Same Yet Different

Visual Statistics…

What has a very boring sound to it, ended up being a fun in-class activity.

We started out by coming up with a set of questions our cohort of 10 could ponder over. We took our good time to decide what questions were meaningful and which weren’t. We decided on five main categories – Politics, Social, Personal, Professional and Habitual, hoping they would bring us to some sort of conclusion about what kind of people we were. Or, at least, determine who was mainstream and who was unique, if that’s a thing anymore.

We decided on 10 questions for each category. We were then out the door (quite literally) in order to partake in the unusual way our tutors, Steve and Brian, instructed we ought to find the results.

They put us in a hall, which was then divided into two using chairs. As all questions were mostly Yes/No based, we decided the left side would be yes, right side no, and the chairs a neutral ground. Steve called out the questions and everyone shuffled haphazardly to get to the side they agreed with. Once everyone settled, Brian took a photograph to document the results.

All in all, it was a fun process. Was it effective in concluding results though? I would say not really. With each question came judgement from others, along with peer pressure to choose the right answer (Quite a few attempts at convincing others to switch over to their side took place) What is a right answer really? The point of this activity was to find out the individualistic nature in every one of us, wasn’t it?

Some questions were straight forward and didn’t really tell much. Even two individuals coming from the same culture and background could have very different answers, so it didn’t determine much about the environment of the individual either. Some might have even chosen an answer because it seemed cool or in order to not show their true affiliations in fear of being judged or shunned from the group. A bit too dramatic, but could be true.

POLITICAL

1. Do you care about politics? 60% N, 40% Y

2. Left Wing(N)/Right Wing (Y)? 60% N, 40% Neutral

3. Do you support cancel culture? 70% N, 20% Neutral, 10% Y

4. Vaccines? 90% Y, 10% Neutral

5. COVID is a hoax? 100% N

6. BLM (Y)/Anti-BLM Movement (N)? 90% Y, 10% N

7. Brexit? 80% N, 20% Neutral

8. Do you think the voting system is flawed? 100% Y

9. In person voting (Y)/Postal voting (N)? 20% N, 80% Y

10. Immigrant right to vote? 100% Y

11. Death penalty? 90% Y, 10% Neutral

12. Euthanasia? 10% N, 10% Neutral, 80% Y

Some very interesting points here, definitely some over which you can and should judge someone. No? Come on, one person was against BLM! Why? Did they not understand the question? Was there a language barrier? Or are they just a hater? We’ll never know. Good thing everyone is on the same page about COVID-19 *phew*.

I also love how a full 100% agreed that the voting system is flawed. We’re talking about six nationalities here. Not one has a solid working system?

PERSONAL

1. Introvert (Y)/Extrovert (N)? 40% N, 30% Neutral, 30% Yes

2. Impulsive (N) or Controlled (Y)? 50% N, 10% Neutral, 40% Y

3. Honest (Y)/Dishonest (N)? 10% N, 20% Neutral, 70% Y

4. Angry (Y)/Calm (N)? 60% Neutral, 40% Y

5. Healthy (Y)/Unhealthy Attachment (N)? 10% N, 50% Neutral, 40% Y

6. Tidy (Y)/Messy (N)? 10% N, 10% Neutral, 80% Y

7. Do you have a middle name? 50% N, 50% Y

8. Business (Y)/Art (N)? 70% N ,10% Neutral, 10% Y

9. Family (Y)/Friends (N)? 10% N, 50% Neutral, 40% Y

10. Do you have a sibling? 40% N, 60% Y

11. Sex with the lights on (Y)/Off (N)? 60% N, 30% Neutral, 10% Y

Given how personal these are, they really reflect how different yet similar we all are. Some of these traits we have no control over, like how half of us have middle names just because our parents felt like it. Or the siblings one – Which, by the way, confirmed the only 1 child policy in China.

