Forgetting history means you really forget it?

Snowflake · 02-04-2008, 10:10 PM

Instead of forgetting the past and being doomed to repeat it.....
I found this story in the news fascinating. Of course, they did only poll 3000 people.

Quote:

Quarter of Brits think Churchill was myth: poll

LONDON (AFP) - Britons are losing their grip on reality, according to a poll out Monday which showed that nearly a quarter think Winston Churchill was a myth while the majority reckon Sherlock Holmes was real.

Kevy Baby · 02-04-2008, 10:55 PM

The thing you also need to remember about polls is people like me. Often times, I give completely ridiculous answers like "Churchill was a myth and Sherlock Holmes was real."

Cadaverous Pallor · 02-05-2008, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevy Baby

The thing you also need to remember about polls is people like me. Often times, I give completely ridiculous answers like "Churchill was a myth and Sherlock Holmes was real."

I do hope you're kidding.

Moonliner · 02-05-2008, 09:00 AM

Last time I was polled, I said the Pacific ocean was located in Denmark.

(Yes, CP. There are a lot of us out there....)

blueerica · 02-05-2008, 09:12 AM

Hehehe... Kevy, that would be very much like you!

I'm not entirely surprised, though. The percentages are rather small, and I have such a dim view of the general public, so I expected more. Many of the real-life characters were larger than life, so it's almost understandable that some would confuse it for fact or fiction. The only "majority" that found fiction to be fact (or vice versa) was over Sherlock Holmes. I know that when I was younger, I thought he might have been a real person, whose stories were embellished into a work of fiction.

Alex · 02-05-2008, 09:55 AM

Time has a way of doing that. To most people these days I suspect that Aunt Jemima and Walt Disney are equally real historical/marketing creatures/creations.

Kevy Baby · 02-05-2008, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cadaverous Pallor

I do hope you're kidding.

Depends on the poll and my mood. Yes, I have done this (though it has been a while).

Cadaverous Pallor · 02-05-2008, 02:05 PM

Lying on polls? Blech on all of you sinners.

Alex · 02-05-2008, 02:09 PM

I don't lie on polls, I just never participate in them.

Therefore it is a mathematical given that the overall responses will be stupider looking than if I were involved.

I apologize for skewing things.

€uroMeinke · 02-05-2008, 02:14 PM

Someone has to play the part of Standard deviation...

02-04-2008, 10:55 PM	#2
Kevy Baby Chowder Head Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Yes Posts: 18,500	The thing you also need to remember about polls is people like me. Often times, I give completely ridiculous answers like "Churchill was a myth and Sherlock Holmes was real." __________________ The thing about quotes on the internet is that you cannot verify their validity. - Abraham Lincoln
	Submit to Quotes

02-05-2008, 09:00 AM	#4
Moonliner 8/30/14 - Disneyland -10k or Bust. Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 9,022	Last time I was polled, I said the Pacific ocean was located in Denmark. (Yes, CP. There are a lot of us out there....) __________________ - Taking it one step at a time.
	Submit to Quotes

02-05-2008, 09:12 AM	#5
blueerica Nueve Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 6,497	Hehehe... Kevy, that would be very much like you! I'm not entirely surprised, though. The percentages are rather small, and I have such a dim view of the general public, so I expected more. Many of the real-life characters were larger than life, so it's almost understandable that some would confuse it for fact or fiction. The only "majority" that found fiction to be fact (or vice versa) was over Sherlock Holmes. I know that when I was younger, I thought he might have been a real person, whose stories were embellished into a work of fiction. __________________ Tomorrow is the day for you and me
	Submit to Quotes

02-05-2008, 09:55 AM	#6
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	Time has a way of doing that. To most people these days I suspect that Aunt Jemima and Walt Disney are equally real historical/marketing creatures/creations.
	Submit to Quotes

02-05-2008, 02:05 PM	#8
Cadaverous Pallor ohhhh baby Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Parental Bliss Posts: 12,364	Lying on polls? Blech on all of you sinners. __________________ The second star to the right shines in the night for you
	Submit to Quotes

02-05-2008, 02:09 PM	#9
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	I don't lie on polls, I just never participate in them. Therefore it is a mathematical given that the overall responses will be stupider looking than if I were involved. I apologize for skewing things.
	Submit to Quotes

02-05-2008, 02:14 PM	#10
€uroMeinke L'Hédoniste Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: A.S.C.O.T. Posts: 8,671	Someone has to play the part of Standard deviation... __________________ I would believe only in a God that knows how to Dance. Friedrich Nietzsche
	Submit to Quotes