[lit-ideas] Re: Vote!
- From: Robert.Paul@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Robert Paul)
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: 27 Oct 2004 10:44:27 PDT
pas writes:
I heard a reporter last night say this: "a lot of people vote for a
candidate simply because they want to vote for the winner". Yeah, what a
silly reason to vote for someone. Is that a tautology?
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There is this argument:
I want the prson I vote for to win.
So, I want to vote for the winner.
This is strikes me as a fallacy, but I'll leave it to JL to point out just why
it is.
(But we know what Paul meant.)
The armchair psychologist in me says that there may be some truth in the
reporter's hypothesis (that's one reason I despise polls). But it seems to me
clearly true in small groups where the pressure to conform is more immediate. If
the hands appear tentatively at first, then, once a certain small majority pro
or con appears, the 'undecides' begin to side quickly with the perceived trend.
Robert Paul
Reed College
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