Thread: funny correlates - IQ, religion and presidential vote

Everything i could possibly say is already said by those pictures

The IQ should be lower since people voted for both of those two jackals.

Very interesting.

Of course, any causative conclusions cannot be drawn from this.

Originally Posted by Odd_Nonposter

Very interesting.

Of course, any causative conclusions cannot be drawn from this.

Yes they can. It's not like voting for a certain candidate makes you smart. That is an improper implication (absurd). So, either intelligence directly affects the vote, or both intelligence and vote are affected by a third factor.

Regarding religion, my opinion is it is a mutual cause. Being less intelligent makes you more susceptible to accepting a religion, and having a religion makes you less susceptible to questioning things. In this case, we have also to consider raising, but I think that is a minimal contributor, considering how many people are actually brought up with a religion and change/get rid of it later in life. I mean, intelligence and atheism have a statistical correlation of 0.9. Only mutual-cause systems can produce such high correlations.

I find this one more interesting, where on average states that voted obama have poorer education, and states that voted Mccain had higher levels of education. Though there are a few that don't fit the pattern.

http://www.ofm.wa.gov/trends/maps/fig512c.gif

Also an interesting note. Apparently as the iq of the average population of a state raises, the worse the education for the state becomes. People can assume whatever they want. Perhaps people might want to say, that clearly intelligent people don't need schools so education suffers. Though I would like to add the possiblity, that perhaps if the education is poor in an area, they IQ test results are more likely to be inaccurate, which is why they can swing far away from the average.

Yes they can. It's not like voting for a certain candidate makes you smart. That is an improper implication (absurd). So, either intelligence directly affects the vote, or both intelligence and vote are affected by a third factor.

i.e. no causitative conclusions can be drawn from this. :l

Originally Posted by Alric

I find this one more interesting, where on average states that voted obama have poorer education, and states that voted Mccain had higher levels of education. Though there are a few that don't fit the pattern.

http://www.ofm.wa.gov/trends/maps/fig512c.gif

Also an interesting note. Apparently as the iq of the average population of a state raises, the worse the education for the state becomes. People can assume whatever they want. Perhaps people might want to say, that clearly intelligent people don't need schools so education suffers. Though I would like to add the possiblity, that perhaps if the education is poor in an area, they IQ test results are more likely to be inaccurate, which is why they can swing far away from the average.

More education means more conservatism. That's like rule #1. Especially in a conservative country. You can't just pretend that worse IQ evaluation made the average in all those states go up simultaneously. That'd be like blaming a test for doing bad at it.

Just go around and realise this: the "better" the school a person comes from, the more conservative they'll be. It's called indocrination.

Originally Posted by Xei

i.e. no causitative conclusions can be drawn from this. :l

Well, you got rid of one possibility. That's a conclusion already lol

Originally Posted by BLUELINE976

The IQ should be lower since people voted for both of those two jackals.

+1 I think we've seen this info a few times now. but yes, I think politics is a very poor indicator as both McCain and Obama were lying through their teeth.

Tkdyo. It doesn't really matter if they were lying, for the social indicator. If I say I will make the US a monarchy, even though I don't do it, people voting for me indicates people are in favour of a monarchy. Therefore, your argument is invalid. Stop being a fence-sitter, it doesn't help at all.

IQ isn't a perfect indicator of Intelligence, it takes one kind of intelligence yes. It doesn't measure Common Sense or Creativity though.
As for Religion and Votes: Theres any obvious correlation there. I don't think anyone can argue with that.

How am I being a fence sitter? expressing my disdain for the both does not make me a fence sitter as there are not only two options in our elections.

Also, no it doesnt make my argument invalid because in the end politics are politics because its about the candidates swinging their fancy words around to try and persuade people. Weather people like these words are not are usually based on opinion and not on facts so its not exactly a great correlator with intelligence.

Personally I am kind of curious how they measured the IQ of different states, when most people never take IQ tests. I am sure that they actually did tests to find out, instead of just guessing though. However with no sources, one must wonder.

Originally Posted by Kraftwerk

IQ isn't a perfect indicator of Intelligence, it takes one kind of intelligence yes. It doesn't measure Common Sense or Creativity though.
As for Religion and Votes: Theres any obvious correlation there. I don't think anyone can argue with that.

Oh great news. Creativity isn't intelligence, as per definition. You don't need creativity to be smart.

Originally Posted by tkdyo

How am I being a fence sitter? expressing my disdain for the both does not make me a fence sitter as there are not only two options in our elections.

