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Provocative thread title aside, the research on the lower intelligence of conservatives is pretty well replicated. It also falls in line with distributions we see with other statistics that serve as rough proxies for intelligence such as education levels, occupation, and even geographic location. The addendum here is that a lot of the identification may fall along social rather than fiscal ideology; lots of smart people are fiscally conservative and socially liberal.

It's possible that some of the variance can be explained by the fact that conservatives tend to be older, and therefore on the wrong side of the Flynn effect. But it's also possible that the Flynn effect is a reason for the greater liberalism of young people; they're just smarter.

Could the great divide in politics be explained by differences in cognition?

I think that more than cognition, it's just the way people were raised before and the differences in the society they lived in. Some people lack the necessary open-mindness to understand society isn't how it was and that the same rules and laws are now outdated in today's modern societies.

However, it also depends on what 'conservative' means to you and what ideals exactly does a conservative person hold.

hilarious op. I believe it's true LOL

Originally posted by Petrus
I think that more than cognition, it's just the way people were raised before and the differences in the society they lived in. Some people lack the necessary open-mindness to understand society isn't how it was and that the same rules and laws are now outdated in today's modern societies.

However, it also depends on what 'conservative' means to you and what ideals exactly does a conservative person hold.

True, but I think a lot of the open mindedness is correlated with intelligence. If you're stupid, you're less likely to want to try new experiences that go against your prior intuition and upbringing. That's why conservatives are so obsessed with "traditional values"; they think "tradition" is actually a reason to believe in something.

Originally posted by The Ellimist
True, but I think a lot of the open mindedness is correlated with intelligence. If you're stupid, you're less likely to want to try new experiences that go against your prior intuition and upbringing. That's why conservatives are so obsessed with "traditional values"; they think "tradition" is actually a reason to believe in something.

True. I might agree with that point of view.

Although, I believe there can be exceptions. A very smart man can be so stubborn that he refuses to accept the new world for other reasons we may not be able to fully understand.

Keyword exceptions, though. Speaking generally, I think you're right.

Yes, they are.

This thread does nothing to promote rational discussion, and is a bait thread. I will be issuing long temp bans if this nonsense continues.