I think you’re on the right track with them being different from most of us, but I don’t think you’ve identified many relevant differences.
Suppose that people mean what they say.
I suppose they do mean it, but how do they mean it?
Difference 1
We’re much more literal and direct in our communications than most people. Do the polled think they are being asked an unliteral question? Are they choosing to respond in an unliteral fashion to what is taken as a literal question?
For example, are they taking it as a question about being “afraid of death”? Are they just signaling that they aren’t afraid of death?
Difference 2
We think living for a very long time is a real possibility. Most people don’t think it’s possible to live much longer.
That only increases the likelihood of unliteral interpretations of the question, and unliteral responses.
There’s the basic sour grapes principle. There’s also the putting out of your mind yearnings for things you don’t believe you can have.
Difference 3
We plan on being youthful, vibrant, and healthy during those increased years. They’re likely picturing living in increasingly bad health—even if you say they will be youthful, getting decrepit is probably what they’re still picturing.
Difference 4
Closest to your point, I think.
We picture doing a lot more than watching Wheel of Fortune for the next 1000 years. It’s unlikely they’ve even considered many of the possibilities we think of, and if they did, they likely would write them off as impossible.
Maybe if they were told about all the wonderful things they could be doing, and they believed that it was really possible to do those things, they’d be more enthusiastic.
Difference 5
Many people say, at least, that they believe in an afterlife . Whether they literally believe it, or are just saying it in some unliteral fashion, you can see how the literal question just doesn’t have the same implications to them as it does to us, and if they’re just signaling belief/approval in the afterlife, your question is unlikely to get them to stop.
In summary, yes, we are weird. We should respect that, and evaluate their answers to your questions in all the different ways they might understand your question, and the different ways they might choose to respond.
There are other ways to understand their answers.
I think you’re on the right track with them being different from most of us, but I don’t think you’ve identified many relevant differences.
I suppose they do mean it, but how do they mean it?
Difference 1 We’re much more literal and direct in our communications than most people. Do the polled think they are being asked an unliteral question? Are they choosing to respond in an unliteral fashion to what is taken as a literal question?
For example, are they taking it as a question about being “afraid of death”? Are they just signaling that they aren’t afraid of death?
Difference 2 We think living for a very long time is a real possibility. Most people don’t think it’s possible to live much longer.
That only increases the likelihood of unliteral interpretations of the question, and unliteral responses.
There’s the basic sour grapes principle. There’s also the putting out of your mind yearnings for things you don’t believe you can have.
Difference 3 We plan on being youthful, vibrant, and healthy during those increased years. They’re likely picturing living in increasingly bad health—even if you say they will be youthful, getting decrepit is probably what they’re still picturing.
Difference 4 Closest to your point, I think.
We picture doing a lot more than watching Wheel of Fortune for the next 1000 years. It’s unlikely they’ve even considered many of the possibilities we think of, and if they did, they likely would write them off as impossible.
Maybe if they were told about all the wonderful things they could be doing, and they believed that it was really possible to do those things, they’d be more enthusiastic.
Difference 5 Many people say, at least, that they believe in an afterlife . Whether they literally believe it, or are just saying it in some unliteral fashion, you can see how the literal question just doesn’t have the same implications to them as it does to us, and if they’re just signaling belief/approval in the afterlife, your question is unlikely to get them to stop.
In summary, yes, we are weird. We should respect that, and evaluate their answers to your questions in all the different ways they might understand your question, and the different ways they might choose to respond.