Sure, listening to one piece before taking a standardized test doesn't help, but I would wager that truly appreciating Mozart, and certainly playing an instrument of any sort, does.
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Listening to Mozart does not make you smart
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Re: Listening to Mozart does not make you smart
#32Sure, listening to one piece before taking a standardized test doesn't help, but I would wager that truly appreciating Mozart, and certainly playing an instrument of any sort, does.
It's probably not enough to play an instrument. Being passionate about and engaged in music to the extent that one analyses the experience and actively experiments -- that level of engagement might help. I know plenty of musicians whose approach to playing an actual instrument isn't much deeper than playing Guitar Hero.
I do recall at least one study that said that high school students who take music do better academically. Could have been some serious selection bias in that study though.
Re: Listening to Mozart does not make you smart
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
Don't forget "Atlas Shrugged". I hear that one mentioned at least twice a day by patrons of my local Starbuck's, so I know it must be deep . (-:
If that doesn't work I'm just going to learn some French words and randomly sprinkle them throughout my conversations. Merci. Baguette. Champagne. [1] [1] See? I sound erudite already.
You wouldn't believe how some French words get bastardized by common usage by speakers of other languages :)
The current word being destroyed in Argentina and Uruguay: "chapeau"
(but you wouldn't recognize it when spoken by one of my countrymen)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapeau
"Chapeau! is often used as a generic expression of approval and appreciation in France and other parts of Europe : as a sign of admiration or respect, one shall indeed remove his hat"