Etymologically, 'opinion' has at least one foot in the idea of being able to think independently, of owning one's thoughts, and the other in the idea of choice, of being able to have preferences, judge something one way or another, or take one of several positions on a controversial issue. Having opinions implies being cognitively autonomous, independent, but also somewhat unpredictable. Althou...

eDITORIaLS Food additives and hyperactivity Evidence supports a trial period of eliminating colourings and preservatives from the diet Whether preservatives and colourings cause or exacerbate hyperactive behaviours is an important question for many paediatricians and parents. A recent randomised placebo controlled trial in 297 children aged 3-9 years provides evidence of increased hyperactive b...

Application of information and complexity theories to public opinion polls. The case of Greece (2004-2007). Abstract A general methodology to study public opinion inspired from information and complexity theories is outlined. It is based on probabilistic data extracted from opinion polls. It gives a quantitative information-theoretic explanation of high job approval of Greek Prime Minister Mr. ...

Examining data on the recent health care legislation, we demonstrate that public opinion polls on health care should be treated with caution because of item nonresponse--or "don't know" answers--on survey questions. Far from being the great equalizer, opinion polls can actually misrepresent the attitudes of the population. First, we show that respondents with lower levels of socioeconomic resou...