Cognitive Software Identifies America's Brainiest Cities 143
Hugh Pickens writes "We are often told that the smartest cities and nations do the best and economists typically measure smart cities by education level, calculating the cities or metros with the largest percentage of college grads or the largest shares of adults with advanced degrees. Now Richard Florida writes that a new metric developed by Lumos Labs based on their cognitive training and tracking software Lumosity seeks to track "brain performance" or cognitive capacity of cities in a more direct way by measuring the cognitive performance of more than one million users in the United States who use their games against their location using IP geolocation software. Lumosity's website offers forty games designed to sharpen a wide range of cognitive skills. Individual scores were recorded in five key cognitive areas: memory, processing speed, flexibility, attention, and problem solving.The data was normalized into a basic brain performance index controlling for age and gender. The results are shown on a map from Zara Matheson of the Martin Prosperity Institute that shows the brainy metro index across US metro areas with the top five brainy clusters in Charlottesville Virginia, Lafayette Indiana, Anchorage Alaska, Madison Wisconsin, and the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose area. The result is not driven principally by college students, according to Daniel Sternberg, the Lumosity data scientist who developed the metro brain performance measure. 'Since our analysis controlled for age, the reason they score well is not simply that they have a lot of young people,' says Sternberg. 'Instead, our analysis seems to show that users living in university communities tend to perform better than users of the same age in other locations.'"
Self Selected groups (Score:5, Insightful)
'Since our analysis controlled for age, the reason they score well is not simply that they have a lot of young people,' says Sternberg. 'Instead, our analysis seems to show that users living in university communities tend to perform better than users of the same age in other locations.'"
Since the groups were self selected, ie. they decided to participate, maybe people living in college towns have more time or are more interested in playing.
Re:Self Selected groups (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Self Selected groups (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Self Selected groups (Score:5, Informative)
And those who bother to sign up. You don't have to sign up for some games but in my short time there I got a fair number of "sign up" prompts.
Whereas this site doesn't require you to sign up: http://cognitivefun.net/ [cognitivefun.net]
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Anyway, I progressed my 'brain index' quite a bit in certain tasks, but other tasks I felt like I hit a wall and couldn't progress anymore. It wasn't clear to me what I could do to advance and I didn't want to keep paying 15 bucks a month to not progress.
One task that I found easy was the "is this face the same as the last face you saw?" where I scored higher than say 75%
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Same as before is easier since you just compare with the immediate memory - can use the "did stuff change" "circuits" in your brain.
But when the task advanced to "is this face the same as the one you saw _two_ people ago" I found it quite challenging for some reason.
That's a variation on the n-back test. And probably tougher since it involves faces (which are more complex) and assuming the number of different faces you might get is big. It's more to do with "working memory" than math.
The cognitive.net site has some n-back tests too which you can try - some are simpler. It takes a while for your brain to rewire itself so it can remember "2
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ps - I'm sure you mean cognitive
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I'm not much interested in video games, but there's definite truth in what you say. Adoption of internet services was very high here, after Mr. Gore invented it.
There's a strong shift in activities between winter and summer, though some of us still insist on getting outdoors even when the weather turns cold. (I'm fortunate, in that I live 1/2 mile from a cross-country ski area.)
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Education does not mean intelligence, and intelligence does not mean useful. Often they do go together, but often they do not...
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Maybe the author of the study could test its theroy? Maybe the author could transplant itself to some populated region of the planet like maybe Prairie Chapel Ranch? Afterwards, maybe a report presented on Fox News?
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Yeah! That "International Studies" graduate at Starbucks is brilliant! (And he makes a mean Latte!)
He knows enough to realize that prompt, accurate, and courteous service retains customers. He has enough interest and capability to learn and understand basic brewing science. He knows enough to realize that in when he's having a shitty day, it's his job to hide that and put on a fake smile for the customer. Also, chances are good that he can take orders in a different language.
Did he need a 4 year degree for
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Thanks for the greengrocer's apostrophe, cracker!
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He's a spic....you insensitive clod
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This is the group of "smart" people with too much time on their hands.
The smart, employed, people are too busy with their lives to play on-line games.
