Backroom Poll. The (major) Religious Affiliation in Backroom...

[Strike For The South]

. I would assume poverty leads to low intelligence, crime, and religion -

Ding Ding Ding!!!!!

Couple that with the stronger church tradition in the south and you get those statistics. I would argue many people here just say they are christians simply because saying you're not one is considered something of a social fopah.

Being religous does not make you dumb fat, it's about the culture in which you are raised. The south has always looked to the church as the center of social, not just religous life. It is only natural for one to be a christian becuase so much of life is centered around it.

I can't spell and don't care to proofread

[Aemilius Paulus]

Ding Ding Ding!!!!!

Couple that with the stronger church tradition in the south and you get those statistics. I would argue many people here just say they are christians simply because saying you're not one is considered something of a social fopah.

Being religous does not make you dumb fat, it's about the culture in which you are raised. The south has always looked to the church as the center of social, not just religous life. It is only natural for one to be a christian becuase so much of life is centered around it.

Well yeah, that is what I always said... Poverty->low IQ->hardship+tradition->voilà, you are now religious.

The trouble is, once someone is religious they tend to become even more recalcitrant in their stand against science or reason (sorry, I am singling out mainly Southerners here, mainly Baptists ), and they pass on the religion, which coupled with poverty creates a vicious circle. Remove the religion, and the cycle is slightly easier to change, although not by much. But then the crime-rate can easily rise... Everything is a double-edged sword.

What is really disturbing though, are the religious folk who are not poor, but are ignorant as a result of their religion . That can be blamed on religion. At least the poor have a very good excuse - I do not expect someone living in such hardship in the Deep South to be a liberal, atheist intellectual. It is not their fault, and they are good people because of what they are, rather than what they are not.

I can't spell and don't care to proofread

Okay, I just remembered that often times when you jokingly bait people, you misspell things intentionally.

[Centurion1]

I would liem to argue that with you. poverty = poor education not low iq. There are chances someone who is poor (desperately poor) would be ill educated and not be able to read. and then they would be unable to complete an iq test. iq and conditional intelligence are two different things.

[Aemilius Paulus]

I would liem to argue that with you. poverty = poor education not low iq. There are chances someone who is poor (desperately poor) would be ill educated and not be able to read. and then they would be unable to complete an iq test. iq and conditional intelligence are two different things.

No, but they are too closely correlated. You need a special environment for IQ development. It is perfectly possible to be sharp and yet ignorant. Ignorance and stupidity are very different things. But poverty-stricken rural environments tend to produce inhospitable conditions for the development of the mind, and so you reap what you sow. People born into working-class families feature normal intelligence, but rural areas in poor regions tend to be sad exceptions. There is a line, below which high IQ tends to be more or less unattainable (very unlikely). This line is different, depending on each country and the culture of the family.

The really big kick in the teeth is that IQ tests, as I said before, are measures of abstract reasoning - which is the standard measure of intellect. This is severely hampered by the environment of poverty. But let us not jump on the bandwagon that IQ tests are horribly flawed and that they measure too little to be of use. IQ tests correlate very well with all sorts of other legitimate tests measuring cognitive performance.

[Centurion1]

You are still speaking of educational intelligence though.

Say there are twins born in rural west virginia. One grows up with her poor, alcoholic, parents. The other is adopted by a rich family in boston. Are they both going to be stupid because of where they are born. Or is the education going to make a difference (assuming the one twin gets a good education)

Iq tests are so subjective. I consistently get high scores on one test but on another my score drops ten points. (both legitimate tests). Ridiculous.

[Aemilius Paulus]

Y

Iq tests are so subjective. I consistently get high scores on one test but on another my score drops ten points. (both legitimate tests). Ridiculous.

Yeah, 'cause a teen like you and me definitely knows better than more than a century of scientific observation, experimentation, and gradual improvement ... Look, I make no secret that I dislike anti-intellectualism, whether intentional or semi-accidental. I am not saying that you are being anti-intellectualism here, but statistics show that IQ test correlate very well, and they are therefore still used. If I had a pence/penny (preferably a pence though - they are worth more ) for every anti-IQ test story...

[Beskar]

I like to inform you "IQ tests on the internet" are not legitimate.

A legitimate IQ test would involve being in an office with a psychologist for a couple-few hours to access your mentals in a long range of area, while they record your performance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wechsle...lligence_Scale

[pevergreen]

voted other when i meant deist.

didnt know what it meant