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 Why Canadians are More Intelligent than Americans
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Ghost_Skeptic
SFN Regular

Canada
510 Posts

Posted - 07/15/2008 :  23:56:15  Show Profile Send Ghost_Skeptic a Private Message  Reply with Quote
It's the climate.







As you can see, hotter average temperature is associated with lower White IQs, fewer degrees being awarded to Whites per capita, and a higher percentage of the White population being imprisoned.

"You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink. / You can send a kid to college but you can't make him think." - B.B. King

History is made by stupid people - The Arrogant Worms

"The greater the ignorance the greater the dogmatism." - William Osler

"Religion is the natural home of the psychopath" - Pat Condell

"The day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the supreme being as his father in the womb of a virgin, will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter" - Thomas Jefferson

Edited by - Ghost_Skeptic on 07/16/2008 01:01:39

the_ignored
SFN Addict

2562 Posts

Posted - 07/16/2008 :  00:49:49   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send the_ignored a Private Message  Reply with Quote
As one of the commentators said on the post that this was taken from: Isn't this just a reverse bell-curve thing? They point out that there's a lot of factors, as opposed to skin color and climate. I'll have to do more reading on this...that, and there's no actual evidence that Canadians are more intelligent than Americans.


>From: enuffenuff@fastmail.fm
(excerpt follows):
> I'm looking to teach these two bastards a lesson they'll never forget.
> Personal visit by mates of mine. No violence, just a wee little chat.
>
> **** has also committed more crimes than you can count with his
> incitement of hatred against a religion. That law came in about 2007
> much to ****'s ignorance. That is fact and his writing will become well
> know as well as him becoming a publicly known icon of hatred.
>
> Good luck with that fuckwit. And Reynold, fucking run, and don't stop.
> Disappear would be best as it was you who dared to attack me on my
> illness knowing nothing of the cause. You disgust me and you are top of
> the list boy. Again, no violence. Just regular reminders of who's there
> and visits to see you are behaving. Nothing scary in reality. But I'd
> still disappear if I was you.

What brought that on? this. Original posting here.

Another example of this guy's lunacy here.
Edited by - the_ignored on 07/16/2008 00:50:51
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H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard

USA
4574 Posts

Posted - 07/16/2008 :  00:58:38   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send H. Humbert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
This would explain the American south...


"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes

"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman

"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie
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Ghost_Skeptic
SFN Regular

Canada
510 Posts

Posted - 07/16/2008 :  01:00:49   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send Ghost_Skeptic a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I suppose this data could be misused to prove Edmontonians are more intelligent than Calgarians.

"You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink. / You can send a kid to college but you can't make him think." - B.B. King

History is made by stupid people - The Arrogant Worms

"The greater the ignorance the greater the dogmatism." - William Osler

"Religion is the natural home of the psychopath" - Pat Condell

"The day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the supreme being as his father in the womb of a virgin, will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter" - Thomas Jefferson
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HalfMooner
Dingaling

Philippines
15831 Posts

Posted - 07/16/2008 :  03:48:35   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send HalfMooner a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I smell a fish. They must have entirely thrown out data from all those with brain injuries from hockey.


Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive.
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filthy
SFN Die Hard

USA
14408 Posts

Posted - 07/16/2008 :  04:48:19   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send filthy a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I would remark that the Canuks have much better beer. And they are smart enough not to get too embroiled with the cat-flinging madwoman on their southern border. And their dollar is actually worth something these days.

Hmmm. Maybe there's something to it after all, and if we make the monumental blunder of electing McCain, that might be more supporting evidence.




"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)

"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres


"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude

Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,

and Crypto-Communist!

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BigPapaSmurf
SFN Die Hard

3192 Posts

Posted - 07/16/2008 :  05:06:39   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send BigPapaSmurf a Private Message  Reply with Quote
There are many data points outside the trend line, for all I know all the low numbers on the cool temp side are from Canada, the rest from Scandanavia.

"...things I have neither seen nor experienced nor heard tell of from anybody else; things, what is more, that do not in fact exist and could not ever exist at all. So my readers must not believe a word I say." -Lucian on his book True History

"...They accept such things on faith alone, without any evidence. So if a fraudulent and cunning person who knows how to take advantage of a situation comes among them, he can make himself rich in a short time." -Lucian critical of early Christians c.166 AD From his book, De Morte Peregrini
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Dave W.
Info Junkie

USA
26022 Posts

Posted - 07/16/2008 :  06:10:50   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit Dave W.'s Homepage Send Dave W. a Private Message  Reply with Quote
As hurricane Katrina's devestation of New Orleans showed, the rich white folk live on top of hills, while the poor and non-white people live in the lowlands.

