Air Pollution Causes 'Huge' Reduction in Intelligence, Study Reveals (theguardian.com)

Living in cities by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 14:08 · Score: 1

Results in exposure to polluted air from factories and vehicles. It also increases exposure to socialism that results in public elementary to highschool education that is three years behind what was tough several decades ago.

Who knew?

Re:Living in cities by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 14:20 · Score: 0

"what was taught"
Would be nice if swiping keyboards were less prone to misinterpreting input, or at least gave better feedback with regards to how confident it was about the word it chose.
Re:Living in cities by hey! · 2018-08-27 14:40 · Score: 4, Funny

It also increases exposure to socialism that results in public elementary to highschool education that is three years behind what was tough several decades ago.
Right. Which is why you want to educate your kids in a rural paradise like Mississippi, not an urban state like Massachusetts, which also according to Business Insider is the most liberal state in the country. Honestly, Massachusetts is a hell-hole. You definitely don't want to move here.

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Re:Living in cities by 110010001000 · 2018-08-27 15:01 · Score: 4, Informative

The funny part is the rural areas are the most socialist of all. They survive on farm subsidies and public roads built with taxpayer money. But yeah, you guys sure are tough and independent.
Re:Living in cities by viperidaenz · 2018-08-27 15:13 · Score: 2

I heard the big tertiary education provider in MA is terrible too.
Re:Living in cities by hey! · 2018-08-27 15:57 · Score: 1

And so hard to get into.

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Re:Living in cities by skids · 2018-08-27 16:27 · Score: 1

In fact, if you live there already you should seriously consider moving. Don't even worry about getting a good price for your house... anything you get will be enough because houses other places are cheaper.

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Someone had to do it.
Re:Living in cities by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 16:30 · Score: 1

That is so true! In the big cities they do not have roads or eat food produced with subsidies.
Re:Living in cities by Immerman · 2018-08-27 17:56 · Score: 3, Interesting

You get an awful lot more people using that road, so the cost per person is far less. Estimates are that it costs an average of ~$1-3million per mile to build a rural paved 2-lane road ($3-5million in the city). Are you and your rural neighbors really paying for all that? I know mine aren't. In Denver you've got 4,000 people per square mile, with an average of 16 blocks per mile, or 32 miles of road per square mile (16 1-mile segments in each direction) - that's only 0.008 miles (14 yards) of road per person. And Denver isn't exactly a pinnacle of population density - New York averages 27,000 people per square mile.
In comparison though, the average population density of metrpopolitan areas in general (heavily biased by more spacious small towns and suburbs) is supposedly only ~280 people per square mile, so over 14 times lower than Denver, and the density of streets probably isn't dramatically larger - you still have blocks about the same size, the yards are just bigger and you have a lot fewer apartment buildings.

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Re: Living in cities by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 17:56 · Score: 0

Yes, we should all have farms and cows. Especially cows. Even without farms, we should each be awarded one cow. The international symbol of excellence.
Re:Living in cities by Immerman · 2018-08-27 18:01 · Score: 4, Interesting

Really? Deprive them of imported fuel, fertilizers, and pesticides, vehicles and other machinery, etc. and I bet you most would have a very rude awakening as to just how self-sufficient they really are. Better off than city dwellers no doubt, but it'd still be mighty bleak and a lot of folks wouldn't make it.

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Re: Living in cities by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 18:20 · Score: 0

Hey Hiram, you lazy ol' goat, you finished building my combine harvester yet?
Why no, Eli, my sons are working down at the quarry to dig out the ore and me and Mabel are still buildin' the blast furnace. We ain't even started on the rollin' mill or machine shop yet. Reckon it'll take about 20 years more.
Re:Living in cities by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 18:21 · Score: 0

Enough rural folks would make it ... to repopulate the self-sterilized empty cities. Remove the 10 largest USA cities ... you remove the 10 largest concentrations of parasite feebs, felons and fools. OTOH rural USA would start regenerating value on 19-th Century teknos within months.
Re:Living in cities by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 18:42 · Score: 0

"paying for ALL of that"? Are you saying that people in cities never drive outside of the city limits?
Re:Living in cities by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 19:24 · Score: 0

Let us guess: You live in a polluted city, yes?
Left vs Right is for dummies. Especially when you eradicated your Left.
Re:Living in cities by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 20:00 · Score: 0

http://cyborganthropology.com/...
You mean guys like these with the birth control gadgets attached to their bodies? They may have high IQs, but intelligence goes far beyond simple autistic mind games.
Re:Living in cities by CaffeinatedBacon · 2018-08-27 20:20 · Score: 2

Yes they grew their own computers and phones just to troll here on slashdot, but we still have to subsidise their internet.
Isnt' it time for you to go pick some tractor parts from the machine tree, wouldn't want them to fall off and rust.
Re:Living in cities by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 20:40 · Score: 1

CLEAN COAL!!
Re:Living in cities by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 20:41 · Score: 0

Pro-tip: rural people aren't as obsessed with paved roads as urban people. During the ussr, the Soviet government was packing rural roads against the desire of the locals who didn't want to foot the bill to have them paved. They would have been happy for them to remain dirt and gravel roads.
Urban people, on the other hand, want food, oil, and building materials in great quantities. Guess where those come from and how they will end up in cities?
Re:Living in cities by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 20:43 · Score: 0

The Amish will make it, maybe.
At least those who doesn't rely on trading with surrounding communities.
Re:Living in cities by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 22:55 · Score: 0

The funny part is the rural areas are the most socialist of all. They survive on farm subsidies and public roads built with taxpayer money. But yeah, you guys sure are tough and independent.
The subsidies to US dairy farmers is larger than the entire Canadian dairy industry.
There's a lot of political drama about Canada's supply management system for dairy and eggs (both in Canada and via the US). However, it allows for farmers to survive without subsidies. There are all sorts of arguments (for and against), but consumers of dairy and eggs pay a price that allows for sustainable domestic production.
If that price is "high/er" (compared to other countries), I would argue that in other countries non-consumers of dairy are subsidizing consumers.
Re:Living in cities by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 23:46 · Score: 1, Insightful

Just tell them you are 1/8 African or 1/8 Native American, they'll let you in. That is so long as you don't claim to be part Asian as well. If you can somehow show you are half African and half native American, a lesbian, Muslim, with a physical disability, and have PTSD, then they'll just hand you a diploma right then and there.
Re:Living in cities by that+this+is+not+und · 2018-08-27 23:48 · Score: 1

You can also move to a more rural area of Massachusetts.
Re:Living in cities by that+this+is+not+und · 2018-08-27 23:49 · Score: 5, Insightful

They also never eat food transported on roads from the areas where the food is produced.
Re:Living in cities by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 00:41 · Score: 1

Speaking as someone who actually lives in the country, we're fine for "fuel, fertilizers and pesticides". We're hugely energy-surplus, and wouldn't need petro-based fertilizers or pesticides if we weren't trying to feed 100x our population. Admittedly we don't make vehicles locally, because that kind of thing benefits greatly from economies of scale, but if push came to shove we have horses which worked fine for thousands of years until less than 100 ago. We already make our own machinery, and have a lot of skilled engineers and light industry. Historically we have mined and forged our own metals; the mines are still there if we need them.
If aliens dropped a bubble over our county that cut us off but didn't interfere with the wind sun and rain, the things we would miss from outside would be netflix, electronics and advanced medicine - pharmacies couldn't restock, imaging scanners would run out of noble gasses, we'd lose access to specialist doctors etc. Still, there are plenty who would jump at the prospect of being removed from global society and living more simply, even if it meant dying sooner.
Re:Living in cities by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 00:42 · Score: 0

But you forget where all that money goes. Roads do not need to be that expensive to build. All you need is cheap convict / teenage labor. Roads get soo expensive because the construction companies are owned and operated by hedge funds located in liberal utopias such as New York City. These managers do not want things done quickly or cheaply.
So in order to build a road in that racist hell hole of missisippi you need 3 million dollars. 500k goes to the local economy, 1 million goes to bribe government officials, and 1.5 goes to liberal New Yorkers so they can bestow the benefit of liberalism on the unwashed masses.
For every person doing actual work with their hands on a shovel, you have ten people managing. Those managers essentially write their own checks, and the dumb taxpayers foot the bill.
Since New Yorkers really hate people in Mississippi, and vice versa, I propose we have these two states declare war on each other henceforth.
Re:Living in cities by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 01:33 · Score: 0

You aren't trying to defend getting your sister pregnant aqain, are you? Yes, like The Hills Have Eyes, you inbred slobs do tend to stay alive, but at what cost to society? You're a tree with no limbs!
Re:Living in cities by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 01:41 · Score: 0

Or eat food that came down those roads?
Re:Living in cities by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 01:58 · Score: 1

That is the biggest pile of bullshit I have ever read.
My state awards 90%+ of its road construction work to locally-owned companies.
Maybe that's true where you live. If so, your government needs to support local businesses. That's something YOU need to fix.
Re:Living in cities by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 01:59 · Score: 0

it costs an average of ~$1-3million per mile to build a rural paved 2-lane road
Most of the roads in the rural area where I grew up weren't paved. The vast majority of them were gravel A main road here or there was paved but that was it. I'm not saying that it doesn't cost money to build a gravel road, but I am saying your story is a bit slanted here, as if you have an agenda or something.
Re:Living in cities by hey! · 2018-08-28 02:15 · Score: 1

Hah, just be a minority, get into Harvard. You are living in a fantasy world, my friend.

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Re:Living in cities by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 02:17 · Score: 0

And yet, if the financial market shits itself, it's the retard city dwellers that die first.
Money is meaningless to the self-sufficient kind.
Money was only ever supposed to be used for making barter easier, it was never supposed to run the world.
The entire farming community could just agree to let city folks die if they wanted to. Non-rural areas depend on THEM.
You have it backwards, friend.
You think a fucking farmer can't make a road? They're one of the few capable of doing so reliably.
The only big dent to the farming community would be the lack of readily available oil for mass-farming after a specific point.
OH NO, big loss. Oh, wait, since they'd only need to feed themselves and produce some things to barter with others for at least some variety in their foods, it's a non-issue.
They can afford to lose most of their crops. Non-rural areas can't.
It'd quickly transition back to horse and some man-power.
Stop sniffing those exhausts, dude. It's really done a number on you.
Re:Living in cities by luis_a_espinal · 2018-08-28 02:21 · Score: 1

Results in exposure to polluted air from factories and vehicles. It also increases exposure to socialism that results in public elementary to highschool education that is three years behind what was tough several decades ago.
Who knew?
This is the kind of stupid, self-defeating things people do to themselves that J.D Vance documented in his autobiography "Hillbilly Effigy".
Keep thinking like that buddy, I see a bright future for ya.
Re:Living in cities by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 02:24 · Score: 2, Interesting

Deprive them of the stuff only needed for mass-farming?
Oh no, how can we survive without all this food we never needed in the first place?
Farming is trivial for your family. It only gets complex when you want to feed cities of people.
Sure, your modern conveniences will be gone, but they can still depend on man-power alone to feed their own mouths.
No, they won't need horses, horses were only used for feeding pre-modern towns of populations, not families.
I can grow food to feed a family of 3 in a 30'x30' space easily and I'm in bloody Scotland of all places.
You seriously over-exaggerate just how much humans need to do in order to survive comfortably with their own 2 hands.
It's not a hard task. Not even slightly.
In fact, your modern day farmer will fair FAR better than your farmer of yester-century due to modern knowledge on efficient farming, twinning plants that naturally protect each other, nitrogen-fixers, and just nutritional value in general.
Pay up, you lost that bet.
That'll be $20 + tip.
Re:Living in cities by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 02:24 · Score: 0

People in cities don't own cars.
Re:Living in cities by drinkypoo · 2018-08-28 02:44 · Score: 1

pharmacies couldn't restock, imaging scanners would run out of noble gasses, we'd lose access to specialist doctors etc. Still, there are plenty who would jump at the prospect of being removed from global society and living more simply, even if it meant dying sooner.
The average age of farmers is in the USA is 58.3 years. They would drop like flies in this scenario.

