Stupid web polls

Here we have a poll on cnn.com’s subsite, “Edge of Discovery”:

This is so typical.  Surveys like this should provide answers which are non-ambiguous and include everyone’s viewpoint, or at least virtually everyone.  But, like so many other surveys, this includes answers which are too specific and also leaves out many possible answers.  Here are some more reasonable answers they could provide:

A) Within 5 years

B) Within 15 years

C) Within 50 years

D) Not in the forseeable future

These answers still aren’t perfect, as they exclude the opinions of people who believe vehemently that we will certainly never land on Mars for whatever reason, and technically you could say that “within 15 years” is still “within 50 years”, etc., but they’re still much better.  Let’s look at the actual answers CNN provided:

#1 Never: Robots can do it

“Never” would be sufficient, although I suppose CNN wanted to weed out the people who are anti-exploration as well as anti-robot… or maybe it just wanted to acknowledge that robots will perform these tasks in humans’ stead, so as not to confuse the answerer.

#2 Within the next 5 years

That’s a sensible option.  Not at all feasible, but at least it’s an inclusive option.

#3 Not until a decade from now

Wait, so, exactly 10 years from now?  Or… does that include 15 years from now?  Please be more specific.  Does this mean “at least 10 years from now?”

#4 The year 2050

Excuse me?  Do you have some sort of crystal ball up your sleeve?  How did you pull out this year?  Does this mean that if we land on Mars in 2051, or 2049, then those who answered “The year 2050” are wrong?  How about “greater than X years?” as an option?