Yes and no. Basically, like you said before, when in doubt, turn to an authority figure. But the layman has not the tools to be sure that the authority figure is correct. At some point I have no choice but to tell you "I trust your credentials, I have read your posts here and elsewhere and even if I don't understand your reasoning fully, I believe that what you say is as true as anything." This is similar to trusting a doctor's opinion.
Some things seem to be common knowledge, even if when pressed, we can't really justify why this is so. It is "almost" common knowledge that the attributions were not originally there, which is perhaps why the results are overwhelmingly in that camp. For most people who answered the poll, I suspect this to be the case. It is certainly the reason for my answer ("No"). More interesting for me, however, are the "Yes" answers, as they seemingly have the potential to actually be thought out. Not necessarily correct, but still indicative of independent thought. I sound like a snob, and if so I apologize, but like gregory pointed out, answering a poll online is quick, easy, and people don't often engage in lengthy contemplation about their answer.