Being poor makes you stupid

Lennart

Lennart

TNPer
The title may seem out of place but, according to a new study, it may be true. Being from an impoverished country myself I can say poor people make wrong decissions all the time, and the worse their situation, the worse they perform.

Experiments showed that the impact of financial concerns on the cognitive function of low-income individuals was similar to a 13-point dip in IQ, or the loss of an entire night's sleep.

13 points, go figure. And I also don't sleep well as of lately, I may be turning into a massive moron.

Ok, here's the link. I wait for your opinion, TNPers.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130829145125.htm
 
The title reminded me of this:

rinehart2.jpeg
 
I'm waiting for someone to reverse the causality of this one and claim "Poor people are in their state because they are stupid". :eyeroll:
 
Frattastan:
I'm waiting for someone to reverse the causality of this one and claim "Poor people are in their state because they are stupid". :eyeroll:
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Yeah, that's a typical answer. And it's not that I want to avoid responsibility either, but is not that simple.

My opinion is you should have posted about this weeks ago, this news is stale. :P
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what news? I know this has been around for some time but I wanted to hear your opinions about it, not just the lot of other crap people tell. TNP opinion is important to me!
 
Like most things, it comes down to education. There are definitely a lot of stupid rich people in the world - especially when they just inherit the money in the first place. Paris Hilton as an example.

I wouldn't go as far as saying poor people are stupid, but when they haven't had the opportunities that some people have had in their lives then it isn't too hard to predict that they won't be as prepared to deal with certain matters.
 
Rich people do plenty of stupid things. They just have the means to buy their way out of the consequences. They can pay-off whoever needs paid off, the attorney is on retainer, and for the really bad choices, they can hire a PR firm.

As for the statistics in the article, I don't trust them.
 
Ok, I know rich people can be stupid as shit, but that's not what I think this study tries to say.

As McM pointed out, this is a matter of opportunities. But I have seen plenty of poor people losing opportunities because of very bad decision making, even having a lot of potential. Ok, I know sometimes it also involves shyness and low self esteem (which poverty causes or deepen), but it seems clear to me there's an extra difficulty in planning when your primary concern is not to go hungry to bed.

As for the statistics... Well, I don't know. Being only one study, it's obviously difficult to trust anyway.
 
I believe the mental function is not reduced because you're poor, but certainly mental capacity has limits. If you have real basic needs - i.e. food, shelter, paying bills - then it leaves less time to think of non-essential pursuits. And by non-essential, I mean not essential for sustaining life.

It's like a company where they have no time to focus on innovation because they are busy keeping the lights on. Same concept and can lead to similar results. I think the answer to both is to encourage people to set aside time to think of "what could be" and thinking outside the box that is your life. Not easy.

I grew up being upper middle class and then my parents lost everything in the late 80s recession. Our water was cut, our electric was cut, and for a time I ate syrup sandwiches for breakfast lunch and dinner. So I've seen both sides of poor not poor coin. During the times when I was poor, the focus was on essentials but I tried to keep my focus on where I was going versus where I was at. If I looked at where I was at it was a bit depressing. I'm not making an argument to pull yourself up, I'm making an argument about a mindset. Humans are pretty incredible beings in that what they see in their mind they can turn into reality. Unfortunately, when you are poor your mind tends to focus on your basic bodily needs and if your focus remains there that is 'all' you will ever achieve.
 
Valkany:
Your IQ never increases or drops, it's always the same form the moment you're born to the moment you die. So your argument is invalid.
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No, mate, it doesn't work like that. IQ is more, as BW said, a subjective way to quantify how well you perform at life in general and also in specific task situations that professionals believe relevant.

You can perform better in tests under certain conditions, or the other way around. As a silly example, I could perform poorly if I do an IQ test designed for English speakers, which is not my first language. I would be diagnosed as mentally retarded if in German. Lower than a lobotomized rat in Chinese, etc.

@Punk D, my opinion is not a lot different from yours. Of course people's potential may be incredible, we can overcome most calamities happening in our lives and anyone can, and should, strive. but by my experience, poor people waste more chances and make worse decisions probably because of what you said yourself: focusing in basic stuff can be a heavy burden. And they aren't probably sorrounded by stimulating opportunities either.
 
Being poor makes you stupid. Interesting point to ponder. I know a lot of really poor people who are absolutely brilliant, and a lot of rich people who are as stupid as dirt.

I think the study in the original article makes a very stupid assertion that wealth is a cause of intelligence. In fact, I have concluded, that as a sweeping generality, the more stupid one is, the greater the chance for one's achieving wealth, fame and status. And the more stupid one's idea is, the more likely one is to succeed and gain wealth. I call it 'wealth through stupidity'.

