eclecticism

May 6th, 2004 |

Here’s a fun chart: States ranked by average IQ and how they voted in 2000.

Update: I’m getting a ton of hits on this entry by people searching for similar data for the 2004 elections. Well, you’re in luck: State Votes by IQ 2004! Though, really, you’d be wise to scroll down and read through the comments on this thread — since the whole thing was basically a hoax to begin with. Still, have fun!

	State	Avg. IQ	2000
1	Connecticut	113	Gore
2	Massachusetts	111	Gore
3	New Jersey	111	Gore
4	New York	109	Gore
5	Rhode Island	107	Gore
6	Hawaii	106	Gore
7	Maryland	105	Gore
8	New Hampshire	105	Bush
9	Illinois	104	Gore
10	Delaware	103	Gore
11	Minnesota	102	Gore
12	Vermont	102	Gore
13	Washington	102	Gore
14	California	101	Gore
15	Pennsylvania	101	Gore
16	Maine	100	Gore
17	Virginia	100	Bush
18	Wisconsin	100	Gore
19	Colorado	99	Bush
20	Iowa	99	Gore
21	Michigan	99	Gore
22	Nevada	99	Bush
23	Ohio	99	Bush
24	Oregon	99	Gore
25	Alaska	98	Bush
26	Florida	98	Bush
27	Missouri	98	Bush
28	Kansas	96	Bush
29	Nebraska	95	Bush
30	Arizona	94	Bush
31	Indiana	94	Bush
32	Tennessee	94	Bush
33	North Carolina	93	Bush
34	West Virginia	93	Bush
35	Arkansas	92	Bush
36	Georgia	92	Bush
37	Kentucky	92	Bush
38	New Mexico	92	Gore
39	North Dakota	92	Bush
40	Texas	92	Bush
41	Alabama	90	Bush
42	Louisiana	90	Bush
43	Montana	90	Bush
44	Oklahoma	90	Bush
45	South Dakota	90	Bush
46	South Carolina	89	Bush
47	Wyoming	89	Bush
48	Idaho	87	Bush
49	Utah	87	Bush
50	Mississippi	85	Bush

Obviously, there are a number of reasons — mathematical, statistical, and scientific — why a chart like this shouldn’t be taken terribly seriously.

That won’t stop me from being amused by it, though.

(via MeFi)

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18 Responses to “State votes ranked by IQ”

Gordon Says:
May 6th, 2004 at 2:57 pm

You know, I wonder if we line up what states that tend to dumb down test to protect the students “Self-esteem” and re-norm the test if the IQ number’s shake out differently.

Gordon Says:
May 6th, 2004 at 3:09 pm

Ouch!

(From the author of the above chart)

“Skin color and intelligence in African Americans. Population and Environment, 2002, 23, 365-375. Presents new evidence showing conclusively for the first time that lighter skinned blacks have higher IQs than darker skinned blacks. This supports the theory that the proportion of white ancestry is a determinant of the intelligence of African Americans.”

Nope no axes to grind here… nope…

Robert Says:
May 6th, 2004 at 3:21 pm

I always knew Washington was better than California…

Chas Redmond Says:
May 6th, 2004 at 5:56 pm

A more telling comparison would have been state-wide average IQ versus dollars spent per pupil. That chart would look pretty much the same alas - see link for a list of state spending discrepancies based on national average. The states with low discrepancies are pretty much the same ones with high average IQ’s. It’s also sad that the Republican-dominated states seem so disinclined to spend dollars for education - which means they really ARE STUPID. That is not as incontrovertible as you make it seem.

Chas Redmond Says:
May 6th, 2004 at 6:43 pm

sorry about the double post - something weird with typepad’s “post” making me click twice - also - the last line should read “this is MORE incontrovertible than you make it seem.” which is to say, the facts actually DO speak volumes.

Tim Who? Says:
May 6th, 2004 at 7:01 pm

Only one state with an average IQ over 100 voted for Bush and No state with and average IQ under 92 voted for Gore.

“Obviously, there are a number of reasons — mathematical, statistical, and scientific — why a chart like this shouldn’t be taken terribly seriously.”

I sure would like to see those reasons, because right now this chart speaks volumes to me.

Michael Hanscom Says:
May 6th, 2004 at 11:06 pm

I sure would like to see those reasons, because right now this chart speaks volumes to me.

There’s quite a few, actually, many of which are pointed out in the MetaFilter thread that I picked the graph up from. Just to pick a few quotes from that thread…

Anyone have the pedophile-population-density-by-state-correlated-with-election-winner graph handy?