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Re:Living in cities by liquid_schwartz · 2018-08-28 03:22 · Score: 1

You get an awful lot more people using that road, so the cost per person is far less. Estimates are that it costs an average of ~$1-3million per mile to build a rural paved 2-lane road ($3-5million in the city).
Interesting numbers but my observation is that when discussing roads in urban areas the costs are an order of magnitude higher. And heaven help you if you want to add a lane like these guys https://www.nytimes.com/2016/1...
Re:Living in cities by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 04:09 · Score: 1

Ex-Massholer here. The state is full of smug self-centered bastards, they drive like idiots, and the entire east coast smells like fermenting garbage.
But VT, NH and ME are definitely no better. Absolutely no reason to move up here. We have, uh, too much snow. Yeah. Rough living. Stay away.
Re:Living in cities by cyberchondriac · 2018-08-28 04:10 · Score: 1

I know I certainly don't want to drive there. Traffic on Rt 290 and Rt 495 is hell, and the drivers are terrible.

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Re:Living in cities by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 04:50 · Score: 1

you clearly do not recognize satire.
nobody has argued they do not provide food, or complaining at this socialist aspect.
the op was poking fun how they claim to be so independent, pulled up by their own bootstraps types of people and -- yet they are highly socialist and reliant on the handouts of other people for the means to deliver their goods.
Re:Living in cities by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 04:52 · Score: 0

it merely evens the playing field by retarding asians to the average american IQ score.
Re:Living in cities by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 05:31 · Score: 0

If you're reading Business Insider then your education has already failed you.
Re:Living in cities by Areyoukiddingme · 2018-08-28 07:25 · Score: 1

Isnt' it time for you to go pick some tractor parts from the machine tree, wouldn't want them to fall off and rust.
Your ideas intrigue me and I would like to subscribe to your newsletter. Where do I get a machine tree? That sounds very useful.
Re:Living in cities by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 07:40 · Score: 0

While the loudmouth-minority on the left have achieved a new, stupefying level of retardation, it's crap like this that reminds me of the right's classic 'tardedness.
"I'm self-sufficient."
"I produced this without any government assistance."
Do you not understand where roads come from?
How are customers placing orders? How do you maintain communication? You think a bunch of good ol boys created the infrastructure/tech?
Consumer diets, transportation, security, material quality, etc.... things that allow customers to place orders and have order fulfilled... it's all regulated, and guess by who.
Some, perhaps most, maybe even all, of this stuff could be handled locally, but that's beside the point. You utilize the current system, and said system is extraneous to you; therefore, you are not self-sufficient (unless you have sustainable resources in reserve that can take the place of the system).
Re:Living in cities by silverdirk · 2018-08-28 14:27 · Score: 2

Your numbers seem a bit bogus. Are you referring to the cost of buying the land and building the foundation, for a road from scratch? The cost of paving a 2-lane rural road is about $100K-$200K per mile.
https://clermontcountyohio.gov...
Rural roads are almost never created from scratch, unless it's a state or federally funded new highway or bypass (which is for the benefit of the state or nation, so doesn't fit your complaint). They usually started out as a dirt track, got upgraded to gravel, and finally upgraded to blacktop. New roads for subdivisions don't count as rural so much, because it means an area is urbanizing, and yes that can all be paid for by local taxes.

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Re:Living in cities by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-29 00:31 · Score: 0

Money does not represent value. That's why subsidies can be a good idea even if they never break even.
Re:Living in cities by wyHunter · 2018-08-29 02:25 · Score: 1

Um, Mississippi isn't really all that rural. Parts of it, yes, but ~51% or so live in urban areas. Couple that with Massachusetts, where 66% of folks live in rural areas, In Ohio it appears more balanced. Colorado is VERY urban dense and the idiocy there is...astounding.
Re:Living in cities by KingBenny · 2018-08-29 06:53 · Score: 1

lol ... the first answer i see that doesnt include "trump" , " n iggers" or "socialism" ... slashdot is going underground due to the hackers-on-meth inhaling too many of their own fumes apparently so, in a world without cars the mayans would have been right, the satya yuga would be here and people would be communicating in thought, the end of corruption

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Free speech was meant to be free for all... how can anyone grow up in a nanny state ?
Re:Living in cities by redlemming · 2018-08-30 10:20 · Score: 1

The funny part is the rural areas are the most socialist of all. They survive on farm subsidies and public roads built with taxpayer money. But yeah, you guys sure are tough and independent.
You are telling us is that you do NOT understand the true cost of things.
Take away the food and water that rural areas supply to cities and you'll have very rapid social collapse leading to violence, death on a massive scale, and cannibalism.
The money you pay in the market for food - or the money you pay in your utility bill for water - doesn't even begin to cover the cost of providing these goods.
Getting food is not just a matter of spending enough money to hire a farmer, you need roads (or other transportation systems) to move the goods to market (or to a distributor). The farmer also needs some way to get tools and equipment, plus maintenance on the same. Also, the farmer will want to have a family, and that means schools, health care, fire and police protection, emergency planning, and so forth.
All this costs money - a whole lot more money then just the cost of a hiring a farmer. In this case, the overhead swamps the direct expenses.
Similarly, setting up and maintaining the water system costs money. You need to send people out into rural areas to do that, and that means roads, police, motels, and so forth, which in turn leads to the other forms of overhead since you need to get people to be willing to work on, maintain, and operate the infrastructure. Things get even more complicated and expensive when multiple governments are involved.
City dwellers could pay a LOT more for food and water - and let the rural people pay for all of the overhead required to deliver those products - or you could let the government take care of things through taxes and subsidies. It's that simple.
In practice, most people think it's safer to just let government do this stuff then to try to rely on some sort of libertarian system somehow working things out correctly (plus it gives politicians and lawyers the chance to leverage the system for personal gain). There's nothing socialist about this: socialism means the workers control the means of production (Marx, Engels), it has nothing to do with government providing services to reduce the cost of living (or the cost of doing business). Capitalism always depends on some form of government involvement - and the spending in rural areas to reduce the cost of living in the cities is just another example of that involvement.
Rural areas provide important services to city dwellers, and vice-versa. Both benefit from the existence of the other.

Explains a lot about Silicon Valley by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 14:11 · Score: 0

No wonder they think trannies are the most important thing

Re:Correlation vs causality by arbiter1 · 2018-08-27 14:12 · Score: 3, Funny

It would explain California

This resonates with me.. by Vegan+Cyclist · 2018-08-27 14:15 · Score: 4, Insightful

It's totally anecdotal, but I lived in Vancouver, BC for 3yrs, and I felt like I had a fog in my head there. The air there isn't terrible, but living in the middle of this bustling city definitely had lower air quality. Moved back to Victoria, BC a year ago (where I came from, and a quiet, less-populated area by the ocean), and felt that go away pretty quick, and haven't felt like that since.

Again, may just be my imagination, but seems plausible.

Re:This resonates with me.. by rtb61 · 2018-08-27 14:32 · Score: 3, Interesting

Carbon monoxide substitutes for oxygen in your biologic system, substitutes chemically but not functionally and takes considerable time to remove from your blood stream, it has to diffuse out. The more you have the quicker it leaves and the less it becomes the slower the removal, numbers between it and excess oxygen (so snort a bunch of oxy before bed time). Carbon monoxide make brain not work good https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.... Stop burning shit, especially that really old fossilised shit (heh heh).
Now for shits and giggles, add in lead (you need it for the real cra cra, that gun nut cra cra) as well as a range of endocrine disrupting chemicals, radioactive elements breaking down into Radon, 'ohh my', nation wide fracking and things get real interesting. No wonder corruption is running rife in the USA at every level but hey, if you say anything the New York Times will paint you as an agent of the KGB (now thats typical cra cra, so out of New York, I get it now).

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Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
Re:This resonates with me.. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 14:37 · Score: 0

I think I feel a similar thing. Grew up i the country, moved to the city, often feel like there is a fog in my head that seems to have gooten worse over time. Sometimes it makes it hard to think, other times it makes it hard recall and focus on temporary data.I had put it mostly down to age, but the thought of it being caused by questionable air quality has crossed my mind a few times.
Re:This resonates with me.. by fluffernutter · 2018-08-27 14:58 · Score: 4, Insightful

I recently moved from a major city to the outskirts of a small city. I also found that having nature around you instead of concrete also has a huge uplifting affect on the soul. People are a lot friendlier where I moved to. Maybe it is a greater abundance of oxygen, I did not consider that. People are not meant to be crammed into cities.

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Re:This resonates with me.. by mikael · 2018-08-27 15:01 · Score: 1

I used to get fog head from sitting on the top deck of a double-decker bus when one set of wheels went over a speed bump and the other set didn't. That led to the bus shaking sideways three or four times until the suspension damped things down. I had to immobilize my head by hunching my shoulders up until the bus passed the speed bumps in order to avoid this.
In my last job, trying to walk down a main surface road was like trying to walk while breathing in dental anaesthetic gas. My stomach would feel gassy, I'd feel light headed, and my chest muscles below my diaphragm would hurt. That road is known for having the worst pollution in the area.

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Re:This resonates with me.. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 15:07 · Score: 0

It is total cra cra when people believe the only people who should own guns typically use them to kill innocent dogs.
Re:This resonates with me.. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 15:16 · Score: 0

Victoria BC's motto is "newly wed or nearly dead" because it's boring as fuck
Re: This resonates with me.. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 16:23 · Score: 0

Eh, but it's gorgeous
Re:This resonates with me.. by Mal-2 · 2018-08-27 16:38 · Score: 2

90-10 Bismuth-tin bullets are a good lead replacement for hunters who don't like poisoning themselves. They fragment rather than deform because they are brittle, but this means no lead dropped in forests and no lead in your venison. It seems a fair trade.

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Re:This resonates with me.. by skids · 2018-08-27 16:49 · Score: 1

Unfortunately for many of this this is not an option: the extra pollen due to AGW is just as bad for those of us with allergies... even after the 2-year course of weekly shots.
(And FWIW it may not be as toxic, but pollen accounts for some PM10 particulate matter, so it would be interesting to see this study enhanced to differentiate between pollen and more directly man-made pollution.)

