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Historical figures have moved to cities in the same way for centuries

news.nationalgeographic.com

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Re: Historical figures have moved to cities in the same way for centuries

#11

Post by ams6110 »

throwaway1982 wrote: post #8

Of interest to me is if this trend will or even is still continuing now that we don't rely on the slow communication and transportation methods of the past. I'm currently working for a company slightly past "startup stage" with a bunch of smart people in as rural a location as you can get in the North East and we constantly fly out and teleconference with big partners and clients in San Francisco without much or any…

I think it will continue. There are still significant economic efficiencies in high population densities. Remote video conferences only address a very small slice of those.

Re: Historical figures have moved to cities in the same way for centuries

#12

Post by Swizec »

throwaway1982 wrote: post #8

Of interest to me is if this trend will or even is still continuing now that we don't rely on the slow communication and transportation methods of the past. I'm currently working for a company slightly past "startup stage" with a bunch of smart people in as rural a location as you can get in the North East and we constantly fly out and teleconference with big partners and clients in San Francisco without much or any…

I'm no historical figure, but I can't feel productive in a location where I can't just randomly decide one night that I've had it with work, want to throw my laptop out hte window, and should just go out for a pint. So you get up, walk outside, and voila, full bars on any random night of the week.

Sometimes you run into people from your field, sometimes from other fields, sometimes nobody at all. But it's a good way to recharge your brain, increase productivity, and merge disparate ideas.

Your mileage may vary, but I really really need that.

Re: Historical figures have moved to cities in the same way for centuries

#13

Post by nhebb »

twic wrote: post #10
seszett wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Paris has height restrictions, which doesn't seem to have deterred artists.

Maybe that's what attracted Napoleon.

Napoleon actually wasn't that short: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_depictions_of_Napoleon...

Re: Historical figures have moved to cities in the same way for centuries

#16

Post by micro_cam »

The headline (not the hn title which is the subtitle of the article) is really over the top.

The conclusion that "the brainy" have moved to cities at any different rate then the general populous is in no way supported by the source paper. In fact it states explicitly that historical figures are just the only people we have good data for and implies they represent patterns in the population as a whole.

Re: Historical figures have moved to cities in the same way for centuries

#17

Post by micro_cam »

pigeons wrote: post #6

really a lot of pro-city living propoganda on HN. I've just accepted its not the mountainsteader demographic.

Haven't heard that term before but I live in a farm house at the base of a wilderness range in the northern rockies if that counts.

Re: Historical figures have moved to cities in the same way for centuries

#18

Post by XaspR8d »

Swizec wrote: post #12
throwaway1982 wrote: post #8

Of interest to me is if this trend will or even is still continuing now that we don't rely on the slow communication and transportation methods of the past. I'm currently working for a company slightly past "startup stage" with a bunch of smart people in as rural a location as you can get in the North East and we constantly fly out and teleconference with big partners and clients in San Francisco without much or any…

I'm no historical figure, but I can't feel productive in a location where I can't just randomly decide one night that I've had it with work, want to throw my laptop out hte window, and should just go out for a pint. So you get up, walk outside, and voila, full bars on any random night of the week. Sometimes you run into people from your field, sometimes from other fields, sometimes nobody at all. But it's a good way…

I appreciate the way you worded it, and I agree 100% for myself. I'm hardly a strong extrovert, but something about the assurance of being able to go and find activity at any time really makes me less stressed and more effective at working.

But I accept that this may not be a helpful environment for everyone. I know I have to balance this need with the needs of my SO, who feels similarly about having forests and lakes nearby (which certainly soothe me, but don't rank as high as having humans about).

Re: Historical figures have moved to cities in the same way for centuries

#20

Post by chatmasta »

About a month ago, a study came to the same conclusion about modern Americans. That is, Americans born in rural areas who move to urban centers have higher cognitive ability on average than their counterparts who stay put.

Overview Article: http://www.citylab.com/work/2014/07/the-smartest-people-move...

Paper (paid gateway, can't find free): http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160289614...

Anecdotally, from my own experience this isn't surprising at all. I grew up in a small town, and wanted to move to a big city since I was about ten years old. I just got bored in that small town. Seeing the same < 100 people every day, going to the same places... It's simply not as stimulating. When I went to boarding school, I found that many of my peers from similar backgrounds felt the same. Eight years later, almost all of us are living in a big city. Maybe this will change as we begin to have families, but it does seem that we all had an instinctive desire toward the draw of big cities.

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