I don't believe that Opinion Polls are Scientifically Valid [View All]

[LosinIt]

OK, hear me out. I know that statistically you can take a representative sample of widgets and measure a property of theirs, say length or weight, and then extrapolate out to a larger sample. That is a proven fact. But, I think with people's opinions, it just doesn't hold true. There are just too many factors that go into the way someone feels about something. As an example, my mother is a Republican, as is my brother. My dad died a long time ago, so I am not really sure what his politics were, but I would guess Repug because I remember he thought that Nelson Rockefeller walked on water. So, demographically, I should have the same opinion as these three people but, voila, here I am a rabid member of DU.

In fact, I think that it may sometimes work the other way. A poll comes out and says that 90% of Americans think that black socks are just the coolest. So, those that want to be cool, don the black socks. That isn't a very good example, but do you get what I am saying?