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Someone had to do it.
Re:This resonates with me.. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 17:45 · Score: 0

People are a lot friendlier where I moved to.
Simple because there are fewer criminals in rural areas than in cities (no enough victims to support them outside cities). So if a stranger approached you in a city, there is a good chance he is up to no good. While a stranger approached you in rural areas, he probably has no ulterior motive.
Re:This resonates with me.. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 19:02 · Score: 0

I had this same thing happen when I moved to the country from the city. I think it was all the literal and figurative bull shit in the air.
Re:This resonates with me.. by _merlin · 2018-08-27 20:19 · Score: 4, Interesting

My experience doesn't line up. I've lived in large Australian and Asian cities, and in small Australian towns. One town in particular was full of ignorant people and the average intelligence was definitely lower than in the cities. People in country towns are less welcoming, worse gossips, more likely to hold grudges. People in cities are exposed to more variety of people and ideas, and more open-minded and educated on the whole.
Re:This resonates with me.. by sjames · 2018-08-27 21:56 · Score: 4, Insightful

Is it possible they just didn't like you?
Re:This resonates with me.. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 21:57 · Score: 0

"My experience doesn't line up. I've lived in large Australian and Asian cities..."
Sir, you repeat yourself.
Re:This resonates with me.. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 23:00 · Score: 0

I recently moved from a major city to the outskirts of a small city. I also found that having nature around you instead of concrete also has a huge uplifting affect on the soul. People are a lot friendlier where I moved to. Maybe it is a greater abundance of oxygen, I did not consider that. People are not meant to be crammed into cities.
The effects of nature can actually be "hacked" / placeboed by playing sounds:
* https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/article-cut-off-from-nature-city-dwellers-are-turning-to-the-next-best-thing/
* https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170330132354.htm
Re:This resonates with me.. by cascadingstylesheet · 2018-08-27 23:59 · Score: 0

Is it possible they just didn't like you?
"I just can't figure out why these dumb rubes don't like me!"
Re: This resonates with me.. by Jahoda · 2018-08-28 01:24 · Score: 1

Damn son, there you go with the logic. It's just that people don't like this dude, not that humans are humans wherever you go, and isolated pockets of humanity are demonstrably prone to feedback loops. No, rather than accept a different perspective, best to just assume that there's something unlikeable about this person who wrote you a totally reasonable response detailing his perspective and experience.
Re:This resonates with me.. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 01:51 · Score: 0

Are you seriously blaming pollen on "global warming". I know you people are have some interesting idea but this takes the fucking cake. "I can't move out of the City because of global warming pollen" FFS.
You people really do need to get out of the City so your intelligence can increase a little.
Re: This resonates with me.. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 02:03 · Score: 0

Well there is something unlikable about him (and you). This was posed as a question to prompt discussion. He didn't say "They just didn't like you". He ask if this COULD be the explanation. Based on your response it is clear certain people are more likable than others. Small towns are actually generally more welcoming... until they are not. You see, in a small town if EVERYONE dislikes someone it can get really bad for that person. In a big town a consensus cannot be formed so assholes have little risk of being completely shunned.
Re:This resonates with me.. by PrimaryConsult · 2018-08-28 02:03 · Score: 1

I made that change almost 2 decades ago. While I have no quarrel with concrete, crowds or "unfriendly" people, I've noticed that stress is lower in small cities. Getting to work is fast and drama-free, housing costs are lower and are thus covered by a low-stress job. Being able to see the stars at night is also a plus. There's still enough population that you don't get "small town gossip" or feel isolated. I can still go to big cities on weekends to enjoy what they offer and remind myself why I don't live there.
That said I also agree with others who say that low density isn't very efficient or sustainable in the long run. Public transit is difficult to plan, and not all housing developments get decent utilities (e.g. some don't have gas, some don't have sewer, some have slow internet). And for whatever reason, people are allergic to building 'up' in these cities, so new housing means gobbling up nature for single family homes with huge yards. Even reasonable height (~5-10 story) apartment buildings are rare.
Re:This resonates with me.. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 02:04 · Score: 0

Are you sure it wasn't BC Hydro (the smokeable kind...)
Re:This resonates with me.. by fluffernutter · 2018-08-28 02:10 · Score: 1

If it was too expensive for people to live in low density areas, taxes wouldn't be far less in low density areas. I won't shed a tear for companies that find it inconvenient to provide remote work solutions.

--
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
Re: This resonates with me.. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 02:11 · Score: 0

No, you are just crapflooding the thread.
Re: This resonates with me.. by javaman235 · 2018-08-28 03:27 · Score: 1

That bus brings up the other aspect, NoX and associated gases. I find diesel engines less bad than gas, but when you are around them a lot there's a huge effect on the mind. Respiratory irritation also decreases brain oxygen.

--
-The art of programming is the pursuit of absolute simplicity.
Re:This resonates with me.. by liquid_schwartz · 2018-08-28 03:28 · Score: 1

People in cities are exposed to more variety of people and ideas, and more open-minded and educated on the whole.
Try telling your friendly city dweller you didn't vote for Hillary or support the latest complaint from the LGBTQXYZ crowd and watch the Hr. Hyde transformation happen before your very eyes.
Re: This resonates with me.. by TimMD909 · 2018-08-28 04:02 · Score: 1

I do 10km runs in the city. 20km in the country. When running, the lower air quality is impossible to miss.
Re:This resonates with me.. by DNS-and-BIND · 2018-08-28 04:21 · Score: 1

Wow, way to punch down. Speak truth to the powerless!

--
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
Re: This resonates with me.. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 04:28 · Score: 0

...that humans are humans wherever you go, and isolated pockets of humanity are demonstrably prone to feedback loops.

DAMN! You trying to deny the American political system.
Re:This resonates with me.. by skids · 2018-08-28 04:53 · Score: 1

I don't live in the city. I have experienced the worsening pollen seasons first hand, and the connection is not non-obvious, if you use your brain.

--
Someone had to do it.
Re:This resonates with me.. by butchersong · 2018-08-28 05:55 · Score: 1

I think this likely more a reflection of overreacting immune system responses in people these days. There must be some environmental triggers for all these autoimmune issues.. it doesn't seem reasonable that we would have retained such problems under evolutionary pressure.
Re:This resonates with me.. by butchersong · 2018-08-28 05:57 · Score: 1

There are still criminals but you tend to have some connection to them. They aren't coming from some "other" group so there is something of an exasperated sense kinship still between the criminal and the victim... In my neck of the woods for example we had this somewhat amusing story a few days ago link
Re:This resonates with me.. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 06:30 · Score: 0

Evidently, AGW is providing a large benefit to the growth of the Earth's biosphere.
Re:This resonates with me.. by HornWumpus · 2018-08-28 07:02 · Score: 1

Most people hunt with full metal jacket. To minimize the spoiled meat. You don't want a fragmenting bullet.

--
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
Re:This resonates with me.. by HornWumpus · 2018-08-28 07:05 · Score: 1

I bet this AC thinks he's smart. Fucking moron.

--
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
Re: This resonates with me.. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 07:42 · Score: 0

Damn son, there you go with the logic. It's just that people don't like this dude, not that humans are humans wherever you go, and isolated pockets of humanity are demonstrably prone to feedback loops. No, rather than accept a different perspective, best to just assume that there's something unlikeable about this person who wrote you a totally reasonable response detailing his perspective and experience.
Are you kidding? The guy basically wrote, "They were so ignorant and stupid. Definitely dumber than me and my associates! Don't know why, they didn't welcome or like me though. Probably because they are stupid, unsophisticated, uneducated, dumbasses".
Or maybe they weren't welcoming and didn't like him specifically because he insulted them all and constantly acted like he was better than they were.
Re:This resonates with me.. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 15:03 · Score: 0

It's totally anecdotal, but I lived in Vancouver, BC for 3yrs, and I felt like I had a fog in my head there. The air there isn't terrible, but living in the middle of this bustling city definitely had lower air quality. Moved back to Victoria, BC a year ago (where I came from, and a quiet, less-populated area by the ocean), and felt that go away pretty quick, and haven't felt like that since.
Again, may just be my imagination, but seems plausible.
Excessive amounts of fluoride in the water can also cause that fog-in-the-head feeling.
Re:This resonates with me.. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 16:33 · Score: 0

He must think of himself as "woke". He experienced "first hand" that his allergy got worse. Not that the pollen is any worse than before. Plants are making more pollen "because AGW", and it's strange how he felt the need to make sure we know it's not allergy from pollen, but allergy from pollen caused by AGW. Regular pollen apparently does not cause allergy. Regular global warming-induced pollen does not cause allergy. But the human global warming pollen, that one is the worst!
Re:This resonates with me.. by Mal-2 · 2018-08-28 19:12 · Score: 1

Misses still leave lead in the environment. That's why there are increasing restrictions on the use of lead bullets in hunting, jacketed or not.
USA: Ammunition other than lead required for waterfowl and when hunting with a shotgun (not including slugs) on wildlife refuges and waterfowl production areas.
Alaska: In addition to federal regulations, non-toxic shot is required in Unit 18 when taking game under the provision of a hunting or trapping license with a shotgun and in Unit 26.
Arizona: Non-lead ammunition is encouraged when hunting within the California Condor's range in Arizona (Game Management Unites 12A, 12B, 9, 10, 13A, 13B). For more information, click here.
Arkansas: Migratory birds not considered waterfowl (doves, rails, woodcock, snipe, moorhens, gallinules) can be hunted with size T and smaller non-toxic shot or size BB and smaller lead shot.
California: Non-toxic ammunition required in the eight-county historic range of the California condor. There will be a complete ban on the use of lead ammunition for any hunting purposes anywhere in the state by July 1, 2019. Click here for more information.
Colorado: Non-toxic shot required in the Alamosa/Monte Vista/Baca National Wildlife Refuge Complex and when hunting ducks, geese or coots.
Delaware: During the month of September, all hunters must use non-toxic shot when dove hunting in State Wildlife Areas. Non-toxic ammunition required for dove hunting in Wildlife Management Areas.
Illinois: Non-toxic ammunition required for dove hunting on some public lands.
Iowa: Non-toxic ammunition required for all game in wildlife management areas except for deer and turkeys. No person may take ducks, geese (including brant), rails, snipe, or coots while possessing shot (either in shotshells or as looseshot for muzzleloading) other than approved non-toxic shot. For a list of approved non-toxic shot, click here.
Kansas: Non-toxic shot required for hunting of all migratory game birds except dove and woodcock. At least 17 state wildlife areas and refuges require non-toxic shotgun load for upland game birds such as pheasant, grouse and quail and other small game.
Kentucky: Non-toxic ammunition required for doves in 13 wildlife management areas and national wildlife refuges.
Louisiana: Non-toxic ammunition required for doves at Pointe-aux-Chenes Wildlife Management Area.
Maryland: Non-toxic shot is required for hunting rail and snipe.
Minnesota: In addition to federal regulations, non-toxic shot must be used for sandhill cranes.
Missouri: Non-toxic shot for shotguns required in 21 conservation areas. For more information, click here.
Nebraska: In addition to federal regulations, non-toxic shot is required in some state wildlife management areas, as posted.
New Jersey: In addition to federal regulations, non-toxic shot is required for rail, snipe, or moorhens on all state and private lands.
Nevada: Non-toxic shot required for ducks, mergansers, geese, swans, coots, gallinules or snipe.
New Mexico: In addition to federal regulations, non-toxic shot is required for common moorhen, sora, Virginia rail and snipe. Non-toxic shot is also required on all State Game Commission owned or managed areas when hunting with a shotgun (slugs excluded).
New York: In addition to federal regulations, non-toxic shot is required for snipe, rails or gallinules.
North Carolina: In addition to federal regulations, non-toxic shot required for the taking of captive-reared mallards on shooting preserves, in field trials and during bona fide dog training activities.
North Dakota: In addition to federal regulations, non-toxic shot is required for sandhill cranes and snipe.
Ohio: In addition to federal regulations, non-toxic shot is required when hunting with a shotgun in Metzger Marsh, Mallard Club, Pipe Creek

--
How is the Riemann zeta function like Trump rallies? Both have an endless number of trivial zeros.
Re:This resonates with me.. by RespekMyAthorati · 2018-08-28 19:32 · Score: 1

Same with me moving from the Fraser Valley to Sechelt.
Re:This resonates with me.. by skids · 2018-08-29 05:25 · Score: 1

He must think of himself as "woke"
Ah, you kids and your lingos. I should say something snobby like "I was woke before woke was a thing" but...

Not that the pollen is any worse than before.
Judging from how much windshield wiper fluid I have to use in the morning to get all the pollen off, I've observed that too.
Anyway, don't take my word for it, I provided a link to an overview article on the relevant research.
(And no, there's no difference between the AGW pollen and the previous baseline pollen, there's just more of it more frequently, of course...)

--
Someone had to do it.
Re:This resonates with me.. by skids · 2018-08-29 05:27 · Score: 1

Regional effect. Globally, not such a boon, given, you know, expanding deserts and whatnot.

--
Someone had to do it.
Re:This resonates with me.. by HornWumpus · 2018-08-29 05:49 · Score: 1

90% is restrictions on lead shot.
Fragmenting bullets are a non-starter.

--
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
Re:This resonates with me.. by Mal-2 · 2018-08-29 11:40 · Score: 1

Lead is banned in all ammunition used for hunting in California starting next summer.

