Use of polling as a metric
as well as Malysia, Indonesia and the southern Philippines where societal rules make it difficult to talk to women, difficult for them to give an honest opinion.
Far more importantly and harmfully to polling in the western sense, all respondents are due to innate politeness going to tell you in part what they THINK you want to hear and in pure pragmatism, tell you in part what is beneficial to them or their kin or friends. The percentage of politeness and pragmatism will vary dependent upon who the pollster is and on the subject of the poll -- but those two factors will always skew the poll results.
Recall also Al Taqqiya -- and that it applies based on not to whom one is speaking but to the end recipient...
Recall also the rule of thumb; If given a figure, decrement or enhance it by 80% depending on which way will make the provider look less good. Born hagglers. Neither of those things is a lie in the western sense; the first is dissimulation religiously encouraged (some believe mandated), the second is telling you something that makes the teller look good -- which is required -- or is what he thinks you'd like to hear. Not immoral or wrong, just different. Really different.
Moderator's note: Today Bob's World has posed a question, in a thread on Afghanistan, which deserved this thread's creation - on Post No.4, so start there and return here!
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