Posted on 11/27/2023 5:13:38 PM PST by Olog-hai
People who voted for Brexit tended to be less clever, new research shows, in findings that also shed light on the appeal of EU populists, such as Dutch politician Geert Wilders.
Some 73% of people in the smartest top 10% of the British population voted to stay in the EU back in 2016, according to a fresh study by the University of Bath in the UK. Just 40% of those at the other end of the spectrum (the least-smart 10%) voted to remain. And even in couples — where people had a similar age, education, income-level, and cultural background — if one partner voted to remain and the other voted to leave, the remain-voter tended to be the cleverer of the two.
“We find that a one standard deviation increase in cognitive ability, all else being equal, increases the likelihood of a remain vote by 9.7%,” the study said.
When the paper came out, on Wednesday (22 November), it caused a small “storm” on social media, one of its authors, Chris Dawson, told EUobserver. “I also got a few emails from people explaining the reasons why they voted [leave] and that they didn’t have low cognitive ability — a few of those, but nothing too bad,” he said. But if anybody felt offended by his research, then they shouldn’t take it personally, he explained. […]
Cognitive ability is also related to wishful thinking — people with lower ability are far more optimistic about the future. They’re more likely to believe in fanciful promises, even if there’s only a tiny chance they could come true,” Dawson said. “They don’t tend to take the options of experts seriously. They’re more likely to mistrust experts,” he added. And “they’re also more attracted to divisive messages, such as right-wing populist views,” he said. …
(Excerpt) Read more at euobserver.com ...
Yes, tell the voters they are dummies, that’s a sure way to win them over and get their support.
The ‘Smartest People in the Room” have also given us $35T in debt, roughly $100k for every man, woman, and child in the US.
“Populism” is just a fascist scare-word for “democracy.”
Because authoritarian neo-feudal/fascism is so much better for the populace.
The most disgusting thing about populism is that it’s so bloody popular.
After all, that’s one reason why Hitlery lost hugely to Donald Trump in 2016, along with her campaign platform, horrible personality, her nepotism, her lying, and sense of entitlement!
Couldn’t be because the supposed “intelligencia” has a legacy of stunning incompetence and abject failure?
Laughable that some clown who writes for some rag called the EU Observer considers himself part of the “intellectual elite” class.
(((YAWN))) The people who wear the “I Go To College” T-shirts are a lot more brainier.
“We find that a one standard deviation increase in cognitive ability, all else being equal, increases the likelihood of a remain vote by 9.7%,” the study said.
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The article is behind a paywall. What is the methodology? Did they give each person in the study an IQ test and the ask them about Brexit? Is there a correlation between a high IQ and a disdain for national sovereignty? If so, then perhaps Chairman Mao knew what he was doing when the Red Guard culled some of the Chinese intellectuals. Of course, the political Left gets a little weak in the knees about criticizing Mao.
“With the advent of AI and deep fakes, we’re increasingly losing our ability to decide what is or isn’t true. There must be punishments for fake news.”IOW, he is on the side of persecuting those who present the truth versus the government narrative.
How’s I ever get my professional degree being this dumb?!
It takes real brilliance to vote Communist. Give all your money to the gummit and it will solve all your problems.
If we're always going to be ruled by a few, then why can't we at least choose to be ruled by popular people rather than greedy, self-serving scum who happened to graduate from Ivy League schools or OxBridge?
Brainiacs from Goldman-Sachs who cycle between their company and Treasury don't seem to be able to balance the US budget. And no one in his right mind would want to be ruled by someone who got a degree in a program with "study" in the name.
The “sophisticates” in London only interact with the educated immigrants (doctors, lawyers) or the servant class immigrants who make the good curry and clean their homes. Being in the EU made travel to Europe simple, and the can buy their way around the inconveniences of Brussels. running their lives.
Totally different experience for the common Brit, watching his culture destroyed by hoards with no respect for British law or history or tradition. It’s not about intelligence, it’s about common sense, and not wanting to be bossed around by European elites.
Thank you for the responsible FReeper action of flagging this article with a barf alert.
You sir, are a FReeper of high honor and deserve to be held up as an example.
Well said.
Fool. It has been the so-called “brainy” voters who have damn near destroyed the EU, and they will complete that destruction if they’re not muzzled like the rabid curs they are.
As I suspected when I read the headline, the 'stupid' are the ones writing the article. They are too stupid to recognize their own biases. They conflate 'smart' with 'educated' and 'misinformed' with 'conservative'. In reality, with todays education system, the most highly educated are almost always the most misinformed. The authors are simply too stupid to notice this.
They are clearly unaware that acquiring a $200,000 student debt doesn't necessarily qualify someone well enough to even sweep the floor at a burger shop, much less write a news article.
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