--
How is the Riemann zeta function like Trump rallies? Both have an endless number of trivial zeros.
Re:This resonates with me.. by HornWumpus · 2018-08-31 05:44 · Score: 1

But not ammo used for target practice? How is that going to work? FMJ just leaves a through hole.
Also CA. I live here, Fruits, Nuts and Flakes is an apt description.
No hunter will use fragmenting ammo, it destroys too much meat. taking it back to your original claim. Even the law abiders wil use some other dense material in a copper jacket.

--
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'

Re:Huge Ratings by PopeRatzzo · 2018-08-27 14:15 · Score: 0, Troll

I'm all for making America blue again. Trump is turning our skies red with pollution while making the educated white in the face. This is conservatism in the truest of form.

Brain rot.

This is not science by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 14:16 · Score: 0

Science via population statistics and correlation is not science.

Re:This is not science by Michael+Woodhams · 2018-08-27 16:06 · Score: 5, Informative

Sometimes you need an answer to a question and population statistics and correlation are all that you can use.
"I propose to raise 200 kids identically except with 100 kids getting to live in polluted air and 100 control kids in clean air, and then we'll give them IQ tests and stuff when they are 20."
Research funder: "It would take 20 years to get an answer? No funds for you. We have decisions we need to make NOW."
Then, should it somehow get that far:
Ethics committee: "Hell, no."
So instead you make a list of every confounding factor you can think of (maybe being poor causes lower intelligence, and poor people often have no choice but to live in polluted areas, so you measure household income during childhood for your cohort), do a big multi-dimensional regression, and see what factors influence the result.
This isn't perfect - in particular, there might be an important factor that you didn't think of, or is too hard to measure, which correlates with pollution level. In the end, you have decisions to make (how much should we spend to mitigate air pollution?) and it is daft to refuse to do population statistics studies because you could only be 98% confident in their results rather than 100% confident.
Also, such studies are usually just part of the answer. There are also studies looking for plausibility of mechanisms. One group shows that certain pollutants can get from the air into blood. Another group shows that these chemicals can cross the blood-brain barrier. Another group shows that these chemical interact with neurotransmitters. The population study shows pollution having an adverse effect on intelligence. Put all this together and you have a plausible causal story.
We also don't have randomized controlled doubly blinded trials of the health effects of smoking, or of having a parachute when jumping out of an airplane.

--
Quattuor res in hoc mundo sanctae sunt: libri, liberi, libertas et liberalitas.
Re:This is not science by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 03:08 · Score: 0

With that said, there are a ton of statistical tests to determine:
1) If you're missing anything in terms of what factors influence your outcome variables. For example, we can control for all but 5-7% of the wage gap by controlling for age, education, years in relevant positions, etc. But we know that we don't know what's causing that last bit, but at least we know what percentage we still have to study to explain all of the difference.
2) There are tests like factor analysis that can help you determine if there's a "hidden" variable behind the ones you're looking at.
If done properly, statistics can be very powerful and conclusive, telling you if you've properly dug down to the bedrock of whatever causal factors you're trying to determine. The key there is "done properly", because a lot of the time people stop way, way too soon and say "Oh yeah I see a correlation between IQ and race" or some shit, and then don't control for all the different variables like pollution, income, nutrition in childhood, social/crime factors, fundamental bias in the tests, etc. that eliminate all the differences.

Re:Correlation vs causality by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 14:20 · Score: 0

The pollution in New Jersey is phenomenal. Fantastic. I can barely part the smog with my huge hands.

Another reason to support nuclear by atomicalgebra · 2018-08-27 14:21 · Score: 2, Insightful

Kids who grow up near nuclear power plants are healthier/smarter because there is less air pollution.

Re:Another reason to support nuclear by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 15:00 · Score: 0

The absence of one thing being shown to be harmful does not necessarily mean that the presence of something else is beneficial.
Re:Another reason to support nuclear by viperidaenz · 2018-08-27 15:17 · Score: 1

The presence of one thing (nuclear power plant) can mean the absence of another (coal power plant).
Re:Another reason to support nuclear by iggymanz · 2018-08-27 15:23 · Score: 1

hahaha, except you could well have a nuke plant near a coal plant... or other fossil fuel powered thing... around Chicago we do
Re: Another reason to support nuclear by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 16:14 · Score: 0

So? Without those nukes around it wouldn't just be a couple next to each other. It would be like 5 dino-burners.
Re: Another reason to support nuclear by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 16:23 · Score: 0

Nope!
Re:Another reason to support nuclear by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 20:58 · Score: 0

Kids who grow up near nuclear power plants are healthier/smarter because there is less air pollution.
Of course they're smarter: they all have 2 heads. Duh.
Re:Another reason to support nuclear by blindseer · 2018-08-28 00:54 · Score: 1

Of course they're smarter: they all have 2 heads. Duh.
But the men only think with one of them sooooo... it evens out?

--
I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
Re: Another reason to support nuclear by iggymanz · 2018-08-28 02:20 · Score: 2

best part is they're putting out more radiation and pollution than the nuke plants!
Re:Another reason to support nuclear by liquid_schwartz · 2018-08-28 03:30 · Score: 1

hahaha, except you could well have a nuke plant near a coal plant... or other fossil fuel powered thing... around Chicago we do
And look what happened to Chicago, definitely the worst of all worlds.

wildly inaccurate findings by johnjones · 2018-08-27 14:28 · Score: 1

does no one check these things

it would be almost impossible to draw any inference of overall IQ from the air quality its just statistically hard to do
(the population in a city do wildly different jobs and diet compared to farm workers) and IQ/intelligence is frankly a terrible to test...

what you could do is draw an conclusion on lung capacity using a CT or MRI scanner to measure it but that would be scientific...

Xi Chen at Yale School frankly should be ashamed and discredited

Re: wildly inaccurate findings by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 16:49 · Score: 0

Uneducated Slashdot code monkey disses peer-reviewed research.
Re: wildly inaccurate findings by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 18:34 · Score: 0

Don't be mean, he probably grew up in a high-pollution area.
Re: wildly inaccurate findings by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 19:09 · Score: 0

You maybe right, actually. So sorry.
Re:wildly inaccurate findings by mikael · 2018-08-27 19:51 · Score: 1

You could do a geographic survey to see where the kids that had asthma lived, compared to those that did not. There would be a correlation between distance to a freeway/motorway/main road in the city vs. a suburban/rural home

--
Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads

Could just be that by bobstreo · 2018-08-27 14:34 · Score: 1, Interesting

stupid people choose to live in polluted places. Or can't afford to live anyplace else...

Re:Could just be that by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 17:29 · Score: 0

Exactly, this is proof that air pollution makes people smarter, they are just dumb as a box of rocks to start with so it's hard to tell. #MAGA

Amazing Fact but can be reduced by techsparrow · 2018-08-27 14:37 · Score: 1

It is really an amazing fact that air pollution not only have impact on the physical health but it also degrades the intelligence. I don't know how this test was carried out and how it was measured. But assuming this to be true, we must take necessary action to save the society. There are various reasons for air pollution and one major contributing factor is increasing power demand day by day. In view of this, smart grid technology and use of renewable sources must be appreciated and adopted as soon as possible. Slasdotters must have an idea of https://electricalbaba.com/sma...

Re: Amazing Fact but can be reduced by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 17:01 · Score: 0

The grammatical errors early in your post made me read the rest of it in a Russian accent
Re: Amazing Fact but can be reduced by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 01:07 · Score: 0

Real Russian accent or Sean Connery "Hunt for Red October" fake Russian accent?

It makes sense by LynnwoodRooster · 2018-08-27 14:39 · Score: 1

Especially when you consider some of the lunacy coming out of the Bay area...

--
Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!

Re:It makes sense by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 15:03 · Score: 0

I worked in the Bay Area for a while, and the air quality was as a bad as the maps show. The oil in the air would literally collect in your throat.

don't even get the basics right by ooloorie · 2018-08-27 14:46 · Score: 1, Informative

Air Pollution Causes 'Huge' Reduction in Intelligence, Study Reveals. The research was conducted in China but is relevant across the world, with 95% of the global population breathing unsafe air. It found that high pollution levels led to significant drops in test scores in language and arithmetic, with the average impact equivalent to having lost a year of the person's education.

Fortunately, this isn't much of a concern for the US:

Americans are blessed with clean air. The vast majority of the United States experiences “good” air quality. Even in the isolated areas without “good” air quality, air quality is merely “moderate.”

It's more of a concern for Europe:

European air quality isn’t too great, either. For all the hype about “green” energy programs in Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, and other European nations, “good” air quality is rare outside of Scandinavia. Central Europe fares worst, with the UK, France, and Germany not far behind.

As an aside, expressing intelligence in terms of "years of education" is questionable because intelligence cannot actually be increased significantly by education.

Re:don't even get the basics right by Sique · 2018-08-27 18:42 · Score: 1

Central Europe fares worst, with the UK, France, and Germany not far behind.
I wonder where Germany is. Apparently, it's not in Central Europe.

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.sig: Sique *sigh*
Re:don't even get the basics right by Sique · 2018-08-27 18:50 · Score: 4, Informative

I took another look at the map the article is using. Apparently, it's a real time map, and the screen shot of the !Forbes article was taken at 16:00 UTC, which means Evening rush hour in Europe, while in the U.S., the day has just begun. If you look at the map right now (6:00 UTC), Europe looks fine (just Eastern Poland and Central Spain with moderate air quality, everything else good), while in the U.S., most of the East Coast, Appalachia and the Midwest has moderate and partly unsafe for special groups air quality, same in California and in some of the other large population centers. Only the more sparsely populated areas are fine.

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.sig: Sique *sigh*
Re:don't even get the basics right by AmiMoJo · 2018-08-27 21:51 · Score: 1

I've noticed that Forbes puts out a lot of bullshit articles like this. Not just biased or whatever, they actively go out of their way to mislead.

--
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
Re:don't even get the basics right by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 22:58 · Score: 0

>Central Europe fares worst, with the UK, France, and Germany not far behind.
Err, what? If the UK is not far behind CE, then air quality is worse in the UK than in CE, but CE "fares worst"... what did the author breathe?
Re:don't even get the basics right by ooloorie · 2018-08-27 23:58 · Score: 1

I took another look at the map the article is using. Apparently, it's a real time map [berkeleyearth.org], and the screen shot of the !Forbes article was taken at 16:00 UTC,
Nice observation. However, the article's statement is consistent with what we know about air pollution in general.
Re:don't even get the basics right by Luckyo · 2018-08-28 01:44 · Score: 1

Most of the kind of pollution studied here (particulates) no longer comes out of the power plants in Western world, and hasn't been coming from power plants across Europe and US for something around two decades.
Primary sources of it around here is automotive. Specifically combination of exhaust on mainly older diesel vehicles combined with street dust being pulled out of road surface by act of driving over it over and over again. Notably, not even Scandinavia is safe from this, in that we get our worst particulate pollution in city centres during winter and early spring, when everyone is still driving on spiked tyres, and there's no snow/ice for those to dig into. So they dig into the asphalt, and pull a lot of particulates in the air, crashing air quality rapidly.
Overall, in Europe and North America, this is mostly about city centres on days when it isn't windy.
China is a completely different story. They actually have overwhelmingly large amount of old, utterly unfiltered power plants that dump a large amount of particulates into the atmosphere as a result of their burning cycle. So they have air pollution problem across the industrial regions well outside the major cities. This problem is continous (power keeps being generated 24/7) which is why they can conduct these kinds of studies.
Notably this can in fact be linked to intelligence in long term, provided the testing methodology in education scales directly with IQ, and it does in mathematics. So you have this part backwards - it's not that they're trying to measure "increase in IQ". They're trying to measure population success in tests that tend to significantly favour IQ.
And while IQ cannot be increased by any means to a significant degree, it can be decreased by everything from lowering oxygen content/increasing CO2 content in the room where test is being concluded all the way to to brain damage. In this case, the claim of "intelligence impact" is therefore valid. The Guardian in its usual activist way conflates a lot of things in the article, which leads to the conclusion you drew from it.
Re:don't even get the basics right by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 02:22 · Score: 0

Noon EST is 9am on the west coast, which is right after rush hour. Air quality in the Eastern US is worst in the summer, though, and the map is from Dec 1st.
Re:don't even get the basics right by drinkypoo · 2018-08-28 02:37 · Score: 1

Fortunately, this isn't much of a concern for the US:
It will be, if Trump has his way. He'd like to turn back the clock on environmental protections, and eliminate California's legal right to maintain its own emissions standards. Air pollution was a huge concern for California until we formed the CARB and set meaningful standards. And given the prevailing winds, guess where most of California's pollution winds up? Yeah, in the rest of the country. And Canada, of course. They've been sucking our smoke for weeks now.

