The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #121535 Message #2659305
Posted By: Wolfgang
18-Jun-09 - 08:16 AM
Thread Name: Billy Bragg and incitement to violence
Subject: RE: Billy Bragg and incitement to violence
Do you know how many people were quizzed in the Mori poll?
No?
1004.
Is that as comprehensive as 39% of the British population?
No.
yet it constitutes evidence and a national election doesn't?
Your icy grip on reason is looking decidedly irrational ...
The 1004 are an unbiased sample whereas the 39% of the British population are a self-selected sample which most likely is not representative. It is conceivable that among the 61 % non-voters the opinions to some questions are very different from those of the the 39 % voters.
To trust the result from the fewer people more than the result from the many is in fact rational. Your opinion had a much higher probability of being correct than Ringer's objection even before knowing the result of a survey, but there was still a minuscule grain of doubt possible.
Ringer was kind of stubborn, but not irrational.
Wolfgang