Professor Richard Lynn, emeritus professor of psychology at Ulster University, said many more members of the “intellectual elite” considered themselves atheists than the national average.
A decline in religious observance over the last century was directly linked to a rise in average intelligence, he claimed.
But the conclusions – in a paper for the academic journal Intelligence – have been branded “simplistic” by critics.
Christopher Howse responds: Clever people are atheists. Cleverer ones aren’t
I feel clever
Push that lever
I feel clever, you never can say
I endeavor
To act clev’rer than I am today
The smarter you are, the less you tend to think that there’s anything greater than you? Sounds close to it, I’d suspect.
Then again, to become one of those elite, you have to spend a lot of time in a university system that is packed full of people who look down on religion anyhow. That’s most likely the cause, if the study’s valid.
Jimmie, I don’t think it’s necessarily how smart you are, it’s how smart you think you are.
Hmmm.. So you’re saying that there actually exist overeducated individuals that fully believe that their degrees make them wiser and more insightful than the common rabble.. ? Wow.. It makes my head spin.. Glad none of them come around here…
So a central tenet of measurable intelligence is the propensity to think you know everything and close your mind to possibilities.
Got it. Thanks Prof.
A lesser-known study found a statistically-significant correlation between the intellectual elite and the presence of a large pole in the rectum.
Nothing else happened over the last 100 years that could be an influence, such as, oh I don’t know, better prenatal care and better nutrition perhaps?
…to about 160.
If he means smart like, Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini or even the entire Soviet Union – I’d rather be dumb.
There’s no better god than the one in the mirror!
Distilled:
You’re dumberer.
No, you.
No, you.
There’s plenty of smart religious people, and Rachel Lucas recently proved there’s no shortage of stupid atheists.
But I could still kick the living shit out of him and every last one of his university mates regardless of religiosity. After we’re dead, it won’t matter who was the smartest or toughest. We’re still all dead.
Well, he did say average intelligence rather than average IQ. Way to go, though, with the nishi hook.
OI,
I’ll bet you a million bucks there’s an afterlife.
I know there is. That’s where my bank is. I’ll proudly give you a million bucks once I get there.
Alister McGrath argues that atheists are on the decline (The Twilight of Atheism). I would postulate that this is the real reason behind the rise in human intelligence;)
The savage penalty of all too common to adherents of secular life is that “pop” when the humility departs.
I’m glad I got mine back.
I have proven to myself that a higher power exists. I asked for help, and it was given. Kittens, babies, and the Milky Way viewed from the equatorial Pacific are also on the list.
Without a superior, moral, God… what role does man have but that of a highly intelligent carnivore?
We are more than animals not because of our inner qualities but rather because we recognise a good example somewhere ahead of us…
Have a fine weekend. Off to surprise coyotes.
#5 RH potfry: hahahahahaaha! Hey maybe there’s something more than BS to those statistics.
What’s up with all these anglers here? Where are the sharks? Or at least blues? Oh well, back to the tackle box, gotta go deep for grouper instead, I guess.
Or as JD (I think) would say.. Thanks.. Starbucks Triple Grande, Low fat, No foam Latte with two Splenda artificial sweetners spewed all over the keyboard! =)
(sorry..cant remember how to make the cool trademark symbol..to complete the product placement)
Ourorboros,
™ gives ™
® gives ®
Regards,
Ric
Thanks a million, Mr Locke.
OK, Ric. But how do you provide the HTML code without it being rendered as the symbols?
Like this?&trade
I guess not.
Oh well.
Testing : Sugartits&trade.
SugarTits&trade:
It worked elsewhere … why doesn’t it work here?
SugarTits ™
snorkle. Great minds, Maybee.
Ok, what did you do?
Sugartits ®
I did it! I’ve trademarked SugarTits!
Let’s celebrate!
[nsfw]
trailing semi-colon, Carin.
SugarTits® Like this?
Hah! I registered SugarTits® first. The rights are mine! ;)
I hereby claim SugarTits for the United States of America!
Fifty years ago Marxism was fashionable in universities, and academics defended Stalin and Mao and suchlike atheistic monsters. Nowadays Marxism is out of fashion…
~ Christopher Howse ~
Well, that explains it.
C’est impossible!!! The army of France needs all the SugarTits® it can get!
Besides! We Frenchmen are all atheists and superior to any God-fearing intellectual!
F*****g Jews… The Jews own all the SugarTits™ in the world
Good names for breakfast cereals: SugarCornTitsâ„¢ and SugarTitSmacksâ„¢
I denounce myself for that preemptively, by the way.
