I have to admit, I’ve stopped even being amazed by this sort of thing. My working theory is that about 40% of questions on surveys get answered without actually bothering to read the question.
Unfortunately, there’s a correlation between political leanings and chance of getting this sort of thing wrong—conservatives were more likely to get the former question right, and progressives more likely to get the latter one right.
Sorry about that. Perhaps stay away from politics for a bit, and remember that this data on the averages tells you very little about the few super-important outliers.
(And that people who aren’t paying attention are more likely to answer based on their political party’s position, probably.)
Oh, the depressed cynicism is coming from an entirely different channel (I just came out of a staff meeting at my office); it’s not a result of this exchange, just simultaneous with it. I’ll get over it.
Though I do in fact stay away from politics in the sense you mean it here, for precisely the reason you have in mind...it does not do wonders for my mood. Although the exercise of defending the reasonableness of my political opponents and looking for holes in the positions of my political allies is one I find valuable, albeit generally best done in the privacy of my own mind.
Wow. Just wow.
I have to admit, I’ve stopped even being amazed by this sort of thing. My working theory is that about 40% of questions on surveys get answered without actually bothering to read the question.
Unfortunately, there’s a correlation between political leanings and chance of getting this sort of thing wrong—conservatives were more likely to get the former question right, and progressives more likely to get the latter one right.
(nods) You’re right, of course. I shouldn’t even have made the comment, I’m just in a depressed and cynical morass at the moment.
Sorry about that. Perhaps stay away from politics for a bit, and remember that this data on the averages tells you very little about the few super-important outliers.
(And that people who aren’t paying attention are more likely to answer based on their political party’s position, probably.)
Oh, the depressed cynicism is coming from an entirely different channel (I just came out of a staff meeting at my office); it’s not a result of this exchange, just simultaneous with it. I’ll get over it.
Though I do in fact stay away from politics in the sense you mean it here, for precisely the reason you have in mind...it does not do wonders for my mood. Although the exercise of defending the reasonableness of my political opponents and looking for holes in the positions of my political allies is one I find valuable, albeit generally best done in the privacy of my own mind.
In any case, thanks for your concern.
Yeah… yeah. It’s all a little disheartening.