…and this is a 
This poll cannot stand
Category: Pointless polls
Posted on: October 10, 2008 4:14 PM, by PZ Myers
Oh, come now. Are they just taunting me, waving a bit of succulent red meat before and begging me to bite? Should topics such as creationism or intelligent design be taught in public schools alongside the theory of evolution? 85% say yes. I cannot believe that 85% of the population are that stupid, although it is being hosted on the American Patriarchy News Network, which would tend to bias the sample downward.
Gah. This came out garbled before, and you would not believe how long it took to get in and fix it. The scienceblogs server is rapidly becoming intolerable…which, of course, is exactly what the DOS bastards want.
Comments
Posted by: Michelle | October 10, 2008 4:17 PM
and where is the link to the said poll?
Posted by: mr-zero | October 10, 2008 4:17 PM
Where's the link PZ? I bursting to vote!
Posted by: Celtic_Evolution | October 10, 2008 4:19 PM
At some point, PZ, I assume you'll be linking to this poll so that it can be properly adjusted... correct?
Posted by: JStein | October 10, 2008 4:19 PM
This is really insane. I see this and I wonder what people are thinking.
Are they unaware of the scientific dialogue between the two arguments, which is so incredibly lopsided?
Posted by: Charley | October 10, 2008 4:22 PM
From BobC in an earlier thread:
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Poll.aspx?ekfrm=282864
Posted by: TaoDeInsane | October 10, 2008 4:24 PM
I can't even find an American Patriarchy News Network by running google to the ground in search of it. So I'm thinking it's one of those very small little "let's tell each other how right we are!" communities or something.
Shame, I was all set for a good poll crashing.
Posted by: Jan | October 10, 2008 4:26 PM
The American Patriarchy News Network? Oh, I'm getting a bad feeling about this!
Posted by: PeterB | October 10, 2008 4:27 PM
Anyone who reads a site like "American Family News" is unaware of a lot of things. It's almost an example of Poe's Law. It's just a little beyond a parody.
Posted by: PZ Myers | October 10, 2008 4:28 PM
Sorry, it's my quaint habit to substitute "patriarchy" for "family" in the name of any right wing institution.
Posted by: franz | October 10, 2008 4:29 PM
The link posted by "Charley #5" needs some reality "adjustments". Don't know if it is the same poll PZ was referring to. The website is a stomach churning carnival of stupidity.
Posted by: Glen Davidson | October 10, 2008 4:29 PM
Sure, if they do it right, by noting that it is an old mythic/metaphysical belief that has, thankfully, been superseded by honest empirical research.
The failed ideas deserve to be mentioned as the failures that they are.
Glen D
http://tinyurl.com/2kxyc7
Posted by: ihateaphids | October 10, 2008 4:31 PM
poll crashing is my new favorite hobby!
Posted by: chad the imaper | October 10, 2008 4:34 PM
Ha...if you keep refreshing the results you can slowly watch it climb. We're down to 75% YES right now.
Posted by: Anders | October 10, 2008 4:36 PM
Just did my part...
Posted by: Celtic_Evolution | October 10, 2008 4:38 PM
Ah, yes... just open up in a new incognito window in Chrome and vote to my heart's content...
Commence course correction...
Posted by: rrt | October 10, 2008 4:38 PM
Do we know now that it's a DOS attack? Any idea from where?
Posted by: Jon D | October 10, 2008 4:40 PM
Thats odd.. the link didnt show up in my RSS reader. Just came out as unformatted text but as soon as I came here, link worked fine!
Anyways, did my little bit for the good sense cause..
Posted by: ihateaphids | October 10, 2008 4:40 PM
poll crashing is my new favorite hobby!
Posted by: llewelly | October 10, 2008 4:43 PM
Jon D (#17), it seems to me the rss feed is still carrying the old post, in which the link was garbled.
Posted by: Miss Infidel | October 10, 2008 4:44 PM
It really doesn't take long for a poll to be "pharyngulaed" once PZ posts it.
It's already down to 65% yes.
Posted by: phantomreader42 | October 10, 2008 4:45 PM
Wow, "no" is up 10% from when I voted in a matter of minutes! Now 63/35.
Posted by: Miss Infidel | October 10, 2008 4:47 PM
It really doesn't take long for a poll to be "pharyngulaed" once PZ posts it.
It's already down to 65% yes.