A look at any globe is proof positive that Canada is uphill from the United States. 'Nuf said.

- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too.
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filthy
SFN Die Hard

USA
14408 Posts

Posted - 07/16/2008 :  06:44:51   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send filthy a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Originally posted by Dave W.

As hurricane Katrina's devestation of New Orleans showed, the rich white folk live on top of hills, while the poor and non-white people live in the lowlands.

A look at any globe is proof positive that Canada is uphill from the United States. 'Nuf said.
Yep. 'Tis the way of the world, as that same globe will tell you. But that's all gonna change when the Revoltin' Revolution gets here!






"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)

"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres


"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude

Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,

and Crypto-Communist!

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Hawks
SFN Regular

Canada
1383 Posts

Posted - 07/16/2008 :  08:53:21   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit Hawks's Homepage Send Hawks a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Originally posted by BigPapaSmurf

There are many data points outside the trend line, for all I know all the low numbers on the cool temp side are from Canada, the rest from Scandanavia.

I suppose that since swedish ice hockey player Mats Sundin just turned down a 2 year $20 million contract with the Canucks, it makes him an outlier on the above graphs.

METHINKS IT IS LIKE A WEASEL
It's a small, off-duty czechoslovakian traffic warden!
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Kil
Evil Skeptic

USA
13477 Posts

Posted - 07/16/2008 :  11:50:10   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit Kil's Homepage  Send Kil an AOL message  Send Kil a Yahoo! Message Send Kil a Private Message  Reply with Quote
My ex-wife is Canadian and she was smart enough to marry me. On the other hand, I was smart enough to divorce her.

I call it a wash...


Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.

Why not question something for a change?

Genetic Literacy Project
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bngbuck
SFN Addict

USA
2437 Posts

Posted - 07/16/2008 :  12:15:02   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send bngbuck a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Ghost Skeptic.....

I found Razib's blog and the commentary engendered by it extremely interesting. Even more interesting was the commentary here on SFN concerning this highly volatile, controversial material. Most of the comments to your post are either blandly dismissive, mildly mocking, or humorously tangental to the thrust of the hypotheses presented and the many incisive comments it engendered on Razib's "Gene Expression" section of ScienceBlogs. I feel this is a fairly serious subject!

It almost appears to me that many of the folks here are leary of this material, intimidated by the controversial politically (and possibly scientifically) incorrect nature of its' similarity to the much -maligned The Bell Curve controversy of several years ago. Murray and Herrnstien were excoriated for several of their conclusions in that book. Much of that approbation came from the authors inverse statistical correlation of race (particularly black) with intelligence, leading to a conclusion that intelligence is significantly genetic in nature. Controversy remains to this day.

Razib's suggestions concerning possible correlations between climate combined with geographical residence and, er.., intelligence, are certainly extremely tender subjects at which to poke sharp, skeptical inquisitive sticks, and Razib himself seems appropriately ambiguous on the subject. I thought the material was well questioned and discussed by the various commentators.

Personally, I see large pieces of feces here, interspersed with an occasional cachou of value. At first blush, it appears to me that there might be a scrap of meat or two on this bone of contention.

Kil, in your role as nervous mediator, do you see any merit in
the intelligence/geographical region/climate interrelation speculations raised by Radical Razib?

Dave, mockery aside; what is your view of the possibility that regional I.Q. levels, (sample universes specific to long-term, multigenerational families with reasonably deep roots in their area) may be related to location and climate?

Dude, coming from Below-The-South Florida, what is your view?

Ignored, hoping that you have done more reading by now and understanding your little bristle at the implied slur of below-the-Canadian-border Americans; do you see any merit in the general proposition brought up by Razid?

Humbert, would it also explain Mexico, Central America, and the northern parts of South America?

Half-Mooner, what's your view on the oft-discussed differences between Northern and Southern Californians and their respective cultures? Are you folks unevenly distributed as to Fruits and Nuts, depending on your relative latitude and ambient temperature?

Filthy, I gather you have had more than passing experience in Southern climes. Disregarding (which is difficult) for the moment, the comparisons of regional beers, how do you feel about possible genetic differences in intelligence beween the North, South, Central, East, and West of the United States. (I purposely am omitting the South of France!)

BPS, Yes the dispersion chart lacks significantly in definition of it's parameters; but assume for a moment that it is confined to a United States distribution. Does this data, or any of the arguments in the blog, tend to persuade you that intelligence may be correlated with geography of residence or the nature of the home climate, or both?

