting money. Only 32 percent of teens said they feel they learned that skill well while in school.

Also check out these awesome information graphics:

This is some truly fascinating stuff. I think this kind of survey is great because it focuses on what teens think and percieve from their own perspective. Tech. firms ought to be paying special attention to this as at least a window into what kids believe, however, partial and imperfect. But focusing on perceptions is a double-edged sword for a survey like this – the self-reporting bias becomes huge. I think that's especially true for the quesitons about what kinds of skills kids feel they've developed in high school. The MIT news release goes on to mention that these findings contradict other studies that show that college professors are much less convinced that most kids have developed these skills. This isn't surprising to me. As usual, I'd love to see the survey itself.