Posted by: BobC | October 10, 2008 4:48 PM
This poll has a related article about Liar-For-Jebus Casey Luskin who complains about evolution being called a fact. It's a waste of time to leave comments there because pro-science comments are censored.
The 85% in favor of teaching magical creation in biology classes is now 61% and dropping every second.
Posted by: recovering catholic | October 10, 2008 4:49 PM
I voted--where do you see the poll results???
Posted by: Shaden Freud | October 10, 2008 4:51 PM
#23
But I thought ID has nothing to do with religion! Why's he writing an article on this site? I just don't get it....
Posted by: matt | October 10, 2008 4:51 PM
guys, they're fighting back! We're in trouble, I think....
Posted by: Kylgar | October 10, 2008 4:52 PM
Is the pop-up ad on that site (at least, one I saw), for "getting a bible in the hands of every soldier" as terrifying to anyone else as much as it is to me? o.O
Posted by: Irene Delse | October 10, 2008 4:54 PM
"Server Error in '/' Application."
O hai, I'm on ur internets, pharyngulizing ur pollz.
Posted by: Rey Fox | October 10, 2008 4:55 PM
"Are they unaware of the scientific dialogue between the two arguments"
Completely, blithely, and willfully.
I'm rather relieved to find out that it's an American Patriarchy Association poll. I originally thought it was 85% just because it was a Mississippi poll.
Posted by: Upton O'Goode | October 10, 2008 4:56 PM
I did my part. Am I a member of the ilk now?
Posted by: sjburnt | October 10, 2008 4:56 PM
DOS? Come on, help out the old and not-so-hep cats. What does DOS refer to this time?
Posted by: shrimplate | October 10, 2008 4:56 PM
Not *only* are they scientifically illiterate, but somehow the news of Kitzmiller/Dover has escaped them. What? They're waiting for the movie?
Posted by: JThompson | October 10, 2008 5:04 PM
Voted on this one...many many times.
DOS in this case stands for 'Denial of Service' attacks.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denial_of_service
Posted by: chad the impaler | October 10, 2008 5:04 PM
It's 50/50 now...let's get the YES down to single didjits!
Posted by: BobC | October 10, 2008 5:04 PM
50.02% NO.
Posted by: Greg Esres | October 10, 2008 5:05 PM
if you use www.Anonymouse.org, it appears you can vote over and over.
Posted by: Vitis01 | October 10, 2008 5:05 PM
The tide just turned! The votes are piling up faster than I can refresh the page.
Posted by: Anthony Taylor | October 10, 2008 5:06 PM
That is the sort of site that makes poe's law work. Welfare mentality is the root cause of the financial crisis? "You're an angry feminist? How cute!" (Referring to people who dislike Sarah Palin.) We were greeted as liberators?
They must have a fundie utopia tattood in their colon, if that's how they see the world.
Posted by: Geoff | October 10, 2008 5:06 PM
I've done my bit too, I rather like the thought of being an ilk.
Decent people are up and about and we're almost there at 50%
Posted by: Eric | October 10, 2008 5:07 PM
No is winning at 51%
Posted by: mike | October 10, 2008 5:07 PM
hurry, this site changes polls rapidly!
Posted by: Oliver | October 10, 2008 5:12 PM
If you don't accept cookies from that page you can vote multiple times without any anonymizer tools...
Posted by: sjburnt | October 10, 2008 5:14 PM
JThompson, thanks.
Posted by: DrFrank | October 10, 2008 5:15 PM
Cheating and voting multiple times takes the sport out of it - there's more than enough of us to trash it fairly!
Posted by: phantomreader42 | October 10, 2008 5:16 PM
Kylgar @ #27:
Well, the troops need toilet paper, and we all know Halliburton isn't competent to supply it... :P
On another note, every single post I've made today has had a submission error. Is that happening to everyone? Something is really fucking up the servers.
Posted by: Leslie in Canada | October 10, 2008 5:17 PM
Poll results are looking better. And after voting you can click on a banner ad and buy your own copy of "Expelled." I have a feeling, somehow, they wanted the poll to go "Yes."
Posted by: KH | October 10, 2008 5:24 PM
No is at 53%!
Posted by: Bob Kowalski | October 10, 2008 5:26 PM
Hit refresh after voting. The "yes" percentage decreases and decreases.
