Do you think, Sawzaw, that the poll you quote from was an exercise that would benefit people in any way...or one which would further divide them against one another?

Are most polls anything more than an attempt to push some kind of agenda, score some kind of propaganda point for somebody, and manipulate people's views? Should we even have them? Do they do more harm than good? What do you think?

Pre-election polls, for instance, can often influence voters to vote...or not to vote...depending on which way they think the wind is blowing. They'd rather vote for a "winner" than for a "loser", so they'll jump ship or even change sides if they think their candidate is losing ground. Do you think that's a good thing? I don't. I would prefer a society where we had no polls.

Also, the questions are often overly simplistic, encouraging a knee-jerk response rather than careful thought, and they're often worded to solicit a pre-determined response, and that misleads people. I regard polls kind of the way I do legalized gambling, I think they're a vice that greatly harms a society.

One poll I am in favour of, however: exit polls at elections. They can help to expose voting fraud.