Almost Got my Wish

Posted on by David Wright

Robin is bombarded with links to the OK Cupid article I commented on here

Unfortunately he doesn’t really get around to discussing it. He cites research that suggests that old people are more emotional because their intellectual capacities decline and examines the question of age related political orientation as it relates to a shift in the relative importance of emotional and informational processing.

From the abstract, it isn’t clear that the declining ability to reason suggests an equal decline in the willingness to reason is established. Just because someone isn’t any good at something any more (relative to his youth) doesn’t mean he’ll be unwilling to do it.

For these purposes I much prefer the data set the OKCupid folks use. Hopefully Robin will give us a more complete analysis of the OKCupid post later.

Nature or Nurture? Answer: “Yes”

Posted on by David Wright

We still don’t know exactly how much genes contribute to intelligence, with various studies coming up with estimates ranging from 40 to 80 per cent.

Yet:

This wide range of estimates might have arisen because genes contribute more to IQ as we get older, according to a study published last year.

They suggest that either the brain rewires itself as you get older (yeah, right), or:

Alternatively, they may dictate whether someone is likely to seek out stimulating experiences to help their brain grow and develop.

I think I’d agree. I’m always surprised at how incurious people are when they leave school and no longer forced to learn new things every day.

Learning just ain’t fun for some…