5.4%?

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Via the IEET blog, we have the not too inspiring results of a Zogby poll commissioned by Future Brief:

The following questions were submitted by Future Brief readers. The poll itself, given to a group of more than 13,400 likely voters, was conducted by Zogby International, an opinion research firm, on January 27-30, 2006.
...

QUESTION: Which of the following would you most like to see accomplished through the development of emerging technologies?

RESULTS:*

- An end to world hunger: 18.2%
- An end to disease: 20.5%
- Extended life-span: 5.4%
- Exploration of the universe: 4.7%
- An end to fossil fuels: 45.6%
- None/Not sure: 5.6%

I can only imagine the sort of survey setup that results in half the respondants prioritizing new energy production technologies over ending disease...or am I being too charitable to these folk given the zeitgeist of the moment and the casual nature of most polling interactions?

The entrepreneur in me knows that you can build a billion-dollar business - or change the world, hold a revolution, and so forth - with only 5.4% of the population as your supporters or target audience, but still. 5.4%? I think we can - must, and will - do much better than that.

Technorati tags: life extension