--
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Re:don't even get the basics right by ooloorie · 2018-08-28 03:00 · Score: 1

It will be, if Trump has his way. He'd like to turn back the clock on environmental protections
No, he likes to turn back the clock on environmental regulations. That's something different.

and eliminate California's legal right to maintain its own emissions standards.
It's not actually a "legal right" but an exemption from federal regulations that needs to be specifically granted. If it were a "legal right", the president couldn't take it away.
Re:don't even get the basics right by ooloorie · 2018-08-28 03:05 · Score: 1

Most of the kind of pollution studied here (particulates) no longer comes out of the power plants in Western world, and hasn't been coming from power plants across Europe and US for something around two decades. Primary sources of it around here is automotive.
Correct. And air pollution is fairly low both in the US and Europe, in particular outside city centers.

Overall, in Europe and North America, this is mostly about city centres on days when it isn't windy.
Yes, big cities are dirty, unpleasant places. So why do progressives hate suburbia and country living so much? Why do they see living in shoe boxes on public transit lines as the objective of public policy?

And while IQ cannot be increased by any means to a significant degree, it can be decreased by everything from lowering oxygen content/increasing CO2 content in the room where test is being concluded all the way to to brain damage. In this case, the claim of "intelligence impact" is therefore valid.
I didn't say that the claim itself was invalid, I said it was questionable to express changes in IQ in terms of "years of education".
Re:don't even get the basics right by drinkypoo · 2018-08-28 04:14 · Score: 1

It will be, if Trump has his way. He'd like to turn back the clock on environmental protections
No, he likes to turn back the clock on environmental regulations. That's something different.
That's something different out in the wastelands to the East, but here in California we actually care about such things and will enforce them, albeit belatedly in many cases. The wheels of justice, etc. I'm not thrilled about all of the particulars of the CARB, but one cannot reasonably argue that it has not been effective in dramatically improving California's air quality — which was threatened primarily by industry.

and eliminate California's legal right to maintain its own emissions standards.
It's not actually a "legal right" but an exemption from federal regulations that needs to be specifically granted. If it were a "legal right", the president couldn't take it away.
It was a right granted by a legal action. It's unsurprising that it can be taken away by another one. It is, however, proof that Trump does not believe even slightly in states' rights as an actual does-what-it-says-on-the-tin fashion.

--
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Re:don't even get the basics right by ooloorie · 2018-08-28 05:07 · Score: 1

I'm not thrilled about all of the particulars of the CARB, but one cannot reasonably argue that it has not been effective in dramatically improving California's air quality
I assume California is perfectly free to accomplish those objectives via other, local regulations. For example, cities like LA could limit the city center to low emissions vehicles or sell special city access stickers. But setting state-wide limits on what cars can be sold in California because LA has bad air quality is irrational.
Be that as it may, the current California vehicle emission standards are not driven by concern about LA air quality, but by California's objectives on carbon emissions.

It was a right granted by a legal action
No, it was an exemption carved out by Congress for California "to meet compelling and extraordinary conditions". Carbon emissions are not an "extraordinary condition", they apply to the entire country, and hence California doesn't get to set its own standards on carbon emissions.
Re:don't even get the basics right by Luckyo · 2018-08-28 07:29 · Score: 1

Pollution is low even in city centres, and does not meet the criteria of the study, because it's highly intermittent. Study references continued exposure, which is relevant to power plant and factory style output, not automotive output on days with no wind.
Public transit in fact partially addresses these issues, and there's no need for public transit to be limited to city centre. My native city of Tampere was classified a "200.000 people village" by EU when we joined it because it had too low population density to be considered a city, because criteria at the time where done with Central European city model in mind. We have some of the best and cheapest public transport available in the world in spite of this, which covers pretty much all small townships within 40-60km of the city or so.
It's one of the solutions to the problem of air pollution.
As for your last point, that's why I noted in the last sentence that this is indeed The Guardian. The activist publication that is well established in its willingness to bend truth as far as it can in pursuit of a specific agenda. Questionable statements like one you took issue with are a norm for The Guardian.
Re:don't even get the basics right by drinkypoo · 2018-08-29 03:38 · Score: 1

Be that as it may, the current California vehicle emission standards are not driven by concern about LA air quality, but by California's objectives on carbon emissions.
Yes, our objectives on carbon emissions, which have been shown to have harmful effects. Which even the outgoing Bush administration admitted to. Which even long-time denier ExxonMobile has admitted to, and they have the science to prove it (and were defrauding us about it for years.)

No, it was an exemption carved out by Congress for California "to meet compelling and extraordinary conditions". Carbon emissions are not an "extraordinary condition", they apply to the entire country,

Excess carbon is an extraordinary condition, as it is at levels not seen throughout human history. It is a compelling condition, since it has severe repercussions. And the effects of excess carbon will not affect every state equally. It will affect coastal states more than inland ones because of the effects of sea level rise, and it will affect California more than other coastal states (at least in some ways) because of the prevailing direction of the wind.

and hence California doesn't get to set its own standards on carbon emissions.
That remains to be seen. You're only right if the commander of cheese gets his way.

--
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Re:don't even get the basics right by ooloorie · 2018-08-29 03:47 · Score: 1

Yes, our objectives on carbon emissions, which have been shown to have harmful effects
They are global harmful effects, so it's the job of the federal government to make decisions about them. That's the law.

Excess carbon is an extraordinary condition,
The "extraordinary" in the law refers to "extraordinary among the states", not "extraordinary in history".

Correlation or causation? by guruevi · 2018-08-27 14:46 · Score: 1

The fact is that many people that live in the city >65 (and thus generally retired) are those that live there because they need some sort of assistance (such as housing). People that can afford to live outside the city, generally do and that carries on from the time before retirement as well - if you had a better job when you were younger, more likely your retirement will allow you to live in a quiet suburb. Intelligence is highly correlated with income and income is highly correlated with the places you live, hence intelligence is relatively highly correlated with where you live.

--
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Should be fine.... by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 14:47 · Score: 0

so long as the pollution is confined to low income areas.
Subdued plebs are far less likely to revolt.

Re:Should be fine.... by viperidaenz · 2018-08-27 15:18 · Score: 1

Retarded plebs commit more crime, as discovered when crime rates lowered when lead was removed from gasoline.
Re:Should be fine.... by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 15:47 · Score: 0

Good, the justice system will continue to do its job of kicking the plebs while they're down....and making a tidy profit in the meantime.
Re:Should be fine.... by HornWumpus · 2018-08-28 07:14 · Score: 1

It's hard to assess how much of the drop is from removing lead and how much is from hoovering out unwanted fetuses.
Rural crime rate drops should reflect the hoovering, city crime rate drops should reflect both.

--
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'

Cali is the best example by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 14:48 · Score: 0

no wonder so many leftie imbeciles coming from there with all those wildfires

Huh. That explains the issue with most Trolls here by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 14:49 · Score: 0

We have so many trolls on /.. At least now, they have an explanation or at least an excuse.
They are Chinese or Russians exposed to large amounts of polluted air.

Re:Correlation vs causality by mikael · 2018-08-27 14:54 · Score: 4, Interesting

It explained crime in many cities and how it was reduced after lead was removed from fuel. Criminals with a reduced IQ due to pollution couldn't see the future consequences of their actions.

--
Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads

Re:Correlation vs causality by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 15:04 · Score: 1

It actually explain Trump.

That explains a LOT about the US. by mark_reh · 2018-08-27 15:11 · Score: 0

Two of the things it explains are why the GOP wants to roll back anti pollution regulations and laws, and why so many people vote for the GOP.

Re: That explains a LOT about the US. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 15:15 · Score: 0

Pollution levels were higher in 2008. That would mean a vote for Obama equates to pollution and stupidity.
Re:That explains a LOT about the US. by cascadingstylesheet · 2018-08-27 23:55 · Score: 1

Two of the things it explains are why the GOP wants to roll back anti pollution regulations and laws, and why so many people vote for the GOP.
Yeah, I mean obviously this explains those dumb rural voters, with all that smog ... oh wait.
Re:That explains a LOT about the US. by Luckyo · 2018-08-28 01:46 · Score: 1

Your hypothesis runs against your conclusions. City centre air is overwhelmingly much worse across the West compared to rural areas. Voting among the red/blue lines is that cities vote blue and rural areas vote red.

Portland, Oregon is no longer a livable city, IMO. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 15:14 · Score: 0

In Portland, Oregon, I felt bodily stress during the 3 months of summer, when there often wasn't much wind. Ugly experiences. I moved to a place with clean air.

Now Portland is far more polluted, partly due to huge, daily, long-lasting traffic jams.

Crappy cities are crappy by raymorris · 2018-08-27 15:14 · Score: 4, Insightful

Leaving the Hillary jokes aside, yeah crappy cities are crappy. There are lot of crappy things about the biggest industrial cities in China. It seems to me you'd have to adjust for so many variables that in the end one couldn't be sure if the correlation was real in just an effect of all the corrections. Especially so if the people running the study wanted to find a particular conclusion.

Circling back around to politics without just making a joke, it does make sense that people who think their life is crappy, perhaps because they live in Detroit, would want "hope and change" without any idea what kind of "change" is being proposed. "Door number two" sounds good compared to Chicago or Detroit. Similarly, with jobs and the economy going so well in Dallas, it makes sense that people would want the government to let us alone and let us enjoy it. No thanks, keep the change. You would expect misery to correlate with progressivist policies, whether socialist democrats cause misery or the other way around.

Re:Crappy cities are crappy by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 01:53 · Score: 1

You don't "adjust" for a huge variety of variables. You include them and run an analysis of variance, which indicates roughly how much each variable correlates with the measurement you care about.
The idea that a study like this would be published---and then gather international attention---without a good statistical method is laughable. If there were statistical problems, we'd already be hearing about them.

Libtards by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 15:15 · Score: 0

New York City, California.

or the demographics in big cities are different? by iggymanz · 2018-08-27 15:34 · Score: 3, Interesting

yes I know, in 2018 it's not nice to point a certain thing out, but there are a couple groups that don't do so well on those whitey boy IQ tests, cause, you know, they ain't white. And they mostly live in the city...

Best Students by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 15:52 · Score: 0

Funny how for many years already a significant number of easily accomplishing students in mathematical fields have been raised away from the big cities. Lack of competing stimuli might be one factor, but this on the top of it might explain something.

Follow up field research by raymorris · 2018-08-27 15:55 · Score: 5, Funny

The article doesn't mention the follow-up research. After doing the calculations from government data in their office (the study in tfa), researchers spent 6 months in several of the stupidest cities. They studied conditions on the ground in those cities.

After 24 months in four the lowest-IQ cities, they discovered some things. As the lead researcher said at the conclusion of his time in the stupid cities:
Mmm donuts.
A co-author explained:
Weed isn't even a drug, man. It's like natural, dude.

Re:Follow up field research by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 00:26 · Score: 0

Weed isn't even a drug, man. It's like natural, dude.
Funny how it will be the "stupid" pothead that will outlive the smoker, the drinker, and even the 800-calorie coffee junkie because of their "dumb" choices...

