Your 3rd example points to this as well. My “belief” about the Clique Problem is irrelevant, whether or not I have a background in the subject. I may accept it or try to refute it (reject it) based on say a flaw in the reduction (not that there is one, but that’s how I might attempt a refutation). But it isn’t a system of belief.

Likewise Global Warming or Wikipedia. Educated folk may debate the proportion of warming from anthropogenic causes. Others may debate the long-term accuracy and sustainability of a community-edited encyclopedia. Debate is good. But in neither case should it be called (or become) a belief system.

As a person of faith, I believe there is a place for belief :) But to the pollsters and pundits: “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”

I find myself dismissing quotes of “98% of people polled said…” because it is so rare that I find a meaningful study. I try to make myself read into the actual nature of the study, but being disappointed time after time weakens my will to do so.

Either the target group is set in such a way that the results are skewed, or the question is phrased in leading manner, or it is a topic about which popular consensus is irrelevant.

There is too much FUD in the world.

A guy in a hurry to get home from work in a smaller community came upon a bunch of cars moving slower than the speed limit, due to a police car up front. After a mile or so, the police car slowed down even more, an everyone else did the same, not wanting to pass the police car.

After a couple of minutes of this, the guy decided to enough was enough. He sped up to the speed limit, and passed all the cars–including the police car.

Immediately the police car’s lights and siren were activated, and both the guy and police pulled off to the side of the road. The other drivers laughed at the guy for being so foolish as they drove past.

The officer approached the guy’s car with a brown bag in hand. The guy opened his window to ask why he was pulled over for going the speed limit, and the officer said: “My wife had asked me to pick up some ice cream before I came home. I’d just picked some up a few minutes ago when I got a radio call needing me to pull another shift. I didn’t want the ice cream to melt, so I decided to drive real slow, and give it to the first person brave enough to pass me. Enjoy.”

http://www.amazon.com/Traffic-Drive-What-Says-About/dp/0307277194/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332425669&sr=1-1

Eric: I agree, I’m sure they know about it. I would say most people know about it in an empirical manner. I’m curious to see what could be learned by formally modeling it.