Re:Self Selected groups (Score:5, Insightful)
This is the group of "smart" people with too much time on their hands.
The smart, employed, people are too busy with their lives to play on-line games.
I'd think that one marker for being smart would be having spare time.
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Not sure if you are being sarcastic- being busy might mean practicing piano or planting a garden. The kind of self selection mentioned here sounds something like Mensa stroking....
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Mod parent up.
The truly smart people marry raw brain power and personal passion together -- those people have more good ideas than can be pursued in a hundred lifetimes. They get better and better at everything by doing, not dicking around with "training" software.
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Not having a job also is a marker for having a lot of spare time.
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And working two minimum wage jobs to make ends meet means you don't have a lot of time - is that a sign of smarts?
And being a workaholic who doesn't have time to enjoy life doesn't sound too smart either, no matter how much you make. Perhaps especially if you work more than you need to make more than you need. Even if you win the rat race, you're still a rat.
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If you were that smart, why wouldn't you spend your time playing fun, interesting and challenging games instead of playing games to feel better about yourself?
Learning value, perhaps?
Smart people understand their own value and aren't drawn by marketing guff to prove it.
Why do you try to ascribe people a motive?
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Bah, when I can do in an hour when takes a normal person 8, and bill 4, its gravy.
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Since the groups were self selected, ie. they decided to participate, maybe people living in college towns have more time or are more interested in playing.
I'm assuming they took averages, so that explanation doesn't work. You'd have to explain why the sample of "people who had spare time to play" skewed smart.
If that's not clear enough, an average shouldn't be thrown off by the number of people playing, assuming that the sample size is large enough to begin with. If I have 1,000 people scoring an average score of 50 or 1,000,000 people scoring an average score of 50, the average score is the same. So if you wanted to draw out the fact that it was self-sel
Re:Self Selected groups (Score:4, Informative)
Yes, that and the fact that the underlying research supporting this entire company is weak at best:
http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/06/05/the-new-snake-oil-brain-training-brain-fitness/ [psychcentral.com]
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Bloomington is Brain city (Score:3)
None of you have anything on Bloomington, Indiana, where we literally have 22 large brains on display around the city:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IAb0ZaI-a0 [youtube.com]
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The population of a college town is going to be skewed, perhaps significantly in small towns, by both the customers (students) and employees of the college. It's not an issue of age, it's an issue of a certain kind of population temporarily or permanently relocating to the community.
Re:Huh? (Score:5, Funny)
What does cognitive mean?
Just think about it...
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I wish I could mod you up.
Uni students tend to stick around (Score:5, Insightful)
False Assumption (Score:5, Insightful)
And all of this based on the false assumption that Lumosity's pseudoscience click-on-the-shiny-colors games are any good at measuring "brain performance".
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Like crossword puzzles? What do you base your comment on?
Personally, I find their map correlates well with low effort thinkers: http://www.freakonomics.com/2012/04/09/the-thinking-liberal/ [freakonomics.com]
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The best and the brightest (Score:2)
I love the fact that there is just one yellow area on the whole map. Care to guess where it's at?
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Southwest, rural Georgia.
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Hard to tell without even state border outlines. I'm not too bad at estimating from memory but what's with the bits down in the south east? Is that Mexico City or, like some maps of the USA, Hawaii or Alaska is munged into that map space??
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Um.... you might want to adjust the brightness/contrast of your display.
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The results disprove the study (Score:1, Troll)
"Charlottesville VA, Lafayette IN, Anchorage AK, Madison WI, and the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose"??? Yes maybe SF/Oakland but not Charlottesville which is redneck territory. Or Anchorage.
The place with the highest concentration of iPhones and iPads is located between Baltimore and D.C. That's where I would expect to find the most intelligent people. Also Silicon Valley CA and Seattle WA.
Re:The results disprove the study (Score:4, Insightful)
The place with the highest concentration of iPhones and iPads is located between Baltimore and D.C. That's where I would expect to find the most intelligent people.
You mean douchiest right?
Re:The results disprove the study (Score:5, Funny)
The place with the highest concentration of iPhones and iPads is located between Baltimore and D.C. That's where I would expect to find the most intelligent people.
You mean douchiest right?