In other words, pick two statistics, slap ‘em together in a chart, and instantly they look like they’re related, whether or not they really have anything to do with each other. Admittedly, IQ might actually relate to voting tendencies more than instances of pedophilia, but still.

There is absolutely no way that an IQ survey of each state is even (1) remotely accurate, or (2) remotely correlative to intelligence. Bad science makes for ugly politics

It is well known that IQ is not a relevant way to measure “true” intelligence, and that many factors go into determining the political makeup of a stare’s electorate, including historic tradition, perceived affinity with the candidate, differences in campaign targetting, media influence, and haha ha hahaha ha ha ha!

I’ve seen plenty of “smart” people say and do all kinds of stupid shit (myself included). Sometimes I think the main use people put their superior intellect to is coming up with rationalizations for stupidity.
And of course, there are all kinds of intelligences. And the list dosen’t account for the fact that things like malnutrition and poor education can negatively effect IQ. And like someone else said brains does not neccessarily translate into moral fiber or even good company. I’ve met some smart people who were rotten motherfuckers and some people who’d score low on IQ tests who were stand-up guys. I will grant that mean and stupid is a lethal combination.

The end of that second one cracks me up, but all three address the same point: IQ is a pretty questionable rating scale in and of itself, many people don’t put much stock in it at all, and someone’s IQ isn’t necessarily going to have anything to do with how they vote. There’s also the question of who was taking the IQ tests in the first place:

Neither Mississippi public schools, nor any other state institutions, force IQ tests on the bulk of its younger population. They are only required, I believe, in establishing cases of mental retardation.

And lastly, as Gordon alluded to in his comment, the source for the IQ data doesn’t seem to be unbiased:

I encourage those of you who are taking this chart with any degree of seriousness to click on the link at the top of the article, and read some of the critical reviews on amazon for the book in quesiton. It’s a book that seems to, among other things, posit that the continent of Africa in general has an average IQ below the global norm. And it hardly even has to be said that a book with such a premise was most likely written from an agenda hostile to certain ethnic backgrounds, not out of a desire to advance our understanding of history.

There’s more points (discussion, argument) in that MeFi thread, and it looks to be getting more interesting as it grows. End result though, at least for me, is what while it’s a fairly entertaining little graph, it’s also rather meaningless when closely analyzed.

Dan Says:
May 7th, 2004 at 6:35 am

I must disagree with the results of this chart.

I live in Connecticut and there is no way the average person here has an IQ of 113.

kirsten Says:
May 7th, 2004 at 10:07 am

i understand why it might be coincidental - like peanut butter sales and skirt-length fad trends as representations of the health of the economy (hmm, i’m out of peanut butter, wonder what that means?)

Michael Hanscom Says:
May 7th, 2004 at 11:04 am

Means you’re gonna have some really dry sandwiches today.

PV Says:
May 7th, 2004 at 3:03 pm

I live in Oklahoma

Patrick Wilken Says:
May 9th, 2004 at 5:46 pm

In case you don’t know already know, the data in the IQs are fake. Interesting to see how the fact that the table matches various prejudices (smart people voted for Bush, people in the south have lower IQs than the north etc) allows us to uncritically accept the data.

Richard Says:
May 10th, 2004 at 10:53 am

As Patrick already stated this was a hoax (that many fell for). If you want the real data, try here.

Paul Kim Says:
August 25th, 2004 at 9:41 am

Survey after survey showed that college graduates, with at least a bachelors degree, voted in favor of Bush while high school dropouts voted in favor for Gore. Gore did win the post-graduate votes though.

Ben Says:
October 26th, 2004 at 5:50 pm

Check out this analysis of education, race, obesity, and Walmart-shopping as predictors of votes for Bush.

eclecticism Says:
November 4th, 2004 at 6:35 pm

IQ redux

A little curious about what was causing a traffic spike, I checked out my referrers and search terms. Turns out that the majority of the spike is caused by people searching for information on how states voted combined with the state’s average IQ, which…

BJ Says:
November 6th, 2004 at 8:57 am

Our local talk-show host on Air America read this entire 2004 list of IQ’s and correlation on how they voted……..I was laughing my butt of in my car! =)

Muktar Says:
July 26th, 2005 at 6:48 pm

You all are stupid, this was a hoax. Just cuz you see something doesn’t mean that it is 100% true or accurate.

The sky is falling! So therefore it must be. Yeah, its funny, maybe if you are a democrat with an axe to grind against Bush.. but other than that… its plain stupid.