# The saddest poll I've seen in a while... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 22, 2009, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-poll-ive-seen-in-a-while/507268 "2009-08-22T01:47:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-poll-ive-seen-in-a-while/507268/1 "2009-08-22T01:47:03Z")
[http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/PPP\_Release\_National\_819513.pdf](http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/PPP_Release_National_819513.pdf) So Public Policy Polling, whoever they are, do an automated phone poll. Small sample size, and I’ve never been able to figure out if people are more or less honest when they’re not talking to an actual person, but I don’t think it was a push poll or anything. One question asked if “government should stay out of Medicare.” 39 percent said yes. Another 38 percent believe that Barack Obama was not born in the United States. Hell, only 90 percent consider Hawaii to be part of the United States! So I guess maybe only 28 percent are actual birthers, the others may think he was born in some exotic foreign country called Hawaii. But still, 28-38 percent is awfully high for something that has been so thoroughly debunked as that particular rumor, don’t you think? Oh well. At least 0% think Obama was born in France. I’m not sure if that makes me feel better about the 14 percent who aren’t sure that our President isn’t a cheese-eating surrender monkey. ---
**Author:** ![wierdaaron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eada6e/32.png) [@wierdaaron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wierdaaron)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-poll-ive-seen-in-a-while/507268/2 "2009-08-22T02:04:15Z")
It has come to my attention that people are stupid. We, the smart ones, should be coming up with plans for how to remedy this, but we’re all too busy watching Battlestar Galactica. ---
**Author:** ![badlyburnttoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ad7895/32.png) [@badlyburnttoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badlyburnttoast)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-poll-ive-seen-in-a-while/507268/3 "2009-08-22T02:32:58Z")
I sometimes wonder what the political landscape would look like if a fair, unbiased test were required to ensure a voter had some basic critical thinking skills and at least some understanding of the issues. I’d never actually support such a thing, of course, but it would be interesting to see what things would be like if idiots didn’t have as much a say as geniuses. ---
**Author:** ![wierdaaron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eada6e/32.png) [@wierdaaron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wierdaaron)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-poll-ive-seen-in-a-while/507268/4 "2009-08-22T02:37:05Z")
Solutions to the stupid problem may be discussed here: [Top Secret American Destupization Project - Great Debates - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=529002) ---
**Author:** ![3trew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/13edae/32.png) [@3trew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3trew)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-poll-ive-seen-in-a-while/507268/5 "2009-08-22T04:41:23Z")
> [@badlyburnttoast](#): > > I sometimes wonder what the political landscape would look like if a fair, unbiased test were required to ensure a voter had some basic critical thinking skills and at least some understanding of the issues. > > I’d never actually support such a thing, of course, but it would be interesting to see what things would be like if idiots didn’t have as much a say as geniuses. The geniuses need to be limited to their categories of excellence. They have a tendency to be… what’s the polite term here… Oh, yeah, absolute nutbars once they leave it. ---
**Author:** ![Claude\_Remains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@Claude\_Remains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claude_Remains)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-poll-ive-seen-in-a-while/507268/6 "2009-08-22T04:57:35Z")
Please pardon my tangent, but… Polls Also report that 78+% of Americans say that they buy into this Jesus horseshit and I suspect that this is due to the fear of the stigma that comes along with being honest with your feelings about it with friends, family, etc. ---
**Author:** ![emcee2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emcee2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emcee2k)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-poll-ive-seen-in-a-while/507268/7 "2009-08-22T05:13:47Z")
On the other hand, I wonder if there is a correlation between intelligence and hanging up on automated phone polls. ---
**Author:** ![wierdaaron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eada6e/32.png) [@wierdaaron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wierdaaron)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-poll-ive-seen-in-a-while/507268/8 "2009-08-22T05:28:16Z")
There is a bit of a sample bias in that phone polls aren’t allowed to dial cell phone numbers (I think), and a lot of people don’t even have landlines anymore. The sort of person with a cell phone and no landline would, I’d guess, sway in a certain level of intelligence. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-poll-ive-seen-in-a-while/507268/9 "2009-08-22T07:14:13Z")
preview!!! ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-poll-ive-seen-in-a-while/507268/10 "2009-08-22T07:21:48Z")
> [@wierdaaron](#): > > It has come to my attention that people are stupid. > > We, the smart ones, should be coming up with plans for how to remedy this, but we’re all too busy watching Battlestar Galactica. Ya know … if I had an actual Signature instead of just a sig … this would be it. CMC fnord! We accept him! We accept him! One of us! One of us! Gooble gobble, gooble gobble! One of us! One of us! Hmm, Join Date: Aug 2009, don’t embarrass me by turning out to someone’s clever sock n00b! 😃 Also, it has come to my attention that calling someone a n00b completely fucks-up your codeing skills … and your ability to speel. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-poll-ive-seen-in-a-while/507268/11 "2009-08-22T07:43:42Z")
I’m quite certain that the only reason that no one voted that he was born in France was because it wasn’t one of the choices in a multiple choice question. If it had been, we’d be laughing at the (minimum) 2-5% who would have selected it. ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-poll-ive-seen-in-a-while/507268/12 "2009-08-22T07:49:02Z")