Douche'
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The place with the highest concentration of iPhones and iPads is located between Baltimore and D.C. That's where I would expect to find the most intelligent people.
Wow. Just wow. The leap it took to correlate Apple product ownership with intelligence was amazing. I congratulate you, that was awesome.
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The place with the highest concentration of iPhones and iPads is located between Baltimore and D.C. That's where I would expect to find the most intelligent people.
Wow. Just wow. The leap it took to correlate Apple product ownership with intelligence was amazing. I congratulate you, that was awesome.
Awesomely correct, here's proof [redapes.org].
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And he would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you and your two cents.
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huh. Do location and lifestyle define intelligence? These factors may influence, but they are not deciding factors.
. . .And being a software or silicon center doesn't necessarily constitute a collection of brainpower. Madison, for example, is a major biotech center. . . .and your notion of "rednecks" being intellectually inferior surprises me, too. I probably, by your definition, qualify as a redneck: I drive a pickup, own several guns, live well out of town, collect firewood to heat my home during th
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Anchorage, by the way, has an unusual concentration of engineers, as well as a sizable university.
Huntsville, AL has the highest PhD's per capita in the United States. Couldn't tell that by looking at this simplistic map of course, which serves no other purpose than to glorify the egos of Yankees who already know they're superior to us common salt of the earth country folk.
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The results disprove the study ... not Charlottesville which is redneck territory. Or Anchorage.
No, the results disprove your stereotyped preconceptions of what people are like.
smartest people live in the north (Score:1)
just like in europe. why do smart people always decide to live in the cold north?
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Because the bugs all die once a year instead of growing to the size of avacados.
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Charlottesville isn't North unless you're from Florida. It's firmly in the South. It is sometimes called the Mid-Atlantic region, but it's not North.
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Cause the stupid people die more often in cold weather.
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just like in europe. why do smart people always decide to live in the cold north?
A powerful CPU requires good cooling, duh.
How to Lie with Maps (Score:1)
One of my favorite books and highly recommended:
How to Lie with Maps
http://www.amazon.com/How-Lie-Maps-2nd-Edition/dp/0226534219 [amazon.com]
Well duh, it's college. (Score:3, Insightful)
users living in university communities tend to perform better than users of the same age in other locations.
Ok, that makes sense. You know, COLLEGE.
The result is not driven principally by college students,
Uh...... wut?
'Since our analysis controlled for age, the reason they score well is not simply that they have a lot of young people,'
uh huh. So they discovered that smart people go to college?
I'm sorry, could someone explain to me how they come to the conclusion that their results aren't driven by college students?
"Controlled for age" doesn't mean much to me, but sure, ok, it takes into account the age discrepancy. But... you know, it doesn't take into account that THEY'RE GOING INTO HIGHER EDUCATION. I really don't see how this isn't driven by college students.
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Stop the presses! (Score:1)
Wait, you're telling me that a study designed to measure "braininess" using Internet games shows that affluent areas with readily available broadband fare better than those that don't? What a brilliant insight!
Seriously though, researchers (of all types) need to revisit entry level statistics where "sample bias" and related basic concepts are introduced. Show me a study like this that overlays availability of Internet services, population density, and median salary, instead of one that only compensates for
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And what makes you ASSume that the "areas in question" don't have Internet coverage? Some of the highest broadband speeds around are to be found in the South. Always has been that way. Before that I had a 56k dialup connection that was rock solid with low BER, way out in the sticks in Alabama, 20 miles out of town in God's country. Please stop ASSuming.
IP Geolocation is horribly wrong at times (Score:3, Insightful)
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Not to mention that if these were smartphone geolocations, unless they were directly querying the phone and not relying on their ip-geolocation, the results were further skewed as a phones ip address is a horrible representation of their actual location. Disregarding the fact that a phone can expose a different IP address to the server within a few minutes, phones suffer from the same problems you described, where their true location is obscured because of how they are assigned their ip addresses.
I Think This Study Lacked Just One Thing (Score:3)
Don't get excited (Score:2)
Before anyone gets to too proud or offended, notice that the whole scale only ranges from 98 to 102. That's not much of a difference, is it? Even if we ignore all the problems with method, the results point to a surprising degree of uniformity, don't they?
