On 03-Dec-08 23:02, Orchid XP v8 wrote:
>>> How can you be sure it's accurate? Maybe it says that there are 
>>> 20,000 people in city X, but actually only 50% of the population 
>>> replied. (Or something.)
>>>
>>> Sure, you have birth certificates and death certificates, but again, 
>>> how do we know those cover *everybody*? (Surely it must be pretty 
>>> comprehensive, but totally? Hmm.)
>>
>> People know they are not counting everyone so they also estimate how 
>> many they missed. I leave that one as an exercise to the reader.
> 
> Hmm. Looks unsolvable...

Think again. Does the police know what houses are used by illegal 
immigrants? Do they know how many people live in such houses? Did they 
raid some of them before? Do kids go to school? Do illegal immigrants 
sometimes go to see a doctor? Do they work? Are shops and workplaces 
sometimes checked if everybody is legal? Do they have accounts at the banks?
There are numerous occasions where you can find out something about 
illegal people not who they are but at least how many.

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