Posted by: Phoesune | October 10, 2008 5:28 PM
Yes - 42.15%
[42.15%]
No - 57.39%
[57.39%]
Unsure - 0.46%
[0.46%]
5208 responses
Posted by: jadedconformist | October 10, 2008 5:29 PM
Fixed
Posted by: jj | October 10, 2008 5:30 PM
@45 - It's the DOS attack that's screwing with the servers - someone isn't happy with scienceblogs right now
Posted by: Greg Esres | October 10, 2008 5:31 PM
A swarm of Pharyngulites is hardly fair under any circumstances.
Posted by: JStein | October 10, 2008 5:36 PM
Thanks for posting the link. I'm glad to see the poll swinging the other way.
Posted by: Brad D | October 10, 2008 5:45 PM
Doing my part, voicing my opinion, helping disadvantaged polls swing toward reality. Keep setting them up, and I'll keep helping you knock them down. :)
Posted by: Cultmember | October 10, 2008 5:46 PM
And you wonder why anyone would want to make a denial-of-service attack against you?
Posted by: dreamstretch | October 10, 2008 5:49 PM
Didn't someone threaten to crash the site in an earlier thread?
Posted by: George | October 10, 2008 5:54 PM
Sanity has a comfortable lead, I think it was 58% but I was so disturbed by the rantings down the right hand column I clicked off in disgust.
Posted by: Paul Burnett | October 10, 2008 6:02 PM
32% Yes to 67% No
I registered and commented on poor Casey's misled ranting...now to see if they show my comment.
Posted by: Mulder | October 10, 2008 6:02 PM
Hey PZ:
That 'onenewsnow' site is infested with right wing bible thumpers. Not surprising that the 'faithful' had the first go at the poll.
Funny thing about fundies tho' - about 20% are true believers (i.e. certified nutters), the others are a mix of weak minded bufoons who would trust any snake oil salesman and right wing operatives who find these simpletons easy to control.
Posted by: Jadehawk | October 10, 2008 6:05 PM
i think we broke the site....
Posted by: ggab | October 10, 2008 6:07 PM
Poll mobbing like this is like hitting the oafish class bully with a spitwad.
It doesn't solve the problem, but it irritates them.
Nothing wrong with that.
Posted by: wrpd | October 10, 2008 6:11 PM
Re: snake oil
I just caught a glimpse of the totally nutty "pinnycostal" preacher Paula White talking about her weight loss program. Maybe their other message--the jeebus one--is not bringing in the contributions they want, so they are going in another direction.
Posted by: Evan | October 10, 2008 6:13 PM
29.67% Yes
69.26% No
1.06% Unsure
8172 responses
Those numbers still aren't good enough.
Posted by: Jadehawk | October 10, 2008 6:13 PM
ok, it worked now, did my part :-)
29% yes
69% no
Posted by: Pikemann Urge | October 10, 2008 6:13 PM
How about "48 liberal lies about American history"; "The Soviet economy didn't just fail." Wait, I know: prayer did it!
Posted by: Elwood Herring | October 10, 2008 6:21 PM
Upton O'Goode: Can I steal your name for my band?
As for the poll, it seems to have died. I just keep getting error messages.
Posted by: Jadehawk | October 10, 2008 6:24 PM
of course it didn't just fail by itself!! Reagan singlehandedly destroyed it with his good looks, charm and economic savvy.
or something like that.
Posted by: David Marjanović, OM | October 10, 2008 6:31 PM
It's working. A new response is added every 1 or 2 seconds.
BTW, the site runs ads for Expelled ("The movie liberals don't want you to see!" -- how surprising that religion, creationism and politics are seen as one package... not), and one of those annoying ones that aren't really pop-ups because you can't drag them around; usually those are ads for cars, but this one is for "putting Bibles in the hands of our soldiers" and is by the Campus Crusade for
CthulhuChrist.Funnily enough, instead of the results, the poll comes up again. You have to vote again to see the results. :-D
Yes.
Posted by: David Marjanović, OM | October 10, 2008 6:35 PM
No longer. It was worse yesterday.
Posted by: Bostonian | October 10, 2008 6:39 PM
... exactly what the DOS bastards want
The DOS Bastards? I know this is off topic, but that's a really good name for a band.
Posted by: Agersomnia | October 10, 2008 6:41 PM
Yes - 27.84%
[27.84%]
No - 71.19%
[71.19%]
Unsure - 0.97%
[0.97%]
9202 responses
Posted by: Artoo45 | October 10, 2008 6:47 PM
Crackpot polls! Never underestimate the tentacle-y power of pharyngula.