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Or it shows that their self selected dataset is relatively uniform. SAT scores by state, for example, have a lot more variance.
geolocation...really? (Score:2)
Really?!?! (Score:2)
Is Richard Florida related to Robert California? (Score:2)
I call shenanigans.
Political map (Score:2)
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Just saying what? That you're an idiot who still believes in the Republican/Democrat false dichotomy?
Off the charts! (Score:1)
My area is completely white. That means I'm off the chart, right guys? Guys?
I guess the next thing to figure out is which way off the chart I am...
Raleigh-Durham-RTP bitches (Score:2)
We be smarterest!
What is Smart? (Score:2)
If not for all the "dumb" people, most of the "smart" people would be standing in their own shit because they couldn't fix the plumbing and would be scratching for nuts and berries in the fields because they have no clue how to raise and harvest crops or raise and slaughter livestock, let alone hunt for food. They'd be walking because they have no ability to work on their vehicles, or run a refinery, or operate a drilling rig. And even if they did, they probably can't weld for shit...all jobs that are done
Certainly not here. (Score:2)
Joliet Illinois would never be on this list. The demographic indicator I use is the ( tooth / tattoo ) ratio. Normally Joliet has an embarrassingly low value, except where there is a NASCAR race in town. Then, the ( tooth / tattoo ) ratio slides down into the extreme low single digits.
Scoring (Score:2)
Vanishing Effect (Score:1)
"our analysis seems to show that users living in university communities tend to perform better than users of the same age in other locations.'"
I'll bet that effect will vanish in the future. People used to gravitate to the university towns for resources that are now available no matter where you live. We live way the heck out in the countryside and can get the same intellectual resources via the Internet that we used to have to go to the university towns to get.
New Mexico? (Score:2)
Their study is a cool idea, but it looks to me like they made a hash of it. It's simply a way of locating college towns.
How did the southern half of New Mexico/Arizona get designated a single area? That segment appears to contain Phoenix. OK, I can see 500 people there playing games, but how did they expand the metro area to include half of New Mexico? I wonder if it's just the IP space of a single ISP.
BTW, that yellow area in Georgia is probably Fort Benning - an area filled with people who have free time
Turn the study up to 11 (Score:3)
That explains why Boston isn't on the list. It's not much of a college town.
What about? (Score:2)
I think the brainiest city is the one (Score:1)
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the Southern US has been a political and intellectual dead weight drag on this country since its founding
When was the Southern US "founded" anyway? Seems like many of those states were in the original 13.
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When was the Southern US "founded" anyway? Seems like many of those states were in the original 13.
Really only 3 or 4 were in the group of original colonies. Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina are definitely considered southern. Virginia is usually considered to be part of the southern U.S., but it isn't quite the "deep south" that most people associate with being in the southern U.S. I don't think anyone considers Maryland and Delaware part of the southern U.S.
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I'm also missing blobs up in the north that I happen to know are full of ignorant shits. This map is a fucking joke. Nothing more than a way for assholes from "anywhere other than the South" to assert their superiority over "Southerners."
I think they're just pissed because this good ole boy from Alabama is up in Michigan fucking all their "smart" women.
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Can we build a wall?
Yes. But we're going to have to hire Mexicans to do it.
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I agree. Let's build a wall to keep the Yankees out. You can keep your welfare states and your industrialized shitholes with all your rules and regulations and red tape; we'll keep on farm, fishing, enjoying God's country, and just generally being simple folk, without assholes from other parts of the country moving in to tell us how we should run the place.
dude (Score:2)
just look at the map linked in the story above
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Look at yourself. It's a crock of shit. Way to prove the GP's point through your blind ignorance.
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Yeah, and notice how they cut out large swaths of rural Michigan too? Alabama and Michigan are the only two states I really scrutized before tossing this map aside as the garbage as it is, since those are the ones I'm most familiar with.
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Madison wanted to put in a streetcar. I imagine walker shit all over that though. That city must be brutally hostile to him.
I wouldnt be surprised if he thought about moving the capital or something.
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Iowa City is home to the University of Iowa, not Cedar Rapids. Rockwell Collins is located in Cedar Rapids, which probably explains the concentration of smart people.