

Books and Music That Make You Dumb - iamwil
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2009/02/27/books-and-music-that-make-you-dumb/?mod=yhoofront

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tptacek
Hello, selection bias! There are books that make you dumber than not having
reported reading any books at all? How about, there are books and music that
correlate with being underprivileged, and being the likely product of a crappy
school system?

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tlb
Presumably, most of the effect is due to socioeconomic correlation and I'm
sure Virgil understands that.

It's interesting how big the correlation is. I might have expected only a few
percent WRT music.

I want to see the correlation between Ayn Rand books and number of friends.

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Radix
I agree. This quote from him makes it explicit. “Of course there is the whole
correlation is not causation thing, but, I mean, duh,”

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mynameishere
The "but" seems to imply that he nonetheless thinks that intelligence is
effecting taste. I don't know. I've been shocked by some relatively
intelligent people with atrocious taste in things, but it wouldn't be a
shocker if the idiots really did like "Lil Wayne" because they're idiots. I
mean, jesus fucking christ:

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owwSHg1fivM>

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scott_s
I read it in the opposite way: it's so obvious that this is just a correlation
and not causation that he feels silly explicitly stating it.

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carterschonwald
The website seems to be down, are there any mirrors available? The article
title seems to be linkbait, the interviewer explicitly mentions that
correlation isn't causation

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chris11
Mirrors

Music:[http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_j0_WBUT8_cw/R89cubH01_I/AAAAAAAAAD...](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_j0_WBUT8_cw/R89cubH01_I/AAAAAAAAADg/uS2GmyCaH-o/s1600-h/musicthatmakesyoudumb)

Books:[http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_j0_WBUT8_cw/R89cgrH01-I/AAAAAAAAAD...](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_j0_WBUT8_cw/R89cgrH01-I/AAAAAAAAADY/_aUS3tqara8/s1600-h/booksthatmakeyoudumb)

