Some views are contrarian in society at large, but dominant views in particular subcultures. Libertarian views aren’t dominant in economics, but they’re (correct me if I’m wrong) dominant in the economics department at George Mason where Robin Hanson works. Does that make Robin a contrarian, or a conformist?
I bet that most 9/11 conspiracy theorists have a lot of friends who are also conspiracy theorists. Sometimes supporting one contrarian theory (the Jews were behind 9/11) is a way of aligning with a larger, locally-conformist narrative (the Jews are behind everything).
Next thing you know, someone will say Jews are behind the Singularity Institute… um… uh-oh.
Yes, if nearly all “contrarian” views are just conformity with local groups, then there will be no c-factor—just a lot of ideologies that don’t correlate with each other. This was alluded to in the OP.
This could be true of the general population but not of academia/intelligentsia, in which case polling 10,000 respondents there might still work.
This is a reason to collect data not just on what people think, but on who they know, and try to get many pairs of people who know each other to participate in your survey.
Some views are contrarian in society at large, but dominant views in particular subcultures. Libertarian views aren’t dominant in economics, but they’re (correct me if I’m wrong) dominant in the economics department at George Mason where Robin Hanson works. Does that make Robin a contrarian, or a conformist?
I bet that most 9/11 conspiracy theorists have a lot of friends who are also conspiracy theorists. Sometimes supporting one contrarian theory (the Jews were behind 9/11) is a way of aligning with a larger, locally-conformist narrative (the Jews are behind everything).
Next thing you know, someone will say Jews are behind the Singularity Institute… um… uh-oh.
Yes, if nearly all “contrarian” views are just conformity with local groups, then there will be no c-factor—just a lot of ideologies that don’t correlate with each other. This was alluded to in the OP.
This could be true of the general population but not of academia/intelligentsia, in which case polling 10,000 respondents there might still work.
This is a reason to collect data not just on what people think, but on who they know, and try to get many pairs of people who know each other to participate in your survey.
Perhaps if the poll is shared by friends on Facebook, this becomes easy?