Scientific study finds that liberals are superior :P

[Lalanae]

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas ... _to_party/

Partial quote, but the entire article is a good read:

"...Conservatives are more easily startled by threats, and when performing a habitual task they have more difficulty switching to a new response. Liberals, on the other hand, react less vigorously to threatening stimuli, and in performing a habitual task they are quicker to provide a new response...."

Conservatives are reactionary and slow adapting to change? Naw, it can't be!

[Tyek]

If you put that article on the Onion, people would be laughing. Doesn't seem like very good science to me.

[Xyun]

Doesn't "seem" like good science to you? Could you point out which part of the data or the collection of data you disagree with or think was inaccurately or inadequately collected or are you just blowing smoke out of your ass because you simply don't like the results?

Political orientations such as liberalism and conservatism have a significant genetic component.

That statement is what I took away from that article, which is a completely plausible theory. But as we all know, truth has a liberal bias.

[Winnow]

A scientific study isn't needed to demonstrate that liberals are full of themselves!

[Kilmoll the Sexy]

oh this is priceless......aren't you the same buffoons who claimed the study showing liberals were much more likely to be unhappy and crazy was bullshit?

[miir]

oh this is priceless......aren't you the same buffoons who claimed the study showing liberals were much more likely to be unhappy and crazy was bullshit?

Is that another one of those things that you think actually happened but really only happened in your mind?

[Tyek]

Doesn't "seem" like good science to you? Could you point out which part of the data or the collection of data you disagree with or think was inaccurately or inadequately collected or are you just blowing smoke out of your ass because you simply don't like the results?

Political orientations such as liberalism and conservatism have a significant genetic component.

That statement is what I took away from that article, which is a completely plausible theory. But as we all know, truth has a liberal bias.

Why would I care what the results meant? I am not liberal or conservative by any measure. I have issues where I lean towards the liberal side, and issues where I lean on the conservative side.

As for the article, I would not dispute there may be actual differences, but how their upbringing affects those changes would be very important. If you take 2 kids and move them into households with opposing viewpoints, chances are they would come out with opposing viewpoints.

The way a person is brought up would most definitely trigger emotional responses in certain situations and since I am not a scientist, I would not know if that changed the makeup of the brain over time.

So if that is blowing smoke out of my ass then cool, consider it blown. I don't care one way or the other and do not identify with any particular "liberal" or conservative viewpoint. I have been bombarded by stupidity over prop 8, I am considered a liberal for supporting that, but I also voted against Prop 7 which is a financially disasterous Solar Energy plan which would label me as conservative I guess.

So is it only people at the polar opposites of the political spectrum that have differences in there brain? Again I am not arguing that there may be differences, in fact I can see how it is true. I can also appreciate the results. I think conservatives tend to be more faith based people who are less likely to change their opinions even in the face of obvious facts. Whether that occurs in childhood, or due to brain patterns we are born with is still being found out, but I think this is the early stages of this science and to claim that these results are the final results would be naive. Frankly if the results showed the opposite to be true I can guarantee a number of people here would be decrying the results.

[*~*stragi*~*]

liberals are annoying whiny jerks and conservatives are retarded selfish assholes i just did some science right there close thread

[Tyek]

I agree with Stragi

[Zaelath]

So is it only people at the polar opposites of the political spectrum that have differences in there brain? Again I am not arguing that there may be differences, in fact I can see how it is true. I can also appreciate the results. I think conservatives tend to be more faith based people who are less likely to change their opinions even in the face of obvious facts. Whether that occurs in childhood, or due to brain patterns we are born with is still being found out, but I think this is the early stages of this science and to claim that these results are the final results would be naive. Frankly if the results showed the opposite to be true I can guarantee a number of people here would be decrying the results.

Well yes, because it would fly in the fact of visible evidence.

If you want to know who can't judge risk, gets startled easily, and has the same emotional response to all threats, it's pretty blatant from the sample on this board which side of the political spectrum they fall on.

e.g.

Cause of death / Chance of Occurance / Response

Fatal Car Accidents / Common / Fuck you nazis that want me to wear a seatbelt/helmet! <insert blather about personal responsibility>
Terrorism / Very very low / OMG, here, take away all rights to trial and tap my phone!! <insert blather about the greater good>

Which side pushes those views? Honestly.