Thursday, May 1, 2008
I forget where I read this, so I can't link to it, and the details aren't important anyway. It's been kicking around in my head for a few days.
Some group did an exit poll wherein they asked people if race made a difference in whom they'd be willing to vote for. An overwhelming number of people, something like 85% or 90%, said "No."
Then they asked the same people if they knew someone to whom race would make a difference, and a very large percentage said "Yes."
The part that bugs me is that the conclusion of the pollsters was that the numbers didn't jive, somebody must be lying, and therefore a lot more people were racist than were willing to admit it to the pollsters.
Huh? Therefore?
Let's take 10 people most of whom know each other. 1 is racist and the other 9 are not. If we ask them the first question, we get 90% No, which is true.
If we ask them the second question, and 7 of the 9 know the racist guy, then we get 70% or 80% Yes, which is true.
How could they conclude that most people were lying?
Sheesh. Buncha idiots.
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1 comment:
Or a lot of people who answered yes to the "know someone who would" question are mistaken in their mind reading of someone else's intentions and predicted behavior ;)
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