Americans just say what they’re told

+ Nobel Peace Prize winner Abiy Ahmed [Click here to view this message in your web-browser](. Edition: US 11 October 2019 [The Conversation]( Academic rigor, journalistic flair [Aviva Rutkin] A note from... Aviva Rutkin Data Editor Do you support bombing Agrabah? The country doesn’t actually exist. But that doesn’t matter: In a 2015 poll, about half of respondents expressed opinions on this made-up military action. “People don’t want to admit when they haven’t thought much about a topic,” writes political scientist Justin Buchler, who explains why Americans often answer polls with [opinions they don’t personally hold](. Also today: - [Abiy Ahmed wins Nobel Peace Prize]( - [Turkey endangers Kurdish democracy]( - [Science Nobels ignore women]( Top story People line up to vote in the 2008 election in Arlington, Virginia. Rob Crandall/Shutterstock.com [Voters often parrot the party line, even when polls suggest otherwise]( Justin Buchler, Case Western Reserve University Voters are primarily partisans, and they respond to party signals -- even when they claim otherwise. Politics + Society - [Abiy Ahmed has won the Nobel Peace Prize: but big challenges still await Ethiopia]( Mohammed Girma, University of Pretoria Abiy Ahmed was awarded the prize for efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation, and in particular his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea. - [Why Barack Obama was particularly unsuited to live up to the ideals of the Nobel Peace Prize]( Nick Lehr, The Conversation A critic of Obama's two terms explains how the 44th president's personality and his politics of 'least resistance' prevented him from rising to the moment. - [US will send migrants to El Salvador, a country that can’t protect its own people]( Mneesha Gellman, Emerson College Trump officials plan to send asylum seekers from the US to El Salvador while their claims are processed. That would expose these vulnerable people to grave dangers, says a political violence expert. [Click here to send your kids' questions to Curious Kids](mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com) Ethics + Religion - [Turkish attack on Syria endangers a remarkable democratic experiment by the Kurds]( James L. Gelvin, University of California, Los Angeles Since defending northern Syria from the Islamic State, Kurdish people have established an egalitarian society where women are equal, democracy is direct and religious freedom is guaranteed. Science + Technology - [Why don’t more women win science Nobels?]( Mary K. Feeney, Arizona State University Progress has been made toward gender parity in science fields. But explicit and implicit barriers still hold women back from advancing in the same numbers as men to the upper reaches of STEM academia. - [Lithium ion Nobel Prize shows how individual brainstorms add up to world-transforming innovations]( Amy Prieto, Colorado State University Nobel Prizes in science are usually given for revolutionary ideas that change our perception of the universe. But this year's chemistry prize was awarded to inventors of a revolutionary device. Health + Medicine - [Blue light isn’t the main source of eye fatigue and sleep loss – it’s your computer]( Phillip Yuhas, The Ohio State University Blue light has been getting blamed for sleep interruption and eye strain. But the facts are that any bright light interferes with sleep, and computers themselves cause eye strain, an eye doctor says. Education - [Income-based repayment becoming a costly solution to student loan debt]( Robert Kelchen, Seton Hall University The income-based repayment plan that lets borrowers pay back student loans based on their salaries is in jeopardy. The problem? The program proved too popular. From our International Editions - [Ghana’s cocoa farmers are trapped by the chocolate industry]( Michael E Odijie, University of Cambridge It is time for Ghana to consider the future of its cocoa farmers rather than multinational chocolate producers. - [What fictional superheroes can tell us about devotion and why we believe in gods]( Thomas Swan, University of Otago; Jamin Halberstadt, University of Otago Superheroes may be able to regenerate and fly through walls, but their supernatural qualities differ from those of spiritual beings that attract religious devotion. - [It’s the year of Rembrandt again, to the delight of museum audiences]( Jacquelyn N. Coutré, Queen's University, Ontario The Dutch master has intrigued art-lovers for four centuries. His strength in depicting the human experience compels audiences even after four hundred years. Today’s quote [“Obama would have been a good Democratic president in the 1950s, when everything was going all right between the two parties and the United States hadn't made exorbitant and dangerous commitments abroad.”]( [Why Barack Obama was particularly unsuited to live up to the ideals of the Nobel Peace Prize]( Nick Lehr [Nick Lehr] David Bromwich [David Bromwich] Know people who may be interested in The Conversation's stories? [Click here to forward this newsletter to them]( and ask them to sign up at [Follow us on Twitter.]( [Join us on Facebook.]( You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation](. Not interested anymore? [Unsubscribe instantly](. We’ll miss you. 89 South Street - Suite 202 Boston, MA 02111