Share this:
- Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
- Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
- Click to print (Opens in new window)
Social science research substantially rebuts the common attitudes about “spoiling”. The book “Predictably Irrational” by Dan Ariely shows that when someone must choose between 3 choices, and two of the choices are quite similar, but one of those two choices is clearly superior to the other, that helps the stronger of those two, and makes it less likely that the chooser will choose the third alternative, the one that is quite different from the other two.
Also Sam Lubell in “The Future of American Politics” showed by evidence that Henry Wallace helped Harry Truman in 1948, contrary to the perceived wisdom. Also the leading nationwide polls in 2004 showed that Ralph Nader helped John Kerry, in his race against George W. Bush. My county-by-county analysis of the 2004 election agreed with the results of the polls. Nader did best, within each state where he was on the ballot, in counties that were more pro-Bush than that state as a whole. This is in the January 1, 2005 print BAN.