Conservatism and cognitive ability are negatively correlated
From the journal Intelligence, Volume 37, Issue 3, May-June 2009, Pages 294-304:
Conservatism and cognitive ability are negatively correlated
Abstract
Conservatism and cognitive ability are negatively correlated. The evidence is based on 1254 community college students and 1600 foreign students seeking entry to United States’ universities. At the individual level of analysis, conservatism scores correlate negatively with SAT, Vocabulary, and Analogy test scores. At the national level of analysis, conservatism scores correlate negatively with measures of education (e.g., gross enrollment at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels) and performance on mathematics and reading assessments from the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) project. They also correlate with components of the Failed States Index and several other measures of economic and political development of nations. Conservatism scores have higher correlations with economic and political measures than estimated IQ scores.
Four chunks at a time
It seems the human brain can handle at most 4 different things at a time. From 2005 July Discover magazine:
Juggling Info
Surgeons, air traffic controllers, waitresses, and bus drivers—or anyone in a high-stress job—take in a steady flow of information that needs to be processed on the spot. But how much is too much? Cognitive scientists in Australia have concluded that humans can juggle four “chunks” of information at any given instant. After that, they become confused. Their next move is no more reasoned than flipping a coin.
Hello world!
I visit my 96-year old grandmother on the weekends in the nursing home. Her mind was sharp until about 5 years ago — now she has trouble finding her words. Not sure whether it’s Alzheimer’s or dementia, at this stage in her life it makes no difference.
I often wonder whether my mind will stay sharp as long as hers has, since I always had occasional trouble finding my words, especially when distracted or tired — a constant source of amusement for my family. Not particularly surprising, as I have little practice expressing myself: I am an introvert and a listener, and rarely communicate at length. But I did notice that when I joined a mailing list and started expressing my ideas more often, that I improved — much in writing, and even a bit orally.
So this blog is a way for me to practice expressing myself. I plan to contribute something on the days I am not overly busy — wonder how long that will last…
About
Although it started out as a means of practising expressing myself, this blog is turning out to be more of a compendium of interesting information I come across. One of these days I’ll have to actually write something as opposed to cut and paste. 
