Computer programmers use the expression "garbage in, garbage out" (GIGO) to emphasize how any decisionmaking system is only as good as the information that's fed into it. Consider the GIGO theorem in the context of three recent surveys.
A new CNN/Gallup Poll reveals that the three most admired American presidents are Abraham Lincoln, John Kennedy and Bill Clinton. Other polls indicate that nearly half of all Americans continue to believe that Saddam Hussein was directly involved in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
And a survey of young American adults reveals that many of them have managed to avoid any knowledge of various basic facts regarding the planet whose atmosphere they consume.
The mind-boggling ignorance illustrated by the latter survey helps explain the absurdity of the beliefs measured in the former two polls. About one in seven Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 can find Iraq on a map. Thirty percent can locate New Jersey.
It's true that geography is just one subject. Still, can there be much doubt that people who are at a loss to find the Pacific on a map are unlikely to hold informed views regarding questions requiring somewhat greater levels of intellectual sophistication? What can one say about the depth of historical knowledge possessed by people who rank John Kennedy and Bill Clinton as two of the nation's three greatest presidents?
But what if the average American has become as ignorant as a 17th century Russian peasant? Under such circumstances, doesn't it make more sense to put important decisions in the hands of the czar? Pious patriots will reply that this is why we have government by representation, rather than direct democracy. In which case we can only hope our government isn't too representative of its people.
Paul Campos is a law professor at the University of Colorado. His e-mail is paul.campos@Colorado.EDU.