Monday, June 30, 2008
SECRET, PRIVATE?
In the past I've wondered about people who answer so-called "anonymous" surveys, especially about illegal activities. You know the kind, those that are reported like, "42% of teenagers used illegal drugs," or "14% of males between 33 and 42 report shooting at least one neighbor." OK, maybe the last one is a bit of a stretch, but you know what I mean. Here's a line from a Time article:
"[Randall Walsh and his colleagues]...compared confidential Census figures from 1990 and 2000 from 15,040 neighborhoods, with an average of about 4,000 residents each, in 64 metropolitan areas, such as Phoenix, Boston, Ft. Lauderdale, Columbus, New York, Atlanta and San Diego.Note my bolded phrase. Makes you kind of wonder how someone can compare confidential information doesn't it? According to my Merriam-Webster dictionary, confidential means "SECRET, PRIVATE" (and yes, it's capitalized that way in the dictionary). I wonder which part of secret and private Mr. Walsh and friends define differently than the rest of us (us meaning non-governmental types - we all know the government cares less).
Labels: freedom, government
