well that explains a few things!

Another thread mentions the World is getting stupider, here's why, Bob

[download the video mp4]
Catalyst: Lead Astray - ABC TV Science

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Originally Posted by Rurover

Here's an alternative theory for the epidemic of dumbness.
If you happened to see the ABC TV science program, "Catalyst" on Tuesday night, you would have heard respected scientists say that our ingestion of lead from the Tetra Ethyl Lead usied in our petrol, lowered the IQ of many people by around 5 points.... Very significant apparently.

The program in fact showed that this exposure to lead also resulted in a dramatic increase in violent crime, particularly in city areas where the concentration was highest.

So if we believe THIS theory, then Ipso facto, most city people are dumber than those of us that live in the cleaner country air.
Yeah, that seems to fit with my observations! :)

Alan

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Doesn't fit with your spelling, though.
You'd be hard pressed distinguishing the difference between a person with an IQ of 150 and a person with an IQ of 145.

Actually, health problems are usually worse in the country than in the city. Cities are healthier than rural areas. More people have chronic sicknesses, get injured and are depressed and suicidal in the bush than in the cities. Logically then, its dumb to deliberately live in the bush because you're more likely to get sick or injured or killed or kill yourself. Therefore, the smarter people are in the cities. Ha ha!

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Originally Posted by DiscoMick

Actually, health problems are usually worse in the country than in the city. Cities are healthier than rural areas. More people have chronic sicknesses, get injured and are depressed and suicidal in the bush than in the cities. Logically then, its dumb to deliberately live in the bush because you're more likely to get sick or injured or killed or kill yourself. Therefore, the smarter people are in the cities. Ha ha!

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That should mean that the healthiest people live on the edges of cities where they have easy access to medical help, a good job close by, have a house in a low traffic street with a nice big garden to grow the veggies in, and not big enough to need a tractor or other powered implement to kill you too soon. Sounds like home to me.:)

Of course another implication from the issue of lead in petrol causing lower IQ is that those people who drive petrol engined vehicles tend to lose more IQ points than those who drive diesels.
(They'd ingest more from the vapours when refuelling, and perhaps when driving with their rear windows open.)
It then follows that the bigger and thirstier the petrol engine in your vehicle, the bigger the IQ loss over a period of years.

So one can then logically assume that drivers of V8 Land Rovers (Range Rovers & some Discoveries) are generally less intelligent than those who drive the smaller capacity diesel Land Rovers which have NO lead in their fuel.
ie Generally Defender drivers and some of the smarter Discovery drivers. :p

Trouble is, as I get older, even driving a Defender, my IQ seems to be slowly slipping. :(

Alan