Other traits we have full control over. We choose to be messy or tidy, we choose to be honest or dishonest. Frankly, results are all over the place and, ultimately, only the individual can tell why they chose whatever they chose. Maybe this activity should have been followed by an in-depth Q&A session focusing on the whys.

PROFESSIONAL

1. Do you speak more than two languages? 60% N, 40% Y

2. Freelance (N)/Owning a business (Y)?10% N, 80% Neutral, 10% Y

3. Individual (Y)/ Team worker (N)? 50% N, 20% Neutral, 30% Y

4. Leader (Y)/Follower (N)? 10% N, 50% Neutral, 40% Y

5. Ideas (Y)/Making (N)? 30% N, 30% Neutral, 40% Y

6. Do you believe in the gender pay gap? 100% Y

7. For (Y)/Against (N) women in STEM? 100% Y

8. Do you believe that workplaces could offer more support to minority groups? 100% Y

9. Are you organized when it comes to work? 10% N, 20% Neutral, 70% Y

10. Written (Y)/Vocal (N) communication? 20% N, 30% Neutral, 50% Y

If you pay attention, a few of these questions somewhat mean the same thing. Yet, they did have differing results amongst them. 3 people like working on their own but only one wants to freelance.

Another interesting takeaway from this is how 50% prefer written communication. We live in a world where we hardly communicate face to face with people, especially in the past year. Don’t they think verbal communication is easier and clearer? It is for me.

SOCIAL

1. Do you like TikTok? 80% N, 20% Neutral

2. Do you use social media a lot? 10% N, 90% Y

3. Are you connected with your culture? 40% No, 10% Neutral, 50% Y

4. Pub (Y)/Club (N)? 30% N, 50% Neutral, 20% Y

5. Are you tactile? 100% Y

6. Travel Alone (N)/With Friends (Y)? 80% Neutral, 20% Y

7. Abstract (Y)/Construct (N)? 30% Neutral, 70% Y

8. Are you in a relationship? 40% N, 10% Neutral, 40% Y

9. Do you want children? 40% N, 30% Neutral, 30% Y

10. Do you have pets? 50% N, 50% Y

Okay, I found the results of this one a bit funny and I’ll compare them with the previous categories. 40% are in a relationship but 50% prefer written communication. How’s that working out for them? 1 person was even in the neutral zone, hmmm maybe more verbal communication and less written might do the trick. (all jokes, though). Also, 100% are tactile. Are we going to touch people via screens? It’s a mess.

Also, why is TikTok getting so much hate? These are the questions we should be answering.

HABITUAL

1. Brushing Teeth Before (Y)/After Breakfast (N)? 20% N, 80% Y

2. Coffee (Y)/Tea (N)? 10% N, 10% Neutral, 80% Y

3. Beer (Y)/Wine (N)? 60% N, 40% Neutral

4. Pineapple on pizza? 70% N, 20% Neutral, 10% Y

5. Gym (Y)/Yoga (N)? 20% N, 80% Y

6. Window Open (Y)/Closed (N) While Sleeping? 50% N, 10% Neutral, 40% Y

7. Shower in the Morning (Y)/Evening (N)? 60% N, 40% Neutral

8. Smoker/Non-Smoker? 60% N, 40% Y

9. Meat-eater (Y)/Non-Meat-eater (N)? 10% N, 90% Y

10. Shop Online (Y)/In-Store (N)? 20% N, 80% Neutral

I’m not even going to bother saying much about this simply because of the fact that when I answered Q6 I was a window close sleeper, but, in the 3 months I have lived in the UK, I have become a window open sleeper. So, yeah, what’s the point of any of this if we can literally change our habits and mind whenever we like. I am a hardcore tea drinker who drinks coffee here because I can’t find good tea. It’s all circumstantial, man.

Conclusion:

All in all, it tells us a lot, but at the same it also tells us nothing at all. Perhaps the questions needed to be more substantial to make any comment regarding why the results are so. Most of these are everchanging. It does; however, prove to be a good starting point for what can be potentially a great market research.