Opinion Polls

Opinion Polls relating to Atlantis are frequently encountered on the Internet, together with an invitation to vote. The polls are usually of two types, the first is a simple ‘do you accept the reality of Atlantis or not?” and the second asks the respondents to select their preferred Atlantis location theory from a list, sometimes with an ‘other’ or ‘don’t know’ option added.

All these polls have minimal value. The YES/NO question is really just a request for an expression of faith and gives no indication of the level of informed consideration behind any given response. Prevailing opinions are constantly changing as new ideas are promoted. If I had carried out a survey in the 15^th century on whether people believed that the sun revolved around the earth or the earth orbited the sun, the vast majority would have opted for the former. So whether a majority of people ‘believe’ in the existence of Atlantis or not is irrelevant. What is important is whether the evidence supports one view or the other.

With regard to the selection of an Atlantis location from a list, I have noted that some of these lists have been skewed to favour particular theories through the omission of rival theories, casting a shadow over the results. The choice of any individual respondent will often depend on what they have last read on the subject. If, for example, a person had only read Donnelly’s book^[021] they would probably opt for the Mid Atlantic Ridge, an Italian having absorbed Sergio Frau’s volume^[302] might choose Sardinia, whereas someone ploughing through Andrew Collins work^[072] would probably be swayed towards Cuba. Consequently, the results of location polls may be biased in favour of whatever theory is contained in the best publicised books, and/or those most widely circulated or the most recent over-hyped TV documentary.

My conclusion is that Atlantis opinion polls are generally worthless and should be ignored. To be candid, my cynicism extends well beyond the subject of Atlantis – just look at the quality of some of the politicians that we are expected to vote for!