Hawks, despite considerable evidence that many Canadians are genetically related to Hockey pucks, drop your Australian insular bias for a moment (after all, you folks are well below the equator) and consider the big picture: Does South/Hot mean Stupider, and North/Cool mean Brighter? Be prepared to defend either view, as many guns and knives will be drawn (those with knives presumably from more southern climes!)

I think the premises raised here merit some serious discussion!

Edited by - bngbuck on 07/16/2008 14:45:04
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Kil
Evil Skeptic

USA
13477 Posts

Posted - 07/16/2008 :  12:36:27   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit Kil's Homepage  Send Kil an AOL message  Send Kil a Yahoo! Message Send Kil a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Oh darn Bill. Now I actually have to read the article. My gut, which is not really worth much, is that a correlation can be made of almost anything if viewed with a bias. If the pain killers I am on don't put me to sleep while reading the article, I will try to get myself more informed on the subject.

But note: I am on some pretty heavy pain killers due to a ruptured disc and at the moment, unless it's as plain as the nose on my face, I don't trust even my own judgment...


Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.

Why not question something for a change?

Genetic Literacy Project
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filthy
SFN Die Hard

USA
14408 Posts

Posted - 07/16/2008 :  14:04:53   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send filthy a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Originally posted by Kil

Oh darn Bill. Now I actually have to read the article. My gut, which is not really worth much, is that a correlation can be made of almost anything if viewed with a bias. If the pain killers I am on don't put me to sleep while reading the article, I will try to get myself more informed on the subject.

But note: I am on some pretty heavy pain killers due to a ruptured disc and at the moment, unless it's as plain as the nose on my face, I don't trust even my own judgment...


Ah geeze! Take care of that disc. I've had 2 fusions and these days, it's a chore to walk.
Filthy, I gather you have had more than passing experience in Southern climes. Disregarding (which is difficult) for the moment, the comparisons of regional beers, how do you feel about possible genetic differences in intelligence beween the North, South, Central, East, and West of the United States. (I purposely am omitting the South of France!)
In all truth, I never gave it any thought -- Don't omit the South of France, it's great!

I dunno. I think it is a sort of a sub-regonal thing, for instance the Durham/Chaple Hill area of NC has some major universities. Thus, you have a better informed populace than you would find in Appalachia, but not necessarily more intelligent (shit, define intelligence ). I'm not at all sure that genetics have anything to do with it beyond the individual.

Also, having more than passing experience in colder climes, I might remark that folks up that way have time to do a lot of reading, come the end of the deer season and before the lakes have iced up thick enough to drive out on them.




"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)

"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres


"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude

Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,

and Crypto-Communist!

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bngbuck
SFN Addict

USA
2437 Posts

Posted - 07/16/2008 :  14:12:06   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send bngbuck a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Kil.....

Sorry to hear of your dying saucer. Been there and suffered that about forty years ago.

Beware of the men bearing knives that offer you 800mg of ibuprofen on prescription pads printed with ADVIL in large letters. The orthopedic surgeon I was seeing had told me I was in urgent need of spinal surgery. After looking at the prescription for Advil, I questioned the pharmacist as to the difference between Advil (damn expensive) and generic ibuprofen (damn cheap). The answer, of course, was zero. I changed orthopods.

Eventually, the herniated discs fused on their own, my back problems ceased and that particular malady has never struck me again. Last I heard, the Bloody Butcher of the Back was still performing three or four spondylosyndeses a day and laughing all the way to the bank, which he undoubtedly owns by now.

I understand that you are on sturdier palliatives than NSAID's, however, and I hope the regimen doesn't last too long. Those things become increasingly more seductive the longer you are on them - offering idyllic periods of ennui between bouts of excruciating sciatic agony coupled with overpowering guilt and self-loathing because of the enforced idleness.

As one convalescent to another, get well soon, and Bacchus bless us all, every one!
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bngbuck
SFN Addict

USA
2437 Posts

Posted - 07/16/2008 :  14:39:51   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send bngbuck a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Filthy.....

Don't omit the South of France, it's great!
After spending more than a year living in various regions of France and engaging in intensive research on the subject during the entire period; I came to the conclusion that there was no southern part of France and, in fact, no country in which the ladies wear no pants!

I will modestly add that my sample size was quite large, and unquestionably statistically significant.
Also, having more than passing experience in colder climes, I might remark that folks up that way have time to do a lot of reading, come the end of the deer season and before the lakes have iced up thick enough to drive out on them.
Point well taken, but that is probably a badly skewed sample because most of the folks up North know how to read!

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