Posted by: ggab | October 10, 2008 6:56 PM
The fundies are fighting back.
I wonder where they sent out word that this was happening?
Must be some creepy sites eh?
Posted by: Bob Carroll | October 10, 2008 7:05 PM
'tis the season to be voting... Trash a trashy poll today.
Maybe they'll give up, eventually.
Another Minion
Posted by: anonymous | October 10, 2008 7:06 PM
automatization with firefox + firebug:
click on "No" first, then paste into console:
WebForm_ExecuteCallback=function(){setTimeout("document.forms[0].elements[17].click()", 10000)};
document.forms[0].elements[17].click();
Posted by: Bob Carroll | October 10, 2008 7:10 PM
Voted again, after running Ccleaner.. a very useful program!
Bob
Posted by: Shap | October 10, 2008 7:16 PM
I voted, too. I also saw the 'a bible for every soldier' ad.
Now, I need to go shower.
Posted by: Darwin's Dagger | October 10, 2008 7:22 PM
Another poll crashed. PZ's flying monkeys strike again.
Posted by: Elwood Herring | October 10, 2008 7:30 PM
OT, but I find this very worrying.
Posted by: moother | October 10, 2008 7:35 PM
@ #12
oh yes, it seems almost a duty to help make sure igorant people question their own world view.
pause and thank sir tim berners lee for helping al gore invent the interweb because there has been no empiricaly better way to help joe sixpack uncover the facts which are usually burried beneath the media/religion/tv/piles-o'-garbage we he has had to swallow all these millenia.
pleeeeeeeeeeeease. gimmie moer slanted polls to, erm, unslant.
Posted by: Larry | October 10, 2008 7:39 PM
Not that I'm advocating this but, if you disable the accepting of cookies in your web browser you can vote, click refresh, and vote again as often as you like. Clear out any existing cookies from the domain first.
Use this wisely, my friends, only for good, never for evil.
Posted by: Ichthyic | October 10, 2008 8:05 PM
They must have a fundie utopia tattood in their colon, if that's how they see the world.
ooh, I rather like that. so many appropriate images wrapped up in one tidy sentence.
Posted by: eric williams | October 10, 2008 8:08 PM
"Gah. This came out garbled before, and you would not believe how long it took to get in and fix it. The scienceblogs server is rapidly becoming intolerable...which, of course, is exactly what the DOS bastards want."
And letting them know they are getting under your skin will only make it worse. My advice? Don't mention it again.
Oh, and try to be less abrasive and maybe you won't attract so much hostility and antagonism. You seem to enjoy pushing people's buttons.
Posted by: Nerd of Redhead | October 10, 2008 8:12 PM
We'll continue to be abrasive until the other side, the ignoramuses, give up. They need to learn they are a flea on the body of society.
Thank you for your concern. Please take it with you when you leave.
Posted by: The Cheerful Nihilist | October 10, 2008 8:18 PM
I've just come across an old friend who has introduced me to God.
Posted by: pcarini | October 10, 2008 8:26 PM
eric williams @ #83:
So PZ's mentioning it will, what... make the offending computers try hard? Hurt the morale of SB's servers? A DOS attack is a well defined problem with technical solutions, and our irritation has nothing to do with its eventual resolution.
Posted by: Cujo359 | October 10, 2008 8:26 PM
Have to agree with Nerd of Redhead @84. These guys have been condescending jackasses for as long as I can remember. The only way they wouldn't be offended by us is if they didn't know we existed.
That poll is properly balanced now. "No" is leading 74-24.
Posted by: Rob | October 10, 2008 8:38 PM
It's perfectly fair. The web is meant to link information, a link was posted. If you don't want something linked, don't put it on the web.
Posted by: BlueIndependent | October 10, 2008 8:48 PM
Wow, fancy that. Every single hook line in the left column is completely wrong and based on republican talking point logic. Who knew conservatism had become such a vapid husk of false intellectuality?
Posted by: Amalou | October 10, 2008 8:52 PM
Opera, site preferences, never accept cookies.
Vote, refresh, vote, refresh.
Posted by: Chris | October 10, 2008 8:54 PM
"And you wonder why anyone would want to make a denial-of-service attack against you?"
There's a huge difference between having your users exploit a silly nonscientific poll and intentionally using illegal means to continually crash server.
