I highly suspect toluene has something to do with it, seeing as how it's a potent neurotoxin and a byproduct of burning fossil fuels.
The cognitive costs of air pollution
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Re: The cognitive costs of air pollution
#22Earlier quoted context omitted.
>IQ tests standardized? IQ tests can't be standardized across cultures. Even something like Raven's Progressive Matrices has a cultural component. https://www.apa.org/monitor/feb03/intelligence Also China has some issues with the way they report scholastic achievement that make their results appear higher than they should. China is very selective about which students take standardized tests that are used for global c…
Seems hilarious to assume they can be standardized within a culture too, whatever a culture may be.
Yeah, the reality is that you'll never be able to get reliable/unadulterated data on something that is both as personally impactful and as loosely defined as "intelligence". Everyone is going to bias toward interpreting the mode of thought that is most similar to their own as the definition of "intelligent".
Very few adults are comfortable with the idea that any substantial group of people are objectively more intelligent than themselves, because admitting that comes uncomfortably close to relinquishing autonomy, at least in contemporary Western understanding that says the more intelligent should rule.
European history throughout the 20th century shows the horrifying, depraved danger in capitulating to a ruling intelligentsia. We should earnestly hope that no group allows their self-interest, protected by native instinct, to be overridden by the despotic, unfeeling ideologies of "intelligent" rulership. That philosophy has shown itself over and over again to be a quick route to starvation, genocide, and widespread desolation.
Nevertheless, IQ is the most general/objective measurement we have, and it seems to be a reasonably good approximation on aggregate.
Re: The cognitive costs of air pollution
#23Earlier quoted context omitted.
>IQ tests standardized? IQ tests can't be standardized across cultures. Even something like Raven's Progressive Matrices has a cultural component. https://www.apa.org/monitor/feb03/intelligence Also China has some issues with the way they report scholastic achievement that make their results appear higher than they should. China is very selective about which students take standardized tests that are used for global c…
All IQ tests are (ought to be) standardized for the target population. The median IQ should be 100, with a standard deviation of 15. If the median IQ is not 100 over the population, the test is flawed.
Intelligence researches don't use normalized IQ when they compare intelligence across target populations or across different times.
They use raw IQ score data.
Re: The cognitive costs of air pollution
#24I thought IQ was not a reliable measure of anything?
Re: The cognitive costs of air pollution
#25I'm confused - is IQ a reliable way to measure intelligence between individuals, or is it a culturally biased measure that is scientifically bankrupt? I guess it depends on the context.
whatever skills IQ tests measure these do correlate (and better than other readily measurable predictors) with various long term successes
what throws most people off is that the skill that IQ test measure is not a just an innate ability but a learned skill that is in demand and often needed for success in that society
Re: The cognitive costs of air pollution
#26Earlier quoted context omitted.
Should I upvote despite that, or wait for somebody to post the original? I'm not sure of HN's norms here.
You can upvote and also email the mods using the Contact link in the footer; they can swap out links easily.
Wasn't the original link already posted under - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21560916 yesterday?
Re: The cognitive costs of air pollution
#27This really bothers me. I live in a VERY polluted place, and unfortunately moving away won't be an option for me for at least half a decade. What can I do to minimise the health effects of such an atmosphere? I'm planning on getting an indoor air filter for my home.
Find one that can filter nano particles.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20191113-the-toxic-killer...
Re: The cognitive costs of air pollution
#28How do you all monitor air quality? I personally have a couple of devices (an Awair and a Flow). They seem to under-report PM2.5 compared to purpleair, airnow, and waqi.
The South Coast (California) Air Quality Management District does some really thorough tests on the quality of the various low-cost sensors: https://www.aqmd.gov/aq-spec/evaluations/summary-pm
Re: The cognitive costs of air pollution
#29If the effect were present, and as large as implied, you’d expect low IQ test results in ultra-polluted Chinese cities such as Shanghai and Beijing. And yet... http://www.city-data.com/forum/world/2348902-china-iq-map-pr...
Large cities tend to concentrate IQ as smart young adults come to seek better fortune. Furthermore Chinese party selection system, which involves standardized tests and relocation of gifted children to better schools in big cities also contributes heavily.
Re: The cognitive costs of air pollution
#30Reading his bullet points, I am not sure why the correlation between daily stock market returns and air quality supports the argument that air pollution reduces IQ.