Could the books be making you dumb?
September 1, 2008 10:35 am What to Read, linksCould there be an association between books you read and your intelligence. Virgil Griffith has tested the theory by comparing favourite books listed on Facebook with average SAT scores. This is a fun list, but obviously a bit pseudoscience.
But if we suspend belief for a little bit, to become smarter, we should be reading Lolita, 100 years of solitude, Freakonomics and Crime and Punishment. And it would be better to avoid Zane, The Color Purple, Fahrenheit 451 and even the Bible.
Related posts:
- 47 most recommended books of 2008
- Books about books refresh your appetite for reading
- Do you read books or blogs?
- Audio books killed the radio star
- Five ways to save the world by reading books
September 22nd, 2008 at 12:27 am
Am happy to be “stupid” and read the Bible. I notice that Dan Brown and Jodi Picoult books are associated with “mid range”. And apparently the “Holy Bible” is associated with a lower SAT score than the regular old “Bible”. Hehe.
September 22nd, 2008 at 10:45 am
@dragonfly: Yes. I found the Bible one quite funny.
I also found it intersting that romance novels were spread out. I am a bit of a snob, and I know it is totally illogical. But it would have confirmed my secret prejudices if they had been smudged up to the left. (Which is not to say I don’t read them..)