Good, SBP. Don’t forget JD’s favorite: SuperSugarTits™
I hereby claim SugarTits for the United States of America!
Hey, Dan Collins. Be careful where you thrust that flagpole.
SuperSugarTitsâ„¢ with NippleBerriesâ„¢.
TmjUtah,
“…I asked for help, and it was given…”
Ain’t it the truth? I would be dead without having asked for help, and been granted it. It is a truly Earth shattering thing that I would still be laughing at if I hadn’t experienced it.
“I hereby claim SugarTits for the United States of America!”
Uh-huh.
One small step for (a) man, one giant leap for sugartits!.
you wont find me a taomadh na mara le cliabh again, dancollins.
bait me once shame on you.
bait me twice shame on me.
“Besides! We Frenchmen are all atheists and superior to any God-fearing intellectual!”
And from the few French women I have “known”, the French are also superior to a daily shower.
Peeee-eeeewwwwwww!
I was in Bulgaria last summer at Sunny Beach (no kidding there is a town on the Black Sea called that) and all the French girls had Bulgarian boyfriends – they didn’t smell bad but they all had Bulgarian boyfriends. No real men left in godless France I guess.
Hans,
Bulgaria? I am mightily jealous. That’s where most of the hotties on the XXX web are from. I know I could pretend to be rich just long enough to…you know?
Someone’s made a strong claim to SugarTits.
Gotta try it. Sugartits or does it not require the greater and less thans $trade ?
I gotta try this..
Sugartits®
Sugartits&trad;
Ah, Lost Dog, still lost.
oops.. copyright infringment.. Sorry MayBee..
And again, think I got it. NippleBerries®
Sugartits(ampersand)(reg)(semicolon) no spaces
Sugartits®
I am registering my name before any American Cowboy steals it like they did France’s SugarTits® !
Behave yourself Nishi! Or I’ll hear about it from MayBee.
Did you see this?
saw it.
this
and this (both from Pinker)
flesh it out a little more.
“Ah, Lost Dog, still lost.”
And hopefully, forever. Dealing with reality ain’t what it used to be…
Sugartits&trad;
The second one was just an executive summary of the first one.
I noted this:
And, today, violence continues to fester in zones of anarchy, such as frontier regions, failed states, collapsed empires, and territories contested by mafias, gangs, and other dealers of contraband.
eg Tijuana
Dang. I still can’t do it. I had even thought about linking a shot of my (clothed) sugartits if I could have figured it out.
Alas…
I guess you gotta spell correctly. Alas.
Ha, Aldo!
Whether or not intelligent people tend to be athiest or not, only a fool would consider the US population more intelligent than in days past – or someone with a point to make, facts be damned.
Once you have Brown Sugar Tits you’ll never go back.
Am I in trouble MayBee?
Not right now, Aldo, but I’m keeping my eye on you. :-)
™
Once you have Splenda® Sugartits® you’ll never even go back to Brownsugartits®
and you’ll lose weight as well…
Sweet’N’LowTits doesn’t sound good, does it.
No.
The lady can be sweet and low, but not her tits.
Woo Hooo! I just scored a new DVD for my collection.. Quinn Martin’s 1967 masterpiece of cold war sci-fi … The Invaders (Season One)…
DietSugartits® don’t sound too hot either.
YEA! I did it. NOw thing of all the fun I can have in comments.
WEDGE™!
..and calling someone saccharintits® just sounds like sour grapes…
I think that’s the term for implants, Ouro.
Here you go, guys.
Uncle Ted‘s Excellent Special Character cheat sheets.
Regards,
Ric
I knew a topless accordian player back in the day. Tough Tittie, they called her.
Or at least the Kitty did…
BTW, Nishi..
Is Pinker alluding to a Left-wing war on science here? Hmmmm
Ourboros – White Chocolate Mocha w/ 2 percent because I am a racist.
MayBee – Evil link. Damn you!
I thought artifical sugartits were called Bolt-ons.
Speaking of the pseudo-clever, where’s Ric Caric been lately..? Havent seen him over here lately.. He’s another one that’s entertaining in a weird, effeminate, lefty way…
From his latest blog screed;
The United States has a relatively large conservative population for an advanced industrial country and the nation wasn’t going to progress as long as people of right-wing disposition were left alone with their military fantasies, misogyny, racism, homophobia, and religious fundamentalism.
You gotta love the guy.
“White Chocolate Mocha w/ 2 percent because I am a racist”
Oh, the new Starbucks ‘ObamaLatte’ .. Kinda like real chocolate but not quite.. with all the creamy substance skimmed off so what’s left is mostly unremarkable water.. Mmmmm.. sounds delicious.