The most critical financial decision is made early by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 16:05 · Score: 0

You either start saving early and compound the interest, plus live within your means, or never make up for it.

Re: Correlation vs causality by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 16:09 · Score: 0

What evidence can you provide for your conjecture?

The article is peer-reviewed, which means at least that several competent people have taken a look at it and decided it meets publication criteria.

Did you even read it, or did you just automatically posted this cliche to point-whore?

Plot Twist by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 16:17 · Score: 0

It's just that stupid girls are ezpz.

You're a stupid cunt by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 16:26 · Score: 0, Troll

"what was taught"

Would be nice if swiping keyboards were less prone to misinterpreting input, or at least gave better feedback with regards to how confident it was about the word it chose.

Yes, if only there were a "Preview" feature, then your choice of keyboards wouldn't matter.

Re: You're a stupid cunt by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 18:08 · Score: 0

Unless you're using a device where there is no Preview button, because of the magnificence of Slashdot's code.
It seems only fair to point out at this point that you're a stupid cunt.
Re: You're a stupid cunt by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 18:54 · Score: 0

A cunt does not even have a brain so it can't be stupid, dumb ass.
Re: You're a stupid cunt by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 22:50 · Score: 0

An ass does not even have a brain so it can't be dumb, stupid cunt.
Re: You're a stupid cunt by that+this+is+not+und · 2018-08-27 23:46 · Score: 1

An ass does not have a voice, hence it is dumb.
Re: You're a stupid cunt by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 05:38 · Score: 0

You'd think that but I just ate Taco Bell and my ass is getting out of line with hate speech against my toilet.
Re: You're a stupid cunt by eric_harris_76 · 2018-08-29 12:53 · Score: 1

My ass does have a voice.
But usually it is in silent mode: SBD.

--
There's no time like the present. Well, the past used to be.

Lead was a problem by rsilvergun · 2018-08-27 16:27 · Score: 1, Troll

and getting lead out of gasoline (and therefor air) generally regarded as the reason for the drop in crime rates. It's not surprising other contaminates are a problem.

Sad thing is the current administration is trying to roll back air quality rules (especially in CA, where they're held to a higher standard and often define the rest of the nation). Funny thing is the car companies hate it, since it takes 8-10 years to design & build cars and they've got no idea if this administration will last long enough to roll out cars on the lower emission scale. But in the meantime we've got a push for more coal fired plants...

--
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/

Re:Lead was a problem by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 17:11 · Score: 0

No one has mentioned the Mercury released into the air with coal burning. That's the next step. Fewer people mad as hatters.
Re:Lead was a problem by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 19:53 · Score: 0

Or the sulphur.

Re:or the demographics in big cities are different by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 16:31 · Score: 1

It's pretty obvious to anyone who reads, black white or purple, that you're tacitly and obliviously referring to yourself.

Obvious solution: by fredrated · 2018-08-27 16:33 · Score: 1

burn more coal!

Its Chemtrails by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 16:40 · Score: 0

Yes.

Re:Correlation vs causality by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 16:43 · Score: 0

Well the air quality there is so much worse than anywhere else in this country, so it seems like you're right. People from CA are so much lower IQ than the average person.

R A Y M O R R I S I S A L Y I N G F A G G O T by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 16:43 · Score: 0

Ray Morris backed a white-supremacist lie repeatedly and directly after it had been debunked, R A Y M O R R I S I S A L Y I N G F A G G O T - https://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=12520486&cid=57184660

Re:R A Y M O R R I S I S A L Y I N G F A G G O T by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 22:20 · Score: 0

Well you seem like a completely reasonable "individual".
Re:R A Y M O R R I S I S A L Y I N G F A G G O T by yuriklastalov · 2018-08-28 06:28 · Score: 3, Insightful

I S U C K C O C K S
S
U
C
K
C
O
C
K
S
Re:R A Y M O R R I S I S A L Y I N G F A G G O T by yuriklastalov · 2018-08-28 06:29 · Score: 1

OMG I was hacked!
Re:R A Y M O R R I S I S A L Y I N G F A G G O T by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 23:02 · Score: 0

OMG I was hacked!
It's fortunate that you were hacked by somebody who knows that Ray Morris does indeed suck cocks, or false information may have been disseminated!

Re:or the demographics in big cities are different by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 17:00 · Score: 0

Yes, clearly smart people who can read and can compare numbers are the REAL idiots, not those who pretend inconvenient information doesn't exist because they were brainwashed by self righteous morons.

Elevator by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 17:22 · Score: 0

So should I stop letting rip in elevators?

Re:Correlation vs causality by Immerman · 2018-08-27 17:31 · Score: 5, Insightful

Actually it's worse than that - lead is a particularly insidious poison: it not only reduces intelligence, it also reduces impulse control while increasing aggression. It's practically tailor-made to create criminals.

--
--- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.

Re:or the demographics in big cities are different by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 18:06 · Score: 0

...not those who pretend inconvenient information doesn't exist because they were brainwashed by self righteous morons.

C'mon, you don't need to be so nice. They're not brainwashed by self-righteous morons, they are self-righteous morons.

Re:or the demographics in big cities are different by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 18:26 · Score: 2, Insightful

Which of these Chinese researched are you accusing of being white boys?

Re:Huge Ratings by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 18:33 · Score: 0

Wasn’t it ironic watching Trump surrounded by 5 year olds more intelligent than him, he can’t even fill in a colouring book correctly.
Despite this, even people who lived in cities all their lives are smarter than the flyover retardistanis.

Mobile phones by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 18:44 · Score: 0

Mobile phones Cause 'Huge' Reduction in Intelligence, Study Reveals

Re:or the demographics in big cities are different by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 19:01 · Score: 0

did you just say that people other than white are too stupid for math,lit or any other science? how the hell does skin color affect your IQ

How does it feel Windy? by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 19:14 · Score: 0

Knowing an army of Chinese paid trolls are smarter than you despite all the pollution they are breathing.

Re:Correlation vs causality by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 19:23 · Score: 0

Drink your diesel water Billy, republicanism can't grow in you without the petroleum.

Re:Correlation vs causality by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 19:28 · Score: 0

lead is a particularly insidious poison ... It's practically tailor-made to create criminals

Dear Earthling,*
When we created lead, I had the creation of criminals in mind.
Yours faithfully,
God

[*As in adama, fashioned out of clay.]

Re: Correlation vs causality by Mr.+Dollar+Ton · 2018-08-27 19:42 · Score: 1

On Slashdot, we rarely read the summary, you insensitive clod.

Wind, hydro, and nuclear with a little natural gas by blindseer · 2018-08-27 19:54 · Score: 5, Informative

It should not be difficult to fathom that much of the pollution in most every part of the world is from burning coal and liquid petroleum fuels. This is primarily from generating electricity and transportation. People don't burn these fuels because they want pollution, they burn them because they are cheap and convenient. To get cleaner air we need energy that is not just clean but also cheap and convenient. How shall we do this?

To get an engineering plan start with the cheapest electricity.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Geothermal comes out on top. Natural gas is second. What's the next three, tossing out dirty coal? Hydro, nuclear, and wind.

While not a pollutant I'll take a short diversion and look at CO2 output of the different energy sources for electricity.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
The best three on that list is hydro, nuclear, and wind. Geothermal and solar make a good show as well. Natural gas isn't great but it is far better than coal.

Let's look at the energy sources with the best energy return on investment, because long term this will reflect on the cost.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
If we toss out dirty oil and coal we again get the same top three, hydro, nuclear, and wind. Geothermal and natural gas make a good show as well.

Let's look at the safest energy sources, because even if we clean the air for health reasons it doesn't help if people are dead.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/j...
Hydro, nuclear, and wind top the list, solar certainly does well, and there's a wide margin to the rest. Geothermal is not on the list for some reason. Natural gas isn't great but better than coal and biomass fuel.

By my estimation we need to use hydro, nuclear, and wind for electricity. Until I can see more about geothermal I can't recommend it. Solar simply costs too much, is not very convenient/reliable, and isn't all that great on safety, so I can't recommend it unless all others are unavailable. Wind and nuclear need a little help to load follow and hydro works well for this. If there isn't enough hydro around then the obvious choice is natural gas.

When it comes to transportation we should electrify as much land transport as we can, cars and trains mostly. What do we do about vehicles where electricity is not practical? Mr. Pickens has a plan, natural gas.
http://pickensplan.com/the-pla...

Pickens admits that that natural gas is a bridge fuel. A bridge to what? Maybe synthesized fuel from hydro, nuclear, and wind, that's my guess. Natural gas burns far cleaner than gasoline, diesel, and marine fuel oil. Natural gas is a proven technology, cheap, plentiful, and can be adopted fairly quickly. At least adopted quickly for most transportation on land and sea. For air transportation we'll need to continue with kerosene until we find something better.

Natural gas is as convenient as electricity and gasoline combined for personal cars. People can fill up at a filling station in minutes like gasoline, and at home if you have natural gas service for heating and cooking. Maybe the best could be from a natural gas/electric hybrid.

At sea we can adopt more nuclear, beyond just warships. Perhaps even resurrect the windjammers, sailing ships built in the last days of sail using steel hulls and other modern materials.

I keep seeing articles on the problems of dirty, CO2 emitting, dangerous, and expensive energy. Let's talk solutions. Here's my solution... Wind, hydro, and nuclear with a little natural gas.

--
I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.

Re:Correlation vs causality by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 21:09 · Score: 0

Yeh that’s why all the highest tech is developed in flyover states, oh wait....

Re:Correlation vs causality by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 21:50 · Score: 0

I was thinking the same thing from your summary. Another theory: pollution tends to be in industrial centers. Generalizing but factory work generally doesn't need the brightest bulbs nor attract very many of them. Even more so in China where from what I understand the rural uneducated people's best way out of poverty is to work for a big factory so they get permission to live in the city, kind of the same as it has always been just happened in the west 180 years ago or so. Concentration of capital increases productivity and rewards for everyone. Who knew?

No wonder. by antdude · 2018-08-27 22:02 · Score: 1

I live in smoggy L.A and am missing my brain. :(

--
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).

yeah by rastos1 · 2018-08-27 22:45 · Score: 1

Air Pollution Causes 'Huge' Reduction in Intelligence, Study Reveals

So people get dumber just by breathing?
/me looks around
Yeah, sounds about right.

Indoor vs outdoor air quality by mrwireless · 2018-08-27 23:23 · Score: 1

While doing a project on urban air quality sensors I learnt that in 90% of cases indoor air is actually dirtier than outdoor air.

Since then I bought a dust sensor and airfilter, and it helped me a lot during hayfever season. You can build a filter on the cheap by adding a filter to a normal fan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Another tip is to get a CO2 sensor. Most bedrooms have surprisingly high CO2 levels at night, which severely impacts how well you sleep. I always sleep with the bedroom door open now.

Someone tell Lennart Poettering by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-27 23:45 · Score: 0

Someone tell Lennart Poettering to get his nose out of my tailpipe.

Re:Wind, hydro, and nuclear with a little natural by DarkOx · 2018-08-27 23:59 · Score: 2

There are a lot things we can do but we need to be careful system thinkers about all of it not knee-jerk react to one thing. Solar is the darling of green weenies (note I consider myself an environmentalist but I want to be smart about it that is the difference).

Although the environmental impact of manufacturing photo-voltaic cells has been less than feared its still a huge land impact. It takes currently about 3K acres to put in 1k acreage of actually solar panels. This is on the small end of an industrial scale solar plant. People are lobbying to build these in places like Corner of WV, VA, and PA. This region boasts some of the only large unbroken forest areas left on the east coast out side of Maine! Doing this would be a disaster! Yet people believe its "green."

