What is it About That 85%? And How On Earth Did We Get Here?

Truth revealed: the first truly accurate assessment of today's Americans

Are we talking about exactly the same people very single time or is this just me?

Today here in Thailand I am spending my last day on the small island of Kho-Larn. Inside, thanks. Two days of paragliding, and the rest writing or dodging this godawful heat, not my favorite weather.

Still I've had superb fun, got caught up on writing, saw a movie or two, made a local pup very happy. Generally it's been good. Any time I can get in air sports time I am a happy girl.

Then this afternoon, after finishing up yet another story, I read a piece on Medium by health writer Robert Roy Britt.

Britt's about nine years my junior. I love his work, his honesty about his own health challenges, the quality of his science and his references. This is his article:

Your Diet is Probably Worse Than You Realize

News Brief: Most Americans overestimate the healthfulness of their food

MediumRobert Roy Britt

This line made me guffaw:

Among 9,700 people who self-reported what they eat and rated themselves on their diet’s quality, about 85% overrated its healthfulness.

I don't doubt one bit that this is not only dead-on accurate, but if we were to extrapolate those numbers-betcha- it would play out over our entire population.

But that's not what's funny.

What's funny is the 85%.

That's the same percentage of people known to lie on their resumes. Nope? Yup:

85 Percent of Job Applicants Lie on Resumes. Here’s How to Spot a Dishonest Candidate

A new study shows a huge increase in lies on job applications.

Inc.J.T. O’Donnell

It's about the same percentage of us who blatantly lie on our online profiles. This article says 81%....

Detecting Deception in Online Profiles

An online profile is the equivalent of a first date.

Psychology TodayJack Schafer Ph.D.

Wait, wait, I'm not done. Another study said it was closer to, wait for it

86%

Again. Are these guys talking to all the same people every single time? So if we could, just saying, extrapolate each of those studies,

...then what does that say about us? All of us Americans? (pardon the slang below but after all I am only working with 15% here):

We have no clue what we eat. True that.

We have no clue what we look like. True that.

We have no clue what we can do professionally. True that.

In other words 85 % of all Americans possess a wholly unrealistic, completely overblown and ridiculously false notion of ourselves.

In other words, research seems to prove...wait for it....

85% of Americans are CLUELESS.

I rest my case.

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