How intelligently does the average citizen respond to a poll? Not very, in the opinion of Los Angeles Mirror-News Columnist Paul Coates (TIME, Jan. 17, 1955). "To us average citizens," says Coates, "ignorance is not bliss; it's embarrassing. Ask us something about anything, and we'll give you a carefully considered answer, even though we don't understand your question."
To make his point. Columnist Coates set himself up as the "Los Angeles Survey Institute," and assigned three assistants to call 150 names (mostly housewives) chosen at random from the telephone book. The "Institute's" question was loaded: "Do you think the Mann Act deters...
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