--
Repeal the 17th Amendment TODAY! Also Please Read http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html

Re:Correlation vs causality by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 00:18 · Score: 1

Trump must be long overdue for chelation therapy

Re: Correlation vs causality by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 00:24 · Score: 0

Outsiders migrate to Califirnia to participate in the tech industries.

There goes the last hope for clean air in the US by LostMyBeaver · 2018-08-28 01:03 · Score: 1

Both the democrats and the republicans depend very heavily on people with low IQs. People with 1/3 of a brain and able to think for themselves would be devestating for the two party system.

If killing off the EPA and pumping the atmosphere full of crap will dumb the people down, both the republicans and the democrats will thrive.

Heaven forbid someone with a brain figured out that the elections are about visibility. Candidates sell their souls (if theyâ€(TM)re smart enough to have one to begin with) to either team red or team blue to provide them publicity and therefore making it possible to gain votes.

Someone like Bezos, Nadella, Zuckerburg or a few others could easily overpower either of the two parties and simply provide crowd sourcing platforms for alternative candidates with no party ties.

Imagine a political system where someone who actually cared about the people and the country could run for office by employing a platform that played commercials for them during YouTube videos. Imagine if Facebook and Google, leading up to elections would provide equal free airtime to candidates no matter what their political persuasion.

The parties would lose power and the people would be exposed to a set of candidates who didnâ€(TM)t sell all their political capital before ever reaching the ballot.

Imagine if all the major social media networks educated the people that they not only donâ€(TM)t have to vote for a party sponsored candidate, but if they were true Americans, they would prove it by not voting for red or blue but instead red, white and blue.

Of course, with this research, it would probably make sense to pump the air full of crap and dumb the people down so they wouldnâ€(TM)t be able to understand that. After all, American politics depends on people being so stupid that they actually attack liberals and conservatives as if there are only two types of people in the whole country. Imagine if people were smart enough to realize that their own opinions are not the only right ones.

I suppose breaking up the two party system just wouldnâ€(TM)t make good TV. Think of how much money CNN, Fox, BBC, etc... make simply playing the American people against each other.

IQ Test Bias by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 01:13 · Score: 1

The bias in IQ test are more cultural than racial. Example of a biased question:

Which does not belong:
A. hamburger
B. fries
C. gyro
D. hotdog

The correct answer is B fries, as the others are all meat type sandwiches. But if you have never been exposed to a gyro sandwich, the rest of the items are just fast food.

Re:IQ Test Bias by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 01:43 · Score: 0

You could also state that gyro is the one which does not belong, as all others are historically "American" foods. Or you could state that the hotdog does not belong, because the other foods are cooked in/with oil and hot dogs are often boiled. Or even with the fries because the other foods often have vegetable toppings (not counting vegetable sauces).

That's the problem with most of these tests, you are trying to find the answer that's more popular, not the one that makes the most sense. It's a Family Feud type of question.
Re:IQ Test Bias by blindseer · 2018-08-28 01:49 · Score: 1

After decades of complaints on the possibility of cultural bias in IQ testing the people that write these exams are acutely aware of this and go to great lengths to remove such bias. How do they do this? I'll go through one example.
First thing to do to test for cultural bias is to gather data on how the testers identify their culture. Have them take the test. Look at the answers on the tests and look for correlations on culture to answers. If people in a certain group consistently answer incorrectly then examine the question for possible means on how bias may exist in the question and rewrite it, or simply remove the question from the exam. There's other things to take into account to avoid simply removing questions from a pool because of confounding factors. This can be done by comparing questions of suspected cultural bias to questions of similar difficulty and testing for similar intellectual capacity.
The problem is if the test authors assume that every culture must have an identical distribution of intelligence then the testing can have a "reverse bias", and introduce questions that favor a culture that might otherwise score poorly on an unbiased exam. The other problem with assuming identical intellectual ability among all cultures is removing questions that are of sufficient difficulty and quality to test for higher intelligence that the exam loses any ability to give an accurate representation of the individual's intelligence. In other words, if we assume all cultural populations have an average IQ of 100 and then remove any questions that show a "cultural bias" then the more intelligent people will never be able to demonstrate their higher than average intelligence with the exams. The process of eliminating and rewriting the questions will simply become a downward spiral until everyone just gets a score of 100 for taking the test.
So how does one "test the test"? That is it is measuring IQ and not something else. By examining scores on the IQ test against other more complex indicators of IQ, such as academic achievement in high school and university. If we define IQ as one's ability to collect, interpret, and apply information then this will be exposed in things like performing such tasks in their education, work, and generally in life. IQ tests are supposed to be predictors of performance in the world so see how they perform in the world and correlate that to the ability to answer the questions on the test.
Maybe decades ago there was perhaps some validity to the claims of cultural bias in IQ tests, such complaints have no validity today. The people creating these tests are highly tuned to such complaints and now go to great lengths to remove any such bias.

--
I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
Re:IQ Test Bias by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 01:58 · Score: 0

They base the test on a set of "norms" or normal knowledge levels of a community,. A test made to New York or California "norms" will not work very well in the deep south states like Mississippi and Arkansas.
All bias aside, the test results are not worthless or less useful in regards that the same group of people are compared to each other after taking the same exam. You can compare the Arkansas students to each other and to some extent Mississippi students. You should not compare them to New York or California students taking a test based on those "norms".
Re:IQ Test Bias by blindseer · 2018-08-28 02:57 · Score: 1

Nope, totally false. The tests are constructed in a way that they test nothing of knowledge. They test only intelligence. Any knowledge required for the test is provided as part of the test. There is, of course, some prior knowledge required that is age appropriate, such as the ability to read and speak English for adult IQ tests in America.
Even then the people that created these test have fine tuned IQ testing to the point that only the instructions must translated to the language of the person tested. After that the questions are in the forms of symbols and mathematical representations that need no language skills. For testing of language ability there is, as I stated before, great care taken that no prior knowledge but an age appropriate grasp of the native language is needed to perform the testing.
The scores and testing translate very well across locations and cultures. We know this because IQ testing has been a formal discipline for over 100 years with many people taking great care in its creation, implementation, and application. The scores have been tested against real life performance for decades and have been shown to be highly predictive and repeatable.
Quite simply there is no longer any cultural bias in IQ testing and they translate perfectly across any border you can come up with. We know what intelligence is and how to test for it. Anyone that says different is racist, sexist, and bigoted.

--
I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
Re:IQ Test Bias by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 07:06 · Score: 0

All modern IQ tests are culture fair. Have been for decades.
Which means two things: no modern IQ test relies on any knowledge. Not of math, not of words, not of language. And secondly, that you and the person who gave you a mod point have never taken one and are both ignorant on the subject.

Intelligence = Education? by kenh · 2018-08-28 01:21 · Score: 1

The research was conducted in China but is relevant across the world, with 95% of the global population breathing unsafe air.

Define "unsafe", the vast majority of the people breathing in this "unsafe air" living into their 70s and beyond...

It found that high pollution levels led to significant drops in test scores in language and arithmetic, with the average impact equivalent to having lost a year of the person's education. "Polluted air can cause everyone to reduce their level of education by one year, which is huge," said Xi Chen at Yale School of Public Health in the US, a member of the research team. "But we know the effect is worse for the elderly, especially those over 64, and for men, and for those with low education. If we calculate [the loss] for those, it may be a few years of education."

Losing years(s) of "education" is not the same as losing "intelligence". Ever since I learned of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Quotient test I understood the difference between "intelligence" and "education".

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Ken

Re:Intelligence = Education? by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 02:10 · Score: 0

The research was conducted in China but is relevant across the world, with 95% of the global population breathing unsafe air.
Define "unsafe", the vast majority of the people breathing in this "unsafe air" living into their 70s and beyond...
Dementia, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Cancer...reality tends to define the vast majority of people "living" in their 70s and beyond a hell of a lot different than you dismiss.
Re:Intelligence = Education? by kenh · 2018-08-28 11:41 · Score: 1

Dementia, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Cancer
None of which lowers one's intelligence.

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Ken

Re:Correlation vs causality by DigiShaman · 2018-08-28 01:24 · Score: 1

It might have something to do with killing the a rosehip neuron, a new type just discovered that involved regulation of signaling.

https://www.geekwire.com/2018/...

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Life is not for the lazy.

Re:Correlation vs causality by kenh · 2018-08-28 01:24 · Score: 1

It explained crime in many cities and how it was reduced after lead was removed from fuel.

Don't forget the lead-based paint chips inner-city kids used to eat, lord that was such a big thing in the 70s and 80s...

--
Ken

Re:There goes the last hope for clean air in the U by kenh · 2018-08-28 01:31 · Score: 1

Someone like Bezos, Nadella, Zuckerburg or a few others could easily overpower either of the two parties and simply provide crowd sourcing platforms for alternative candidates with no party ties.

Uh, last I checked, both parties rely on countless millions of "small" donations - in effect, they already crowd source their campaign funding, how would a "Bezos, Nadella, Zuckerburg" alternative be any different? Because you believe them to be apolitical?

The internet democratized the funding of elections already, the problem is you need to herd supporters into a situation where they choose to donate - Bernie Sanders and Jill Stein (as well as every other presidential candidate in 2016) had websites that made it trivial to donate money, the problem was convincing people to go to those sites and do so.

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Ken

Re:or the demographics in big cities are different by kenh · 2018-08-28 01:37 · Score: 1

I'm not trying to say all Trump supporters are morons, the data says that. Indictments too.

Citation please? You said there was "data", which implies a study - possibly even a peer-reviewed one - that supports this claim of yours.

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Ken

Re:or the demographics in big cities are different by Luckyo · 2018-08-28 01:54 · Score: 1

IQ tests in this case were administered by chinese. Pretty sure they aren't caucasian but han.

Notably most people tend to forget that as far as evolutionary pressures go, IQ appears to not only have been of a limited value for overwhelming amount of human history, but a net negative in terms of its value beyond certain minimum. Is ability to grasp complex abstract patterns beneficial or detrimental to a serf who's very life is at risk should he appear to be a threat to his local leadership?

Add to this the fact that it's already widely documented that IQ is negatively associated with breeding performance in females in homo sapiens, and you have a credible argument that IQ is in fact a net negative evolutoinary selection mechanism in humans once certain minumum IQ is reached. Which would confirm the "whites should die off and be replaced by brown and black people" argument often pushed in the more extreme end of the equity circles.

Evolution tends to care very little about our morals and ethics. It pursues only one goal, self improvement to better fit the environment, which itself changes over time as everything in it evolves. Outcome is everything, regardless of means. That's why there are so many parasitic species on the planet, among other horrifying things that just go against any sense of modern human morality and ethics codes.

Re: Huge Ratings by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 01:54 · Score: 0

We knew this about pollution from pot smokers already.

D.C. by NotFamous · 2018-08-28 01:59 · Score: 1

Here in Washington, D.C. - it's not affecting us.

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Some settling may occur during posting.

Re:or the demographics in big cities are different by iggymanz · 2018-08-28 02:04 · Score: 1

china has many ethnic groups and castes too. some are looked down upon by their society.

Re:or the demographics in big cities are different by iggymanz · 2018-08-28 02:06 · Score: 1

there is similar mindset in China with various ethnic groups and social castes. they even have a word that you could translate as "n*gger" meaning "garbage person" that in the USA is used for black people but over there is for certain other groups

High velocity by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 02:15 · Score: 0

I say give him more lead.

Re: Correlation vs causality by luis_a_espinal · 2018-08-28 02:16 · Score: 1

Outsiders migrate to Califirnia to participate in the tech industries.

Because there are no native Californians taking part in it #rollseyes

Re:Correlation vs causality by luis_a_espinal · 2018-08-28 02:20 · Score: 2

I was thinking the same thing from your summary. Another theory: pollution tends to be in industrial centers. Generalizing but factory work generally doesn't need the brightest bulbs nor attract very many of them. Even more so in China where from what I understand the rural uneducated people's best way out of poverty is to work for a big factory so they get permission to live in the city, kind of the same as it has always been just happened in the west 180 years ago or so. Concentration of capital increases productivity and rewards for everyone. Who knew?

