Those IQ Points Might Be Falling Out In The Couch Cushions
Sometimes idiots identify themselves.
Researchers at The Intelligence Institute, a conservative non-profit group, tested 5,000 people came up the certified fact that Fox News viewers have an IQ that is 20 points lower than the U.S. National average.
The national average is IQ is 100. Fox News viewers have an IQ of 80.
The researchers said that an IQ of 80 is well above the score of 70, which is where psychiatrists diagnose mental retardation. P. Nichols says an IQ of 80 will not limit anyone’s ability to lead happy, fulfilling lives.
Uh, apparently not. These are not happy, fulfilled people. In any way, shape or form. Luckily for them, most of them are not smart enough to know that. Unlucky for us, they get elected to congress more than average.
The study did not conclude if Fox News contributed to lowering IQ or if it attracts less intelligent humans.
So, the question is this: Who’s tinkering with whose thinking mechanism? Chicken. Egg. Chicken. Egg. Chic… There’s something else to worry about.
You know, this is surprising to me. I would have bet my pink boots on at least 35 points less.
Thanks to Lisa for the heads up.
I found this out YEARS ago……just stopping on that network while “channel surfing” made me say to myself….”what kind of IDIOTS watch this crap, or believe it????”
Now I know……..
1Judi, my question is, “What kind of IDIOTS present this crap?” Is it dumb to dumber or dumber to dumb? Gotta be one or the other.
2Fox News runs an annual “War on Christmas” segment throughout the Christmas season. I always thought it was because they understood their viewers were too old to believe in Santa Claus, but not too smart to realize a War on Christmas was equally imaginary. I mean, can you drive down a street in America and not see thousands of holiday decorations?
3It looks like this study is hoax. I can’t (and it looks like lots of others can’t) find the original research. If you keep clicking for more information on the suggested links, you’re led to a different study about Fox news. That other study does provide evidence that Fox viewers are less informed, but it doesn’t mention anything about IQ.
4Fake study but accurate.
5Lopaka – are you here just to ruin everybody fun? WhitesCreek is a wise man. Follow his lead.
6One wouldn’t have to spend the time and effort on research to know the average IQ of Fox viewers. Just talk with a few of them.
7While the story on Yahoo News may be a hoax, there is a link near the bottom that gets you to the one we all know and love:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/23/fox-news-less-informed-new-study_n_1538914.html
Having spent several years working at SCIENCE, I became attuned to studies mentioned by media outlets. Like, where was this published? A reputable peer-reviewed journal? Nowhere? Or, worse, a vanity press (yes, they exist for research)?
It will be interesting, to say the least, how this story turns out. I’m sure the folks at Faux Nooz are not happy. And, we get to have our suspicions confirmed. Win-win.
8Now that ain’t fair. Lots of folks watch Fox News because they don’t have any other TV channel where they live. Personally I’d check the news on the internet. Actually that’s what I do.
9Looks like a fake study, but reminds me of the political cartoon of a couple watching Fox News, with admiring photos of several of our favorite rightwingers on the wall, when a bunch of zombies burst in crying, “BRAAAINS… BRAAAI– Oh, crap.”
10Sounds like Natural Selection at work in the Fox enviroscape.
11It is a fake. While Fox News viewers probably have a little less intelligence than the average, an IQ of 80 is way below average.
What is real is the quizes in which PEW asks 1000 Americans general knowledge questions about politics and current events. Republicans always seem to beat Democrats in these.
12Any IQ from 80-90 is considered “dull” while 70-80 is considered “borderline deficiency.” Below that are varying gradations of retardation, (mild to profound) which political correctness has used to replace the old descending scale of Moron -> Imbecile -> Idiot -> FOX viewer.
I’d be willing to bet cash American money that a true study would show them to be AT LEAST a standard deviation below normal (more deviant than standard) but in the end, what purpose do all these measurements serve, anyway?
I know they’re dumb, you know they’re dumb. The rest of the world knows that today’s GOTP is proudly, profoundly willfully, deeply, sincerely, aggressively – even arrogantly – stupid. They’re so dumb, they don’t know it. When it’s pointed out to them, they don’t care.
They’ve abdicated rational thought in favor of a pre-programmed set of knee-jerk responses, promulgated by the people who can walk AND chew gum while displaying a low-grade form of cunning. This is what passes for the intelligentsia on the right.
I say we let ’em stew in their own juices, live in their own bubble, and keep doing what we’re doing: reaching out to the under-represented minorities until we Fibonacci our way to intelligent hegemony.
13Worse, Chips – they think that intelligence is BADDDDDD. Worst thing they can think to call somebody is ‘an intellectual’.
Small wonder they’ve gotten to this point today. And there’ll be farther to go. (I know – how could there be? But there is.)
14While it sounds so true . . .
15http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/hoaxes/foxnews.asp
I’m bettin it started out as a real study, but when their IQs failed to register, they just dumped the whole idea.
16You can’t prove this isn’t a true study because you can’t prove a negative. However, there is a declining probability this is a real study.
If it peaked your interest you can find many graphs of who watches what at http://www.people-press.org/2012/09/27/section-4-demographics-and-political-views-of-news-audiences/ . Some of these graphs are very surprising.
17daChipster ~ Sounds like “Faux pearls before swine” to me, but a sequence of “Fibonacci pearls” would string together nicely.
18Darrel ~ Thanks for the Pew graphs. You are right about interesting, they are very interesting. The under-40 age group is what makes me feel good about the future of our country!
19Well according to this the study was faked by moderate Republicans to make the Tea Party look bad, which is weird because does that mean only Tea Partiers watch Fox News? R
http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2012/12/fake-fox-news-survey-believable-results-151535.html
20Maybe it would help them if the program guide had it listed correctly: Fox News is a great comedy channel, for news go to Comedy Central.
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