But, in all reality, there are a lot more stupid rich people than smart rich people in the world. There is are some good reasons for this.

Really smart people come up with some really brilliant ideas that fall flat on their faces. Why? Because smart people tend to plan things out in detail. Then they worry about things like all the money they need to complete their goals; taxes they have to pay; regulations and laws to obey and everything else that stands in the way of the pursuit of their goals and guarantees absolute and ignominious failure. Then they do what any sane, intelligent person does when confronted with beating their head against a brick wall: they give up in frustration.

Now, on the other hand, stupid people tend to actually succeed precisely because they are too stupid to realize that what they are about to do is doomed to failure. They are so stupid that they don't ever realize that they have failed, and they keep going at it. They are entirely unencumbered by the thought process and are totally ignorant of the obstacles in their way to success. And that's why the stupid people are more prone to success than smart people as a rule. They make their money first and then worry about the taxes and the laws later. And just because someone is stupid doesn't mean that they aren't clever. Stupid people are persistent. Stupid people are people who jump off a sinking ship into icy water, and act in and of itself a totally insane proposition to any intelligent person.

Smart people just go down with the ship and say to themselves, "gee. If I jump into the water, I'll freeze to death and drown. Oh, well". They die. Stupid people jump into the freezing water and at least have a chance of survival. I'd say just ask a survivor of the RMS Titanic but they are all dead by now.

Stupid sells. And as a bit of a motivational incitement, one is never too stupid to be rich. And one is never to smart to be poor. Stupid sells.

Look at all the stupid, poor people who come up with stupid ways to laugh themselves to the bank. No idea is ever too stupid that it can't life any run of the mill idiot out of poverty. To wit - pick a stupid thing at random and you will find some idiot who made themselves a fortune by turning their stupidity in a profession:

Professional skateboarders, closet organizers, personal assistants, fitness gurus, motivational speakers, intuitive councilors, animal 'communicators' and assorted doggie psychics, bungee jumpers, professional wrestlers, Miley Cyrus and Lady Gaga. Total stupidity - and absolute gold.

"Stupid" things sell better than "Smart" things because of one simple thing: there are more stupid people than smart people. Face it, the vast majority of the people on this planet are stupid, which means, as a demographic, they like stupid things. Psychologists call it projection - I call it good marketing.

So, stupidity doesn't necessarily make one poor, being poor doesn't make you stupid, being smart doesn't make you rich and being rich doesn't make you smart. Being too stupid to know when to give up will eventually provide you with financial means, that is if your stupidity doesn't get you killed first.

And, as a final example of stupidity turning into wealth - anyone remember "Pet Rocks"?

Click the link and just read the stupidity that made the idiot inventor hundreds of millions of dollars by selling little rocks in a cardboard box. I wish I was that stupid to come up with a stupid idea like that.

The next time I hear someone say something like, "I'm stupid because I'm poor" or "I'm too stupid to become rich" I'm going to bash them in the head with a pet rock. :P

800px-PetRock_Box.jpg
 
I enjoyed Roman's post but won't say most people in this world is stupid, as I don't think I'm smater than your average human and that would be calling myself stupid. I prefer dumb or silly, they're less offensive, even cute.

Now seriously, you're talking too much about "being rich" and best selling ideas, fads and fashion. The study compares poor people to people whose well-being is assured, rather than a "poor vs rich" thing. I don't know why some of you run so quickly to defend or attack the rich, when they're not even mentioned.

On the other hand, I agree some stupid people succeed because they can't understand the consequences to their acts, in the same way psychos succeed because they simply ignore them. A funny argument but not in the line of the study.
 
Perhaps I was a bit harsh by saying that most people are stupid.

I should have said that the average person is stupid which means they aren't really stupid, just average. :lol: :P

Oh, and my post was supposed to be silly. :P
 
Being stupid makes you stupid. Being rich just means it makes no difference, and people pretend not to notice.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8Kum8OUTuk[/video]
 
It's more that being poor makes you distracted by day-to-day necessities such as actually eating.
 
Here's my take on this: Poorer people have less money to get educated. And if they can't get educated as much as rich people, it seems obvious that they would not be able to have as much knowledge as them. Now, certainly this would not be a hard and fast law of life - as nothing is with human nature - but generally speaking, richer people are better educated, and better educated people are smarter. Now, who's more motivated? I'd say poorer people. But do they have nearly as many opportunities than richer people? Heck no.
 
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