This is a severe misconception (for it is the brightest in rural China who tend to try their luck at the factories in China's industrial belts.) I guess it is inevitable that we still see China through a 25-year old looking glass.

I suggest reading "Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China" by Leslie T. Chang. It was an eye opener on this subject.

The map *image* behind that link is FAKE (news)! by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 02:35 · Score: 0

Take a look at the real map: http://berkeleyearth.org/air-pollution-overview/

As you can see, the American / US air pollution is actually worse then the European or EU one.

So all the conclusions drawn from the image in the Forbes article are bullshit. (Duh. It’s Forbes.)

Re:Wind, hydro, and nuclear with a little natural by drinkypoo · 2018-08-28 02:36 · Score: 2

Although the environmental impact of manufacturing photo-voltaic cells has been less than feared its still a huge land impact. It takes currently about 3K acres to put in 1k acreage of actually solar panels.

It depends very much on where you build them. The best place to site solar panels is still over the top of parking lots, or on commercial roofs where access is easy (unlike residential rooftops). Either way you gain an additional benefit from the shade they cast.

--
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"

Re:Huge Ratings by drinkypoo · 2018-08-28 02:40 · Score: 1

Wasnâ(TM)t it ironic watching Trump surrounded by 5 year olds more intelligent than him, he canâ(TM)t even fill in a colouring book correctly.

Yeah, it was awfully reminiscent of Bush holding a book upside down. Ever get the feeling that TPTB figured out with Reagan that a mentally incompetent president was easier to control?

--
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"

Re:Correlation vs causality by drinkypoo · 2018-08-28 02:41 · Score: 1

Actually it's worse than that - lead is a particularly insidious poison: it not only reduces intelligence, it also reduces impulse control while increasing aggression.

Maybe that's why I still think Slashdot matters. I moved out of one flight path (in Lake county) into another one (in Mendocino county). Airplanes still burn leaded and have no emissions controls...

--
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"

Re: Correlation vs causality by NickGnome · 2018-08-28 02:53 · Score: 1, Insightful

Yes, it might explain Los Angeles, Sili Valley, Sacramento, San Fran, NY, DC, Boston, Chicagoland, Miami, Sydney, London... but fortunately, we can hope that global warming, by flooding them out, might cull the herd, so to speak...or not.

No, it’s western Europe. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 03:15 · Score: 0

Europe goes up to beyond Moscow.

If you take the middle, you end up somewhere in Poland.

Re:No, it’s western Europe. by Sique · 2018-08-28 08:30 · Score: 1

And thus Poland is part of Central Europe. So what?
And while the exact boundaries of Central Europe are somewhat disputed (sometimes the Benelux countries are part of it, sometimes not. Sometimes Belarus, Ukraina and Romania are included, sometimes not etc.pp.), the core (Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary) is basicly the same.

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.sig: Sique *sigh*

The Cost of pollution by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 03:45 · Score: 0

isn't worth the savings. Pay the extra penny and half more and use clean energy. It will pay for itself in the reduction of health care cost.

Re:Huge Ratings by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 04:06 · Score: 0

If anything this article explains why urbanites and smog enshrouded city dwellers tend to vote democrat, but in the middle American states full of countryside, mountains, woods, prairies, green grass and clean air.. they tend to vote republican.
Checkmate, beaatch.

Re:Correlation vs causality by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 04:22 · Score: 0

It explained crime in many cities and how it was reduced after lead was removed from fuel.

Don't forget the lead-based paint chips inner-city kids used to eat, lord that was such a big thing in the 70s and 80s...

Lead paint chips, the original Tide Pod Challenge.

Re: Huge Ratings by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 04:55 · Score: 0

I stand for a wave of blue faces in November. Blue faces of exasperated Trump haters come mid-November.

Re:Wind, hydro, and nuclear with a little natural by blindseer · 2018-08-28 05:10 · Score: 2

It depends very much on where you build them.

Sure.

The best place to site solar panels is still over the top of parking lots, or on commercial roofs where access is easy (unlike residential rooftops).

No, that's not the best place. The best place is close to the ground, at least as far as costs are concerned.

Either way you gain an additional benefit from the shade they cast.

That may be but I have a document on my desk from the International Energy Agency that shows commercial PV is on average more expensive than utility (ground mounted) PV. The error bars on both are large enough that it may be possible to keep the price difference minimal but it's quite clear that commercial PV is not "best". If you want to preserve land for crops and forest, get low CO2 energy, and keep costs low, then it would be preferable to use wind, hydro, or nuclear, over solar.

Solar is already behind wind on cost and danger to life, elevating the solar collectors above a parking lot adds costs and probability of injury or death to the people that install and maintain those collectors. If there is some need to use solar then keep costs low by keeping the collectors low.

--
I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.

It's true! by JoeDuncan · 2018-08-28 05:15 · Score: 1

... every conversation I've ever heard about air pollution was COMPLETELY full of idiots...

Interesting... by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 05:43 · Score: 0

And the Dem states are predominantly host to the east and west coast megalopoli, right?

Re:or the demographics in big cities are different by butchersong · 2018-08-28 06:06 · Score: 1

Amusingly, "white left" seems to be one of the favorites slurs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baizuo

Ah-ha! by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 06:08 · Score: 0

That explains the liberal bias in the big cities.... ;-)

Re:or the demographics in big cities are different by iggymanz · 2018-08-28 06:13 · Score: 1

I like shemgu (holy momma), for the self-righteous feminist SJW type myself.

Re: Correlation vs causality by HornWumpus · 2018-08-28 06:51 · Score: 1

Damn few graduates of CA public schools in CA tech. Single digit % in my experience.

--
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'

Re:or the demographics in big cities are different by HornWumpus · 2018-08-28 07:22 · Score: 1

Do they have predominant, low test score getting, urban ethnic groups that could confound the rural/urban testing? I don't think so.

China's deep poor are rural.

--
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'

Re:or the demographics in big cities are different by Luckyo · 2018-08-28 07:24 · Score: 1

What's the relevance of this statement to this discussion?

Re:or the demographics in big cities are different by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 08:53 · Score: 0

Yeah, they're call chanks, dumbass. Chinese people don't like them, just like black folks don't like niiggers. If you thought those corresponding pairs were the same, then you don't know any Chinese or black people and are just racist. That's their equivalent to whitey's trailer trash.

This explains L.A. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 09:15 · Score: 0

It smells like rotten eggs east into Riverside and south almost to San Diego. And it looks like a yellow foggy apocalypse sometimes. This completely explains the **AA and crap coming out of Hollypowderwood.

Re:Correlation vs causality by BrianMarshall · 2018-08-28 09:46 · Score: 1

"What? Wall candy? I used to love that suff" - Penny Arcade

--
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro" -- HST

Some come to Slashdot by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 11:30 · Score: 0

Some of these come to Slashdot and write about Trumpâ(TM)s hosts file.

Wood Fireplace heaters by thogard · 2018-08-28 12:42 · Score: 1

A major new source of pollution in cities is wood fireplace heaters. People are switching over to them because of costs or they think they are green. They are so bad in some areas that cities are starting to ban them but the sales are increasing in many areas.

Lets let evolution solve this by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 12:59 · Score: 0

We need to breed people that can survive in toxic environments and still be smarts.

Just force people to fuck in the middle of polluted waste land that we will create by burning all those old tires lying around. The ones that can survive and have an IQ of > 130 as measured by standardized IQ tests will not be killed.

There I have just solved your problems. Violence and bloodshed is the solution to all the world's problems.

Take for instance the problem of white privilege. All you need to do is kill white people. Take the problem of poverty. Just kill the poor people.

Violence is really the solution to the world's problems and I am not sure why more people are not taking it seriously.

Re:Correlation vs causality by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 15:26 · Score: 0

Actually it's worse than that - lead is a particularly insidious poison: it not only reduces intelligence, it also reduces impulse control while increasing aggression. It's practically tailor-made to create criminals.

Yup. That's why this scam was successful: https://www.aclu-wa.org/cases/montes-v-city-yakima-0

Re:There goes the last hope for clean air in the U by LostMyBeaver · 2018-08-28 16:26 · Score: 1

The internet democratized funding of elections in the sense that it supports contributing to one party or the other.

As you mentioned Bernie and Jill had the issue of visibility.

The reason for this as I mentioned was visibility. The candidates couldn't constantly insert plugs on their TV interviews about their websites and how to donate to their campaigns. They lacked the platforms to raise money.

All the names I mentioned, Bezos, Nadella, Zuck, etc... all have mass media platforms where they could directly support open political platforms for non-party associated candidates. While all these people do lobby heavily and contribute heavily to campaigns of party candidates, they do this because the two party system makes it nearly impossible to do business on a market monopoly scale if the politicians aren't purchased.

To present the two party system as it has evolved, consider it to be little more than a reality TV series about professional wrestlers. You have "The good guys" and "The bad guys". Of course, everyone thinks their own team is the good guys, but that's irrelevant with the exception that mass media and the parties themselves market themselves as the good guys and the other team as the bad guys. It's become very important in American politics that we clearly see only white and black hats, nothing in-between. After all, a democrat could never look at a guy like Mitt Romney and say "Wow... once in a while he makes a lot of sense" or a republican can never look at Obama and say "He really did try very hard to do what he thought was best for the American people". Instead, we have to be programmed to call the other people names and speak hateful about them.

When we vote, we vote on nothing regarding substance. What happens is that we have organizations responsible for team management. This would be the RNC and DNC. They are responsible for polling the people and supporting whichever candidate will almost guarantee them the most power. They run their business like a reality TV show. They put on little shows like debates and they don't measure whether people are best represented by those candidates, they are measuring whether or not they market those people well enough to get them into office as representatives of their parties. This is how we ended up with Hillary and Trump, possibly the two most horrible possible candidates at a national level in a century.

The goal of the parties is to dominate the other team in the government. They talk smack like a WWE showdown before the fights. They treat the senate floor as though it were a sports arena. They would sell tickets to filibusters like main events if they could. Imagine in the voice of a wrestling announcer "On one side, there are a bunch of people wearing coordinated uniforms that cost more than the typical American's annual salary. On the other side stands a 82 year old man with heart conditions. His goal, to read War and Peace from cover to cover to stonewall his enemy. Can he do it. Will his heart give out. Tune it at..."

The two party system in itself is probably responsible for more school shootings than anything else. It's the national leaders. The people who should be the true heroes of the country, the people who should stand out above as beacons of good behavior and maturity behaving like a bunch of brawlers. They sell competition and they sell hate. The play with the lives of the people from initial insemination forward as though these are game pieces and they pass laws left and right, not because they believe it's the right thing to do, but instead because they are establishing their power base and using peoples lives as political capital.

Consider this... which country in the world passes more laws than any other country?

How many of the laws that it passes are passed almost entirely on party lines?

How many of these laws are passed with little or no open debate. In other words, are the laws openly discussed and weighed based on their merits or are they passed mostly by a single part

Re:or the demographics in big cities are different by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-28 21:54 · Score: 0

yes I know, in 2018 it's not nice to point a certain thing out, but there are a couple groups that don't do so well on those whitey boy IQ tests, cause, you know, they ain't white. And they mostly live in the city...

They're going to do really well in a race war against pasty little nerds like yourself though. I've never understood why Slashdotters are so keen to promote something that they're obviously going to be the first victims of.

Are there any computer programming white supremacists present who can explain their bizarre deathwish?

Re:or the demographics in big cities are different by Anonymous Coward · 2018-08-29 06:04 · Score: 0

This study was done in China, so what do 'whitey boys' have to do with anything?

Racist much?

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Air Pollution Causes 'Huge' Reduction in Intelligence, Study Reveals (theguardian.com)

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