And, today, violence continues to fester in zones of anarchy, such as frontier regions, failed states, collapsed empires, and territories contested by mafias, gangs, and other dealers of contraband.
Welcome to Kipling’s World®
Ourboros – How did you read that without puking?
“Can’t get enough of Super Sugartits®…”
And I’m still waiting for the Splenda® variety.
I love these theological discussions….
And in re: #88 – does anyone else recall cynn’s outrage about calling those quoted actors brignads and pirates? I sure do.
And, today, violence continues to fester in zones of anarchy, such as frontier regions, failed states, collapsed empires, and territories contested by mafias, gangs, and other dealers of contraband.
Or – brigands and pirates. And you all love the screw-guns – and the screw guns, they love you!
http://www.readprint.com/work-959/Rudyard-Kipling
JD: He’s twisted, isnt he?
To answer your question
“How did you read that without puking?”
I dont.. I repeatedly throw up a little in my throat as I read along..luckily I keep a cold Budweiser handy at all times to rinse my mouth out with.. and then swallow of course. Sometimes it takes a whole sixpack to make it through one of his stupid ass bits..
why does it bother you that atheists have higher between group IQs than believers?
u despise intellectuals.
;)
and you think IQ an g are crap metrics.
why do you care?
lolz
nishit idiot – 4810 google hits
“Comment by PCachu on 6/13 @ 3:22 pm #
I think that’s the term for implants, Ouro.”
You know, I’ve never underestood why any woman would want to put what are, effectively, bags of cement on her chest. Don’t they realize that those suckers will never move again, no matter what position they choose?
Fake-a-tits are NOT fun. I could go to my local hardware store and play with a bag of dead sand, and get the same results.
Yeah. I know. TMI….
You haven’t posted anything on your blog since May 10th.
Ace posted a great atheism-related scene from Catch-22 today. I read the novel many moons ago, but I didn’t remember this scene. It may be time to re-read it.
Fake-a-tits are NOT fun
Amanda Marcotte would say that women install the aftermarket boobs because of Teh Patriarchy, but every guy I know hates them (myself included). It must be false consciousness that makes women think Teh Patriarchy wants fake boobs.
meh
…and merely 10 % of those who are considered ’eminent’ scientists believe in a personal god or in an afterlife.”
What type of instrument is used to measure “eminence”? Or would that be eminosity?
What type of instrument is used to measure “eminence�
There’s a special mirror. It’s really, really big.
– Looks like Collins has finally discovered the ever elusive Landshark. whose legend was born on SNL by eating Jane Curtin for a record 18 Saturday nights in a row.
– TheLowHungingFruitSugarTits&Trad®
Nishi’s not only arguing with the voices in her head, she’s spouting nonsense while doing so.
“u despise intellectuals.”
– They do fine as long as they don’t miss the short MagicBusâ„¢ after school.
In this day and age, an intellectual is someone educated beyond his (or her) intelligence.
Despise them? Hardly. I pity them.
Almost as much as I pity any society that gives them status.
Didn’t nishi claim to be a Muslim? How does that jibe with mocking theists for being stupid?
The nishtoon lives in a universe where there is no irony. Only neony and argony.
In her case, mostly the argony of defeat.
Nishi’s a super-secret, ultra-advanced no-Allah type of Muslim.
Basically, she makes shit up as she goes.
Didn’t nishi claim to be a Muslim?
She claims to be a Muslim because it makes Daddy yell.
And that gets her wet.
That’s not Irony, that’s just… stupid.
Maybe it’s just that some people just don’t believe in the gods man creates. It has nothing to do with feelings of egomania or “needing” to surpass in greatness man’s god. When man creates something out of his imagination to explain away the great mysteries of life, it doesn’t take a genius or an egomaniac to think it’s baseless. Unlike with the defenders of god, I’ve never talked to an atheist who was furiously or vitriolically trying to explain his/her not believing in god. The anger in discusssing the myth/reality of god always stems from the irrational side (god believers).
Unlike with the defenders of god, I’ve never talked to an atheist who was furiously or vitriolically trying to explain his/her not believing in god.
Bullshit.
I’ve never talked to an atheist who was furiously or vitriolically trying to explain his/her not believing in god.
I have, the internet is full of them. I’ve never met anyone so angry and bitter, so driven in their desire to prove nothing. Your post is a good example of one of them.
there is no god but allah and muhammed is his prophet.
but i think there is a negative correlation between xian and IQ&g.
oh, and jesus is allah’s prophet too.
we just call him issa.
Apparently nishi realized that she’s supposedly a theist so she can’t just call theists morons. Like I said: not irony, just stupid.