First Day Opinion Survey 2004

Strong consensus:

1^st bar (blue): Smoking increases lung cancer

2^nd bar: Drunk driving increases car accident rates

3^rd bar: Earth orbits sun

4^th bar (lt green): Earth is spherical

Moderate consensus:

1^st bar (blue): Vaccinations reduce a person’s risk of getting a disease

2^nd bar: Cell phone use increases car accident rates

3^rd bar: Earth is billions of years old

4^th bar: More young are born than can survive

5^th bar (purple): Order is created at expense of energy

Moderate consensus 2:

1^st bar (blue): Penicillin kills bacteria

2^nd bar: DNA typing is >99% reliable

3^rd bar: Several convicts have been later proven innocent

4^th bar: Evolution of man

5^th bar (purple): Life = chemical reactions

Moderate consensus of untruth:

1^st bar (blue): Eyewitness ID >99% reliable

2^nd bar: lottery odds depend on your choice of number

3^rd bar: Humans have been cloned

4^th bar (lt green): Fairies real

Moderate consensus (of untruth) 2:

1^st bar (blue): AIDS was genetically engineered

2^nd bar: Astrology predicts future

3^rd bar: Astrologists win lotteries

4^th bar (lt green): Science will be able to prove/disprove God

Variable:

1^st bar (blue): Irradiated foods contain residual radiation

2^nd bar: Penicillin kills viruses

3^rd bar: Most plants are safe to eat

4^th bar: Scientific journals true

5^th bar (orange): Drug companies only market improved drugs

Variable 2:

1^st bar (blue): Sherlock Holmes was fictional

2^nd bar: Govt agencies ensure medical practices benefit public

3^rd bar: Physicians always act in patient’s best interest

4^th bar: Higher crime rates on full moons

5^th bar (orange): Ghosts are real

Variable 3:

1^st bar (blue): Communication with dead

2^nd bar: AIDS came from chimps

3^rd bar: Human activities at expense of other forms of life

4^th bar (lt green): Overpopulation most serious threat to humans

Effect of context:

1^st bar (blue): Aliens have been here

2^nd bar (red): Govt’s have concealed evidence that aliens have been here