Even under the best of circumstances it is difficult to collect representative data from a limited sampling of the population. Legitimate organizations make an honest attempt but there are factions that, through ignorance or by design, so fully bastardize the process the resulting information is less than meaningful. We must be critical thinkers when it … More Things that make you look dumb: Citing bad poll data
As a society we have an insatiable hunger for information but when it comes to knowledge we seem to have an unwavering commitment to maintaining a perpetual low calorie diet. Our hunger for information is sated only by the most banal forms of entertainment. We are surrounded by hundreds of cable channels, hundreds of satellite … More Aristotle.. can you keep up with Kardashians?
When politicians make decisions based on polls not only are they avoiding thinking for themselves, they are abdicating their responsibility as our elected representatives. Do people think that if the majority in a poll believe X then X is the correct action? Our elected officials seem confused and appear to believe that their only responsibility … More Poll addiction and democracy and.. democracy
There has been criticism of President Obama’s ostensibly restrained emotional response to the the Gulf oil crisis. I find his approach reassuring in the same sense that when a plane has lost its engines I would much prefer a calm, cool and effective pilot at the controls. Give me Sully any day over a pilot … More “Sully” Sullenberger and the BP Oil Crisis
I caught a snippet of Pete Dominick’s show on XM Radio yesterday and heard him mention something about CNN’s reporting on Mark Kirk and Richard Blumenthal. As I recall, the premise was that CNN is a “liberal” site but had more stories on Richard Blumenthal, the Connecticut democrat who apparently lied his military record, than they did … More Using Google to identify bias in the media: Blumenthal vs. Kirk
The roles and responsibilities of the Federal government in disaster responses are based on the flawed assumption that organization and structured command and control are the foundation of an effective response. A more effective response strategy could be developed by understanding the function of complex adaptive systems and how to apply that understanding to developing … More Complex Adaptive Systems and Effective Disaster Responses
Whether it’s foreign aid, highways or medicare, when the topic of trimming the federal budget comes up everyone has a program they believe should be cut. A poll conducted in April 2010 by The Economist asked 1000 respondents which federal programs should receive less funding. The program receiving the highest number of votes was foreign … More Cognitive dissonance and the federal budget
I was thinking about crude oil being a fungible commodity and I realized that I had a fundamental misunderstanding about debate of “to drill, or not to drill” in the Gulf. Prior to this somewhat embarrassing epiphany, my working hypothesis and basis for my position on the issue was that the oil obtained from drilling … More Does the oil from the Gulf of Mexico belong to America?
Confronting Mediocrity 