> [@wierdaaron](#): > > There is a bit of a sample bias in that phone polls aren’t allowed to dial cell phone numbers (I think), and a lot of people don’t even have landlines anymore. The sort of person with a cell phone and no landline would, I’d guess, sway in a certain level of intelligence. If you’re suggesting a cell-phone only individual is smarter (or dumber) than a landline user I’d suggest you think again. The only correlation you’re likely to find there is age–older people are less likely to be cell-phone only. Oh and also, I wonder what percentage of people think the government should “stay out of Social Security?” ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-poll-ive-seen-in-a-while/507268/13 "2009-08-22T08:57:26Z")
> [@emcee2k](#): > > On the other hand, I wonder if there is a correlation between intelligence and hanging up on automated phone polls. I work in market research/opinion polls and I can tell you that it’s hard enough to get people to do opinion polls when they’re talking to a human being. Opinions are not, in fact, like assholes, few people have them and even fewer want to share (not that I’d want anyone to share their asshole with me, though I guess over the phone it wouldn’t be so offensive). I wonder how many tens of thousands of calls they had to make to get the 909 responders. I can make hundreds of calls in a shift and only get 2-6 “completes.” ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-poll-ive-seen-in-a-while/507268/14 "2009-08-22T09:01:35Z")
> [@wierdaaron](#): > > It has come to my attention that people are stupid. > > We, the smart ones, should be coming up with plans for how to remedy this, but we’re all too busy watching Battlestar Galactica. I stole that. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-poll-ive-seen-in-a-while/507268/15 "2009-08-22T09:19:18Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > I’m quite certain that the only reason that no one voted that he was born in France was because it wasn’t one of the choices in a multiple choice question. If it had been, we’d be laughing at the (minimum) 2-5% who would have selected it. Did they ask Miss South Carolina? ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-poll-ive-seen-in-a-while/507268/16 "2009-08-22T13:47:17Z")
That poll is evidence that the guys at Kung Fu Monkey were close to the mark with their crazification factor: > **[Lunch Discussions #145: The Crazification Factor](http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2005/10/lunch-discussions-145-crazification.html)** > > John: ... I mean, what will it take? That last speech literally made no sense . It was crazy drunken bar talk! Islamic radicals are lik... > [@](#): > > John: Hey, Bush is now at 37% approval. I feel much less like Kevin McCarthy screaming in traffic. But I wonder what his base is – > > Tyrone: 27%. > > John: … you said that immmediately, and with some authority. > > Tyrone: Obama vs. Alan Keyes. Keyes was from out of state, so you can eliminate any established political base; both candidates were black, so you can factor out racism; and Keyes was plainly, obviously, completely crazy. Batshit crazy. Head-trauma crazy. But 27% of the population of Illinois voted for him. They put party identification, personal prejudice, whatever ahead of rational judgement. Hell, even like 5% of Democrats voted for him. That’s crazy behaviour. I think you have to assume a 27% Crazification Factor in any population. > > John: Objectively crazy or crazy vis-a-vis my own inertial reference frame for rational behaviour? I mean, are you creating the Theory of Special Crazification or General Crazification? > > Tyrone: Hadn’t thought about it. Let’s split the difference. Half just have worldviews which lead them to disagree with what you consider rationality even though they arrive at their positions through rational means, and the other half are the core of the Crazification – either genuinely crazy; or so woefully misinformed about how the world works, the bases for their decision making is so flawed they may as well be crazy. > > John: You realize this leads to there being over 30 million crazy people in the US? > > Tyrone: Does that seem wrong? > > John: … a bit low, actually. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-poll-ive-seen-in-a-while/507268/17 "2009-08-22T14:20:53Z")
I’m incredibly concerned about the 7% of people with a post graduate education that think Hawaii is a different country. I’ve heard about the declining state of education, but wow. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-poll-ive-seen-in-a-while/507268/18 "2009-08-22T17:04:44Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > I’m incredibly concerned about the 7% of people with a post graduate education that think Hawaii is a different country. While I don’t doubt some people are that ignorant, questions like that often get confused responses, and I’d wager good money a lot of the people who answered “No” were interpreting the question to mean that Hawaii was not part of the continental USA, not part of the continent. You’ll also have a lot of people who just hit the wrong button. Trust me when I say this; no matter how straightforward you think the question is on a questionnaire, people will screw up the answer. ---
**Author:** ![wierdaaron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eada6e/32.png) [@wierdaaron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wierdaaron)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-poll-ive-seen-in-a-while/507268/19 "2009-08-22T18:38:24Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > I’m incredibly concerned about the 7% of people with a post graduate education that think Hawaii is a different country. > > I’ve heard about the declining state of education, but wow. “When we get to Hawaii for our honeymoon, where do we go to get our money exchanged for Hawaiian currency?” Also, how does Hawaii have internet? Can wifi reach that far? Does Hawaii have “inter-state” highways? How can you ship something to Hawaii “UPS Ground”? When the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor during Vietnam, how did we find out? Is there someone in California with a telescope pointed at Hawaii making sure it’s still there? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-poll-ive-seen-in-a-while/507268/20 "2009-08-22T18:48:44Z")
The answer to #3 is, of course, **yes**. Roads built with Federal Funds as part of the Federal Interstate Highways Program are “Interstates,” regardless of whether or not they actually, you know, connect to another state. You also have to adjust the crazification factor by that percentage of the population that just likes to fuck with pollsters. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-poll-ive-seen-in-a-while/507268.md?page=2)