Friday, May 09, 2008

My Rant... & The Results of Poll #0304

Today I was reading an article in a monthly Business magazine that I subscribe to about the uselessness of polls and statistical information in America. I could not disagree more with what I read.

It appears that the author of the article was a man who had his ‘feelings’ hurt because he was not able to participate in a recent poll in his Elks Lodge. The Elks Lodge council conducted a poll as to the naming of the new in-house meeting room (Who on earth even knows what members of the Elks Lodge do? I sure don’t.). The man was on vacation with his family during the time the poll was conducted and was not chosen to participate.

Apparently he, and a few other members like him, felt that the meeting room needed to be named after his father- a man who had supported the Elks for years. He was upset, because while he was away a sample of Elk members was taken that did not include him. The decision did not go his way so he decided to write an article and ‘attack’ the decision with the pen.

Several things got me angry about his article- the first and foremost being that I just love Polls and Statistics. I have built my entire living on them. The second thing that infuriated me was how so many people in America these days seem to think- in the words of a popular musical artist- ‘I bet you think this song is about you?’

Polls are always conducted using a sample of people. Why? The answer is because anyone with half a brain understands that to ask everyone involved in a project is time consuming and can sometimes adversely affect the results. Polls are conducted using samples that should statistically and mathematically reflect the desires of the majority of individuals if the poll actually could be given to everyone; however, in the case it would be given to everyone it wouldn’t be a poll but a vote.

I could go on and on about how important polls are. Polls help us determine the real issues. They help us focus our intents and thoughts in a more unified way. If we had no polls and no data to look at, then we would be stuck in an endless round of voting that would never really accomplish anything.

Now that I have gotten all that off my chest… here are this weeks poll results… which I must say… should be a direct example of the general public. In most cases!

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Question:
If you could write the world a song,
which type would it be?
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Possible Responses:
Country....... 21%
Rock-n-Roll....... 21%
Bluegrass....... 1%
Gospel....... 21%
Cnt. Christian....... 3%
Instrumental....... 0%
Pop....... 4%
Jazz....... 17%
R&B....... 4%
Soul....... 8%
Polling for Poll #0304 officially closed May 9, 2008
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P.S. No extra info today because of my lengthy comments...
-Hugs
Aprelle

4 comments:

Lynn said...

So, you mean a poll is where you only select a sampling of people? That is amazing!! I thought everyone in America was asked their opinion about all things considered! WOW! It truly is amazing!!

Aprelle Coleman said...

Lynn-
Isn't it? I think I am just excited to see that someone commented on my very own- and very first blog on The Dialogue.

BTW... who is the guy in your picture?

-Hugs

Lynn said...

Congrats on your first post! The guy is Farley, Campaign Manager, Dubya, Inc. You should drop by and talk with him. He's a great guy!!

Linda Elms said...

Ya'll are NUTS! You sound like two girls in their "make-believe world". LOL! Love you both, anyway!!