In a scene right out of Frank M. Coates’ 1947 short story “The Law,” on Friday April 1, 2011 the United States Congress voted to repeal the Law of Large Numbers.  The repeal of the Law immediately caused chaos throughout the market research industry, with many quantitative survey researchers scrambling to figure out new sampling models.  “Actually, we are kind of hosed,” said one.

In a rare show of bipartisanship, Republicans and Democrats demonstrated an equally astounding misunderstanding of even the most basic mathematical principles.   Said one Democratic Senate leader, “with the repeal of the Law of Large Numbers, we are well on our way to fixing the deficit. Those big numbers just won’t exist anymore.”  One of his Republican counterparts in the House, added, “This is a significant step in dismantling the liberal mathematical nanny state.  If our founding fathers had wanted a Law of Large Numbers, they would have put it in the Constitution. Oh, and look out Law of Averages – you’re next!”

 The big winner in all this is seen to be qualitative research, which is not dependent on probability sampling to bring consumer experiences to life and move businesses forward. However, given the recent Congressional action, attempts to verify this through polling were unsuccessful.

Happy April 1st from Revelation!

 An NGMR Top Blog