Thursday 22 September 2011

Cause and effect


My last two posts have raised a question in my mind, a question that has come to me often before. Are religious people stupider than the rest of us? Well the question has occurred to others too and someone has actually done a study on it. And the results do actually show that there is a correlation between lower intelligence and religiosity, and the fundamentalists have an even lower intelligence than the moderately religious. Now who would have thought?

Now I know that correlation does not necessarily equate to causation. Apart from anything else which would be cause and which effect? Is it that naturally thick bastards, having poor reasoning power, are more likely to believe illogical nonsense, or is it that cultivating unreasonable notions rots your brain and makes you thick?

7 comments:

  1. My you are being rather prolific today Dr Z!

    I can't access more than the abstract and hightlights of the study yet accept that it might be possible that fundamentalists may have limited intelligence. That said, I do not believe that those who have firm religious beliefs (who do not thrust their beliefs onto others) neccesarily are burdened with a low IQ. (Father was a religious man yet super-intelligent).

    May I be a little devil and suggest that your fervent athiesm borders on 'fundamentalism?' No? Okay I wont then!

    A fellow athiest.

    Anna :o]

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  2. Actually I do not regard the study that highly as assessing IQ is a very imperfect and difficult thing to do. Nor am I actually that fervent. I simply found the study interesting and the results amusing and as I am sure you know by now I like to rattle cages.

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  3. "I like to rattle cages."

    :-D

    Yes, I can hear all the noise, how long has this been going on for? Tough cage to break that one then, eh!

    Only, instead of wasting all this energy on such a tiring endeavour, why don't you escape to a holiday Zorro? It'll do you good

    - or ... is it that you are trying so hard to call me?? You are, aren't you? ... judging by all the posts ... and all the rattles!

    Well,I ain't got those keys, you know - I am not even here - but can be if you need me - if you know what I mean ...

    And about the IQ, thanks for the freebie diagnosis, spot on, God bless this head!

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  4. Can anyone translate that into English for me?

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  5. Simple Dr Z. You asked are the religious stupider than the rest us and 'George' has proved the hypothesis.

    GrumpyRN

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  6. نعم ، أستطيع أن أسمع كل الضجيج ، كم من الوقت هل كان هذا ليحدث؟ قفص صعبة لكسر هذه واحدة ثم ، إيه! فقط ، بدلا من إضاعة كل هذه الطاقة في مسعى من هذا القبيل متعبة ، لماذا لا يمكنك الهروب إلى زورو عطلة؟ انها سوف تفعل أنت خير -- أو... هو الذي تحاول بجد لدعوة لي؟ أنت ، أليس كذلك؟ ... استنادا الى جميع الوظائف... وجميع خشخيشات! حسنا ، ليست حصلت على تلك المفاتيح ، كما تعلمون -- وأنا لست هنا حتى -- ولكن يمكن أن يكون إذا كنت في حاجة لي -- إذا كنت تعرف ما أعني... وحول معدل الذكاء ، وذلك بفضل لتشخيص فريبي ، بقعة على الله يبارك هذا الرأس!

    That translator thingy is not that good, actually, it's very bad ... but it's better than nothing!

    Have a good WE Zorro :-)

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  7. Isn't Google translator wonderful? Fine for a word or short sentence, but long rants like this just confirm mediocraty and unoriginality. Take the original nonsense and put it through Google into Arabic....... Sigh! Childish!

    C'mon George, must do better.

    GrumpyRN.

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