Re: Are liberals dumber than conservatives?

From: Socialism is a Mental Disease (root_at_localhost.)
Date: 08/24/04 

Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2004 15:46:33 GMT

On Tue, 24 Aug 2004 08:09:02 -0400, "Mark Monson" <m_monson@ztech.com>
wrote:
>
>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" <root@localhost.> wrote in message
>news:fnaki0hqphnhuu8s42f32pnltuf2j0g2a4@4ax.com...
>>
>> According to new research out of UCLA, the answer appears to be yes:
>>
>> http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/22/magazine/22IDEA.html
>
>It's not enough to be intelligent. What counts is applying that intelligence
>effectively.
>

Agreed!

>
>The scientific method is the most effective problem solving technique.
>

Agreed!

>
>This method works because it takes nothing for granted and constantly questions the
>most basic assumptions.
>

Agreed!

>
>Because he's afraid of losing a material advantage, the conservative stops
>questioning his basic assumptions about society. He sacrifices scientific thinking
>on the altar of vested interest. Working in reverse of the scientific method, the
>conservative constructs scientific-sounding justifications in support of his
>perceived self interest.
>

Personally, I think this description of yours applies equally well to
liberals. Most people tend to be very fond of their particular
beliefs, whatever they are.

>
>The progressive uses plenty of emotional language, but his intelligence is more
>useful for social problem solving because he retains that most essential scientific
>quality: an open mind.
>

The problem is not the use of emotional language. The problem is using
the same tool a reptile uses to make decisions. That is not a good
thing. According to that study, liberals tend to be more influenced by
the reptilian brain. That, in my opinion, is not a good thing.

On a side note, I admit I was spinning when I said that the study
provided proof that liberals are dumber than conservatives. However,
what is the point of having a high IQ if your reptilian brain is the
one that controls you? 

-- 
"A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one
percent of the people may take away the rights of the other
forty-nine." -- Thomas Jefferson