Posted by: BGT | October 10, 2008 9:00 PM
I don't like the answers available for this poll. There should be:
1: Praise jjjeeeeebbbuuussss yes!
2: Yes
3: Don't know. (I will leave these poor saps alone for the moment.
4: No.
5: Fuck no, there is enough stupid being taught in society without having it taught in the schools.
Of course, number 5 should be leading the pack.
Posted by: John | October 10, 2008 9:10 PM
I find that Governor Sarah Palin abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 39.52.110 (a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act,' Mr Branchflower wrote in the report.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/10/11/2388385.htm
Posted by: Nancy | October 10, 2008 9:14 PM
Oh my. At least it's headed in the right direction now.
Here's another one in need of crashing. I just found this "best qualified to lead" poll. Palin is actually ahead 61% to 36%. I thought this was California???
http://www.ksbw.com/politics/17684900/detail.html?treets=mty&tml=mty_natlbreak&ts=T&tmi=mty_natlbreak_1_07280310102008
Posted by: John | October 10, 2008 9:24 PM
http://www.ksbw.com/surveypopup/politics/17691292/detail.html?p=politics
Posted by: Jadehawk | October 10, 2008 9:42 PM
that site is something else... they complain about distortions and errors in textbooks(jesus a palestinian!!!oh noes!!!1!), but want to teach creationism; they scream "persecution" whenever someone mentions that christian decorations on public property are unconstitutional, but freak out over Yoga lessons to help kids with stress over exams
the hypocrisy...
Posted by: Nephmon | October 10, 2008 9:48 PM
The scienceblogs server is rapidly becoming intolerable...which, of course, is exactly what the DOS bastards want.
Good grief, if ScienceBlogs is still using DOS machines for its servers, no wonder it's so slow. They should at least upgrade to Windows 3.1!
Posted by: C | October 10, 2008 9:49 PM
I really hate the idea of DOS attacks, because in this case they are trying to suppress the flow of information which is apparently making someone uncomfortable.
Is there any way for me to support scienceblogs by making a small donation to the war efforts? I am betting many of us would like to chip in a few bucks for this particular cause. I'm sure your tech guys could benefit, even if it's just enough to buy them all a lot of sushi or scotch.
Posted by: David | October 10, 2008 9:53 PM
Interesting. So 96% of Americans claim to believe in god, but 85% think creationism should be taught alongside evolution. I wonder what the other 11% think god was doing with his time?
But seriously - yes, that many people can be that stupid.
Posted by: Burning Umberella | October 10, 2008 9:54 PM
"Troopergate"?
Attack of the Snowclones. :/
Posted by: David | October 10, 2008 9:55 PM
Interesting. So 96% of Americans claim to believe in god, but 85% think creationism should be taught alongside evolution. I wonder what the other 11% think god was doing with his time?
But seriously - yes, that many people can be that stupid.
Posted by: GirlPostdoc | October 10, 2008 10:20 PM
Stupidity begets religion and religion begets stupidity.
Posted by: Nanahuatzin | October 10, 2008 10:42 PM
David @ 101
Probably are catholics, jews and other religions that acept the theory of evolution...
Fortunatelly believing in gods does not imply to believe in creationism ...
Posted by: Steven Dunlap | October 10, 2008 10:43 PM
Yes - 26.35%
No - 72.99%
Unsure - 0.66%
16107 responses
I feel better now.
Posted by: Steven Dunlap | October 10, 2008 10:46 PM
Yes - 26.35%
No - 72.99%
Unsure - 0.66%
16107 responses
I feel better now.
Posted by: Blake Stacey | October 10, 2008 10:50 PM
I was able to write and post my most recent item without any timeouts or error messages, although the interface was noticeably slow. Maybe the situation is improving.
Posted by: Steven Dunlap | October 10, 2008 10:51 PM
Yes - 26.35%
No - 72.99%
Unsure - 0.66%
16107 responses
I feel better now.
Posted by: Steven Dunlap | October 10, 2008 10:53 PM
Yikes! Sorry about the triple posting. This is the first time I have had this trouble. I should learn to read instructions.
Posted by: shonny | October 10, 2008 11:13 PM
The bibles because it works out cheaper than providing the soldiers with bullet-proof vests, and will give all protection needed? /sick joke
Posted by: XiangYun | October 10, 2008 11:20 PM
Is there really some kind of D.O.S. attack going on?