From the pages of the latest Atlantic, here are some fascinating numbers to ponder:
For every 15-point increase in IQ score above the average, a woman’s likelihood of marrying declines by nearly 60 percent. It isn’t clear, however, whether this is the result of men being intimidated by bright women, or of smart women being less willing to put up with us.
"Every 10 percent increase in the excise tax on beer reduces the gonorrhea rate by 4.7 percent among males aged fifteen to nineteen, and by 4.1 percent among those aged twenty to twenty-four." Yes, folks, those beer goggles have now been statistically proven to work.
Within traditional (i.e, pre-industrial) societies, those that tend to be more violent (as measured by homicide rates) also have a higher percentage of people who are left-handed. "Among the Dioula people of Burkina Faso, for instance, the homicide rate is just 0.013 murders per thousand inhabitants per year, and left-handers make up only 3.4 percent of the population. In contrast, the more warlike Yanomamo of the Venezuelan rain forest have a homicide rate of four per thousand per year, and southpaws compose roughly 23 percent of their population."
Both my husband and I are left handed and we are both well educated...I wonder who should watch out for whom?
I forget where, but I once saw a study that showed that in the majority of marriages, the man usually has a somewhat higher IQ. A smart woman, no matter how "smart", is really out looking for an even smarter man.
Are left handers more violent than right handers or are they just more likely to survive in a violent environment? (perhaps being ’less of a target’ in some way).
What’s the effect of the alcohol consumption on the immune system?
Statistics often show something very different than what is immediately implied by the presenter.