--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The polls undoubtedly help to decide what…" description: "\"The polls undoubtedly help to decide what people think, but their most important long-term influence may be on how people think. The interrogative proc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24e/christopher-hitchens-117_answers_the-polls-undoubtedly-help-to-decide-wha_284055.jpg" --- # The polls undoubtedly help to decide what people think… ![“The polls undoubtedly help to decide what people think, but their most important long-term influence may be on how people think. The interrogative process is very distinctly weighted against the asking of an intelligent question or the recording of a thoughtful answer.” quote by Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24e/christopher-hitchens-117_answers_the-polls-undoubtedly-help-to-decide-wha_284055.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24e/christopher-hitchens-117_answers_the-polls-undoubtedly-help-to-decide-wha_284055.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24e/christopher-hitchens-117_answers_the-polls-undoubtedly-help-to-decide-wha_284055.jpg) > “The polls undoubtedly help to decide what people think, but their most important long-term influence may be on how people think. The interrogative process is very distinctly weighted against the asking of an intelligent question or the recording of a thoughtful answer.” [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Polls shape public opinion but also subtly steer how people think, often limiting deeper questioning and thoughtful answers. **In simple terms:** Polls influence both opinions and thinking patterns. Key Takeaway Seek deeper questions beyond surface polls. Themes media influence public opinion critical thinking Mood reflective critical Type analytical observational When to use this quote - political campaigns - education - journalism - social media Key Concepts polling bias information framing Questions to Reflect On - How do polls affect your own thinking? - What questions are left unasked? A Different Perspective Polls can reinforce echo chambers and limit nuanced discourse. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Answers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answers/) [Asking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asking/) [Asking Intelligent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asking-intelligent-2748713/) [Decide People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decide-people-1505690/) [Helping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helping/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) [Intelligent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligent/) [Interrogative Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interrogative-process-2748712/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Long term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-term/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-think-239179/) [Polls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/polls/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/term/) [Think Interrogative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-interrogative-2748711/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Thoughtful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughtful/) [Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump/) ## Related quotes > [Once I decide to do something, I can't have people telling me I can't. If there's a roadblock, you jump over it, walk around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kitty-kelley/once-i-decide-to-do-something-i-can-t-have-people-telling-me-i-can-t/) [Kitty Kelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kitty-kelley/) > [President tends to feel that he cannot go beyond what the public will support him in doing. So he tries not to decide what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-millis/president-tends-to-feel-that-he-cannot-go-beyond-what-the-public-will/) [Walter Millis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-millis/) > [Given the right information to help them decide, people will opt for conditions that benefit our creaturely neighbours, even where they have no particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/given-the-right-information-to-help-them-decide-people-will-opt-for/) [John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/) > [You can't be everything to everyone, but you can be everything to a few people. Decide who these people are in your life and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-t-be-everything-to-everyone-but-you-can-be-everything-to-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There have always been people like you, Nicholas Flamel. People who think they know what's best, who decide what people should see and read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scott/there-have-always-been-people-like-you-nicholas-flamel-people-who/) [Michael Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scott/) > [“How grand, to be a Doctor of whatever and to weigh up and decide people's future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-faulks/how-grand-to-be-a-doctor-of-whatever-and-to-weigh-up-and-decide/) [Sebastian Faulks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-faulks/) > [“Some people think their advice is a gift, and some people think they know every dam thing. You have to decide only one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-baratono/some-people-think-their-advice-is-a-gift-and-some-people-think-they/) [Ron Baratono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-baratono/) > [The people who cast the votes decide nothing; the people who count the votes decide everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-people-who-cast-the-votes-decide-nothing-the-people-who-count-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sometimes people leave you halfway through the wood. Others may decieve you - you decide what's good. You decide alone, but no one is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-sondheim/sometimes-people-leave-you-halfway-through-the-wood-others-may/) [Stephen Sondheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-sondheim/) > [First-past-the-post builds a direct relationship between a community and their MP. Residents come together to decide who most people want as their national representative.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-thornberry/first-past-the-post-builds-a-direct-relationship-between-a-community/) [Emily Thornberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-thornberry/) > [I'm not sure it's my place to decide what people perceive me as.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-cantlay/i-m-not-sure-it-s-my-place-to-decide-what-people-perceive-me-as/) [Patrick Cantlay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-cantlay/) > [I'm a recording artist who's traveled around the world so I have different opportunities than other people and people may decide how I should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrisette-michele/i-m-a-recording-artist-who-s-traveled-around-the-world-so-i-have/) [Chrisette Michele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrisette-michele/) > [When people say "What do you want people to get from this movie?" I say, "Well, it depends on what they bring to it."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-washington/when-people-say-what-do-you-want-people-to-get-from-this-movie-i-say/) [Denzel Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-washington/) > [I consider that, in a democracy, everyone has the right to decide. If people don't have the right to express what they feel, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-pique/i-consider-that-in-a-democracy-everyone-has-the-right-to-decide-if/) [Gerard Pique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-pique/) > [The people have only a very vague direct power. They have the power of voting against the administration, again after its decisions have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-millis/the-people-have-only-a-very-vague-direct-power-they-have-the-power-of/) [Walter Millis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-millis/) ## More by Christopher Hitchens > [“The spirit of our accurate and exact philosophy is outraged by conclusions that contradict each other so glaringly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-spirit-of-our-accurate-and-exact-philosophy-is-outraged-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Many governments employ torture but this was the first time that the element of Saturnalia and pornography in the process had been made so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/many-governments-employ-torture-but-this-was-the-first-time-that-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ It's \[Los Angeles\] mostly full of nonsense and delusion and egomania. 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Why are we praised by godly men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/gullibility-and-credulity-are-considered-undesireable-qualities-in/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's much worse to see a woman drunk than a man: I don't know quite why this is true but it just is. 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I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [Sometimes a question can hurt more than an answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/sometimes-a-question-can-hurt-more-than-an-answer/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [You feed yourself. Make sure you have all the information, whether it's aesthetic, scientific, mathematical, I don't care what it is. Then you walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-feed-yourself-make-sure-you-have-all-the-information-whether-it-s/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I have long felt that the way to keep children out of trouble is to keep them interested in things. Lecturing to children is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/i-have-long-felt-that-the-way-to-keep-children-out-of-trouble-is-to/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [“As long as you keep searching,the answers will come.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-kynock/as-long-as-you-keep-searching-the-answers-will-come/) [Mitch Kynock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-kynock/) > [The answer to deep anxiety is the deep adoration of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/the-answer-to-deep-anxiety-is-the-deep-adoration-of-god/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [A dialogue is very important. 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