Get out there and vote . . . or, maybe not.
Bookworm on Mar 10 2007 at 9:32 pm | Filed under: Elections, Presidential elections, Silly Stuff
I am, apparently, worthy of voting. I bet you, my regular readers, are too. But if you’re in doubt, take this test:
I have to admit to having slipped up on one question, but my excuse is that I’m not a very visual person, and photos are involved. It is worrisome that, of all the people who have taken the test, only a little over half are sufficiently well-informed to recognize the majority of people pictured, all of whom are prominent in one way or another.
Hat tip: Palmtree Pundit
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19 Responses to “Get out there and vote . . . or, maybe not.”
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I missed one. That was Robert Gates. Really don’t remember seeing pictures of him. Too bad voters can’t be given a current events quiz before voting. Sad to think my vote is cancelled out by an ignorant voter.
310/350
Sad part is that you could deduce some of the answers simply by who they were focusing on. Politicians and actors… House minority/majority leaders.
I didn’t know who Mitch was, or his picture, but made an educated, and got it right. I also got Elmud right if only because he looked Jewish and he looked like some pictures of Olmert I had seen, but I don’t even remember seeing any pictures of Olmert though… so still an educated guess. But I loss 4 points because I didn’t put him as the PM of Israel, even though I thought I did.
Question No 13: Correct
Tony Snow
Points Earned: 5 out of 5
52.55% of people answer this question correctly. Question No 14: Correct
White House Press Secretary
Points Earned: 5 out of 5
68.59% of people answer this question correctly.
That kind of proves that the White House really isn’t talking to America with those press corp smoke and mirrors. Bypass the media, get with the program already. The plurality of those who knew Snow probably watches Fox as well.
If they had made the multiple choices more similar, i.e. harder, even more would have failed.
321 out of 350
I missed Tony Snow, Mitch McConnell, & Madonna. Madonna was a mistake…clicked it too fast. Tony Snow was a fluke…had the picture been from the front I might have got it (though I never watch TV…so I’m more likely to recognize his voice), & Mitch? Absolutely no idea.
For what it’s worth.
You sound pretty well informed to me, Kurt. I’ll let you vote in my representative Democracy any time.
Got everything except Madonna, in whom I have never been interested. Took a guess and decided it might be Kate Winslet.
It surprised me that they found an occupation to put in the Paris Hilton question, made me wonder for a second if it was really her. (”Wealthy slut” wasn’t an option…)
I was surprised that a 88.8% was so bad that I should go study up and THEN vote. My husband got 98% and I’ll never, ever live this down. I need to pay more attention to pop culture . . . not.
It almost speaks well of you, Marguerite, that you don’t know who these pop culture figures are. The real dodos are the ones who take the test and mistake them for someone important.
I got 100% and the quiz told me to go into politics.
A politician? Ewwww. I prefer to keep my soul intact.
One of the reasons leaders shouldn’t govern by polls.
The Gates photo looked too much like Dean. Gates was my second choice. The Agualera choice was a complete guess.322 out of 350 ain’t bad. And yes, Fox News devotes did much better than average, I’m sure. The next such poll should have a sub quiz on where the respondents get their news from. Might cause even more heart burn in the MSM.
Al
“And yes, Fox News devotes did much better than average, I’m sure.” — Al
I must be the exception to the rule, then.
Did you ever see this?
“An October 2003 study conducted by the University of Maryland’s Program on International Policy (PIPA) found Fox News viewers were “significantly more likely to have misperceptions” about the Iraq war than all other media consumers. The study was “based on a series of seven US polls conducted from January through September” 2003 and measured respondents’ “key perceptions and beliefs” on “US policy” in Iraq. The study found that “[t]hose who receive most of their news from Fox News are more likely than average to have misperceptions.” For instance, of the “three key misperceptions” — which the study listed as “the beliefs that … links between Iraq and al-Qaeda have been found, that WMD have been found in Iraq and that world public opinion approved of the US going to war with Iraq” — Fox News watchers were found not only to be the “most likely to hold misperceptions,” but “were more than twice as likely than the next nearest network to hold all three misperceptions.” The PIPA study found that 80 percent of Fox News viewers held at least one of the three misperceptions.”
People who got their news from NPR and PBS were the most informed, followed by those who got their news from print sources, all the way to FOX news viewers - 80% of whom were misinformed. This is how the results panned out:
1 or more
misperceptions
80%- Fox News viwers
71% - CBS viewers
61% - ABC viewers
55% — NBC viewers
55% — CNN Viewers
47% — Print sources
23% - PBS/NPR audiences
links between Iraq and al-Qaeda have been found, that WMD have been found in Iraq and that world public opinion approved of the US going to war with Iraq
Now that’s funny.
Didn’t know CBS had it in them. I mean, if people have read Neo’s post on war death statistics, they probably can get where this is going without any help from me.
They made a mistake with John Roberts. His official title is Chief Justice of the United States, not of the Supreme Court. Sometimes it pays to watch Jeopardy!
332.– missed both mcconnell questions. quiz said i should definitely vote. i feel special.
I got 100% but, like T.S., I’ll skip going into politics. I must confess I wasn’t sure about Olmert. I looked around the photo for some clues, and decided that some of the print on the newspaper in his hand looked like Hebrew. So I took a shot and was right.
I am also allowed to vote! But, being blonde and all, I got many correct answers by the process of elimination (the dog that didn’t bark.) So, with a degree in philosophy, I am better at logic than I am flash cards!
The analogy I use is not that effective, because my target audience probably doesn’t believe it, but here goes. Just as all the data are not in on the human contribution to Global Warming, so is the data not all in on connections between Saddam and al-Qaeda. Read some of the mountain of documents taken from Saddam’s government that are slowly being translated. Saddam was into terror in a big way.
The Univ. of Maryland study is cited as measuring “‘key perceptions and beliefs’on ‘US policy’ in Iraq”. If you just stay with the word “beliefs”, it’s understandable why Fox listeners would have one belief and NPR listeners would have another. Which one is more reflective of the truth? As a regular listener to both, I understand,and am mildly dismayed by the NPR response.
Al
There might be another consideration, Al. It might not be primarily that people were indoctrinated by NPR and Fox in where they got their views, but instead people migrated to Fox or NPR based upon their current views. This then would totally invalidate the purpose of what news sources they read or not, because their views were already formed.
Therefore people who believed in the truth, would stop tolerating NPR’s falseness and join Fox’s light. While those who believed in what is false, would join NPR and perhaps stop watching Fox altogether.
There is certainly that possibility, ymarsakar. Though a reasonable fraction of people calling into the more liberal NPR talk shows come right out of a thoughtful right field. I have to hold on to the steering wheel tightly with both hands to avoid joining the group you suggest.
Al