Questions Are Raised About Questions

As I have already said, I’m not going to worry about cholesterol anymore. Medical studies show that (1) it will kill you; (2) it’s good for you; and (3) it doesn’t make any difference. Given a choice, I’m going for 3.

We are submerged in “studies” that tell us what we are like, what our dreams are, and what we are doing to kill ourselves. Some of these studies are merely polls, with arbitrary bases; some are the results of limited clinical experience; some, I suspect, are pure inventions.

A UC Berkeley School of Public Health newsletter (sent to me by someone whose letter I have misplaced) complains that “almost anything can be called a study or be so designated by the press.” (Almost every social evil these days is said to be our fault.)

The newsletter specifies a study that showed a “definite link between caffeine and heart disease.” It complains that the study did not consider other factors, such as diet, and its last word was inconclusive, citing “a need for further study.”

Thus, I take with a grain of salt (which studies show is not good for me) a new paperback from Price Stern Sloan called “The First Really Important Survey of American Habits,” by Mel Poretz and Barry Sinrod.

Like all studies, this one seeks to validate itself, stating up front that it represents 89% of the adult population of the United States (a dubious statistic); the response rate was 26%, 55% being male and 45% female; the margin of error is 3%.

Indicating the social merit of this study are some of the questions: “Do you sleep in the nude or in pajamas?” “In which sequence do you put on your socks and shoes?” “Do you prefer that your toilet tissue unwinds over or under the spool?”

To each of which I would answer either “It’s none of your business,” or “What difference does it make?”

There is certainly some interest and perhaps some merit in the questions about sex. Though some are too intimate to report here, there should be no objection to “How old were you when you first made love?” since it is a question of concern to all parents.

I would have answered that one “It’s none of your business.” The authors claim that 3% of male and female respondents, including those aged 21 to 55 and more, said they were younger than 13; 11% said they were 13 to 15; 19% said 16; 18% said 17; 17% said 18; 9% said 19, 7% said 20 and 15% said 21. That means, if true, that more than half of all men and women have their first sexual experience when they are 16, 17 or 18.

Another provocative question is “Did you learn the facts of life from your parents or friends?” It was no contest: 19% learned from their parents, 81% from friends. If that figure is valid, we see that parents have all but abdicated their responsibility for teaching their children about sex. (Not that they ever did.)

That fact may be related to the large percentages of males and females whose first sexual experience is in their teens. On the other hand, we don’t know that a good heart-to-heart talk between parents and children would have any inhibitive effect.

We are much more comfortable with such innocuous questions as “Do you squeeze the toothpaste tube from the top or bottom?” and “Do you sing in the shower?”(If you care, 72% squeeze from the top and 62% sing in the shower. It may be of interest that 33% of those who earn more than $50,000 a year sing in the shower, but only 20% of those who earn less than $20,000 do. That suggests that the prosperous are happier.)

That everyone has fantasies of singing in the shower is reflected in the answers to “Have you ever bought a lottery ticket?” It is interesting that 100% of men between the ages of 21 and 34 have bought a ticket, but only 33% of the women. From ages 35-44 the totals are 78% and 76%; from 45-54 they are 95% and 75%, and 55 and older, 99% and 79%.

Does that suggest that men are dreamers (the odds against winning the jackpot in California are about 14 million-to-1), while women are realistic?

I suggest that further study is needed.