Also, no it doesnt make my argument invalid because in the end politics are politics because its about the candidates swinging their fancy words around to try and persuade people. Weather people like these words are not are usually based on opinion and not on facts so its not exactly a great correlator with intelligence.

You're just sitting on the fence, really. That's what they call not having an opinion. Saying politics is entirely bad and ignoring it is ignoring a major part of society - perhaps the most important one. You should be glad your election is mostly consisted of two parties. because in countries that have too many parties, they all lose their ideologies.

Originally Posted by Alric

Personally I am kind of curious how they measured the IQ of different states, when most people never take IQ tests. I am sure that they actually did tests to find out, instead of just guessing though. However with no sources, one must wonder.

They took the data from the Economist, according to their website.

----


Stop attacking sources, people, they're correct.

Originally Posted by Kromoh

Oh great news. Creativity isn't intelligence, as per definition. You don't need creativity to be smart.

Touche. You still can't discredit Common Sense.

Common sense =/= scientific thinking. And the problem is, you can't really weigh that kind of knowledge. Say you test a person's ability to cook. I can't cook, but I deduced integral and differential calculus on my own. Does that make me dumb?

Thing is, common sense isn't an ability, but like, a level of 'indoctrination' by society. Let's not forget that abilities like synthesis, critical thinking and solution elaborating *are* evaluated by IQ tests.

Originally Posted by Kromoh

You're just sitting on the fence, really. That's what they call not having an opinion. Saying politics is entirely bad and ignoring it is ignoring a major part of society - perhaps the most important one. You should be glad your election is mostly consisted of two parties. because in countries that have too many parties, they all lose their ideologies.

I know what sitting on the fence means, where do I not have an opinon? I dont ignore politics, I dislike how it is run. Im actually quite active in trying to change it. Im not sure where you got that I ignore politics...

http://www.thesodajerks.com/jerks/imgs/maps/IQ.gif

Does not work for me. Could you reupload it?

WTH? America's IQ is low isn't it? i thought average was 120. I wish i could find a good IQ test. They all tell me something different. all around 140, but considering my state's average they may be wrong, so i hope that I am just lucky. Oh, and It does make sense that Georgia would be lower. I live there. I think half of my school is inbred...

I do disagree with the relation to the presidential election though. Even for one with a high IQ, it all depends on traditional voting and what set of propaganda you watch.

Mississippi has an average IQ of 85? What the Christ.

Originally Posted by sheogorath

WTH? America's IQ is low isn't it? i thought average was 120. I wish i could find a good IQ test. They all tell me something different. all around 140, but considering my state's average they may be wrong, so i hope that I am just lucky. Oh, and It does make sense that Georgia would be lower. I live there. I think half of my school is inbred...

I do disagree with the relation to the presidential election though. Even for one with a high IQ, it all depends on traditional voting and what set of propaganda you watch.

Average is usually 100. It's normally distributed.

Well I looked around on the internet about that. And most things point to the data being wrong, or even made up. Saying a newspaper said something, doesn't count as a real source. A real source is, saying some collage or organization did a study, and the study shows something. If there is no study, then there is no reason to believe it, since anyone can post results and claim its true. There is no reason to be so defensive though. I am not calling you a liar or anything, just saying it sounds fishy.

In general, common sense is better than intelligence. A person running for president says he is going to shrink government, lower taxes, and stop all wars. Common sense tell you, he is lying. If you think he is telling the truth, no matter what your IQ is, you are probably idiot.(Unless the person is Ron Paul, the only person with an actual record, and a well detailed plan which shows he will actually do it.)

Originally Posted by Marvo

Mississippi has an average IQ of 85? What the Christ.

Originally Posted by tkdyo

I know what sitting on the fence means, where do I not have an opinon? I dont ignore politics, I dislike how it is run. Im actually quite active in trying to change it. Im not sure where you got that I ignore politics...

I over-reacted, sorry. I just thought you were one of those people "oh, I hate politics, politicians are all corrupt, I'd rather not get involved". I think you share my dislike for those people.

Originally Posted by Kromoh

Common sense =/= scientific thinking. And the problem is, you can't really weigh that kind of knowledge. Say you test a person's ability to cook. I can't cook, but I deduced integral and differential calculus on my own. Does that make me dumb?

Thing is, common sense isn't an ability, but like, a level of 'indoctrination' by society. Let's not forget that abilities like synthesis, critical thinking and solution elaborating *are* evaluated by IQ tests.

To what degree though? I really can't take the test seriously (Apparently I was a 124 or something last time I checked).. I just can't see how a single test can sum up a persons intelligence.