Saturday 31 March 2007

I don't know

Next time you observe a survey result notice how few respondents vote 'don't know'. It says a lot about us, but two things strike me in particular: Firstly, we are a people of extremes: Yes or no, left or right, us or them. Secondly, we are a people of too many answers and not enough questions.

Am I right? Yes? No? Not sure? Maybe?

3 comments:

adil said...

I see no problem answering "don't know" to your example question. Unlike "everyone" (as you put it), I think there is an equal chance for each team at this stage and I would express this with a "don't know" answer.

I believe "don't know" is a valid answer for all opinion-based questions. Please provide a counter-example to support your conclusion ("... it depends on the question").

adil said...

Yes, forcing someone to answer "yes" or "no" when they don't have an opinion on the matter would obscure results. Thus we should agree that "don't know" is a valid response to measure how many people do not have an opinion on the issue.

adil said...

That is another excellent example of why a neutral response would be required. It doesn't necessarily have to be "don't know". As an individual I may be "undecided" bceause I have not properly weighed out the pros and cons, or I may respond "yes and no" because I equally like the life it brings but dislike the wetness that results.