Who's Dumber?

[Solitary]

[youtube:3bt9w6q3]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZqaeusdMTk[/youtube:3bt9w6q3]



Problem is, NONE OF THE STUDIES TEST TO SEE IF THE PEOPLE ARE DUMBER OR NOT!
They say that religious people are HAPPIER, or IN JAIL LESS (This is not even true!), or perhaps LIVE LONGER. Who is they? Scientists?

Now, is living longer, being happier, or being in jail less the same thing as being smarter?

About halfway through the video, they switch from 'which is smarter?' to 'which is better?' and they didn't catch their own mistake.

This is what happens when scientist have a poor understanding of LOGICAL EQUIVALENTS. Take a philo class, scientists!

Here's how I would handle it:
Determine the religious person's ability to determine what is real or not. That will tell you how dumb they are.

Then give them some math problems and ask them a whole bunch of questions to see how much they know.

Do the same for a bunch of nonbelievers.  
Solitary

[AtheTurk]

believing a religion is not relevant to being smart and logical, but emotional and psychological.

of course there must some noticeable educational level. i'm not talking about studying university or else.

one should have mentality of searhing and questioning. and one must not swallow religions's pocket program as a pill.

otherwise how it can be believable that an invisible man are watcing us all the time : )

[Solitary]

I think they are not being logical if they believe in real magic and prayers are answered. But you are correct that they are emotional and irrational, and that it has nothing to do with how much knowledge they have. However, that is assuming that having a lot of knowledge makes one more intelligent because that is what most people think it is. There are educated idiots out there in Woo Woo  Land. Solitary

[AtheTurk]

learning much without questioning and commenting in rational way makes you just walking library.

it is worthy of nothing.

there are a lot of that kind of person. they can't criticize what they learns, juse memorize knowledges.

a school's mission is firstly teaching critical thinking.

[mykcob4]

The studies quoted by the video were not conclussive and very isolated. Every study I have read concludes that religion is a substitute for something sought by the individual. For example religion is an addiction or at least a habit. I would say a bad habit, but nonetheless.
As far as dumber? Well it is a given that the religious FOLLOW a doctrine(not a discipline) and therefor as a habit don't think or decide for themselves. As an indicator that means that they are either LAZY or indeed DUMBER. I would venture to guess both. Since the religious are more likely to be conservative that means that they are by definition selfserving, which is a contridiction because for the vast majority voting conservative means voting AGAINST ones own interest. Yes many Liberals vote against their own interest but it isn't the same. Liberals vote against their own interest to benefit society. Conservatives vote against their own interest because they have been scammed and brainwashed, thus they are dumber.
Lets look at an A typical evangelical to see what I mean:
Religious person attends a megachurch and is told that god wants them to support faith based charities and to vote to make sure that the government financially supports faith based charities. They are also instructed that secular schools are bad and they should not spend one tax dollar to support said schools.
The secular public schools can and do utilize the tax dollars to properly educate the most people possible at the least expensive way. The religious schools only educate a relative very few and the religiously indoctrinate those students to the political advantage of the churches and the conservatives. They teach revisionist history and pseudo-science instead of real history(facts) and real science (truth). Thus disenfranchising most of the population because they are poor and brainwashing the remainder. This is a clear example of how the religious are indeed dumber. The general population is dumbed down and innovation is lost because noone is properly educated.

[Solitary]

learning much without questioning and commenting in rational way makes you just walking library.

it is worthy of nothing.

there are a lot of that kind of person. they can't criticize what they learns, juse memorize knowledges.

a school's mission is firstly teaching critical thinking.

So true! In other countries logic is taught and how to think correctly, but in the United States it is seldom taught accept in Catholic schools which is based on logic that has been discredited by modern logicians. Solitary

[Colanth]

believing a religion is not relevant to being smart and logical, but emotional and psychological.

It also has to do with intelligence.  The highly intelligent don't tend to fall for religious claims.  It's not because they're less emotional, it's because they're more intelligent.

[Minimalist]

I don't know about that.  I've never met a true believer that I thought was really smart.

[Solitary]

I don't know about that.  I've never met a true believer that I thought was really smart.

I have a friend that is an engineering physicist and a mathematical wizard that believes because it makes him feel good. However, I agree with you.  :-$  Solitary