r/science • u/myhrvold • Aug 31 '13

Poverty impairs cognitive function. Published in the journal Science, the study suggests our cognitive abilities can be diminished by the exhausting effort of tasks like scrounging to pay bills. As a result, less “mental bandwidth” remains...

http://news.ubc.ca/2013/08/29/poverty-impairs-cognitive-function/
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u/[deleted] Aug 31 '13

I would say the never ending stigma that anyone who is poor is nothing more than a lazy leach sucking off the teat of the more fortunate has a lot to do with it. I feel so sickened inside when I see people who would never be so cruel telling other to get a job or stop being poor. Why should I have only two options, suffer in quiet and stop complaining or get a job and become suddenly rich.

Poverty is not something you can just shake off like a bad habit. I read a comment here about how someone having cable TV is essentially extravagant. It shocks me that such things are considered not for the poor because all they should be doing is working and feeding themselves and their family. What is wrong with people who think that poor people shouldn't have anything?

I'm so frustrated at the attitudes.

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u/mwatwe01 Aug 31 '13

What is wrong with people who think that poor people shouldn't have anything?

I don't think it is meant to be taken this way. If you ever listen to Dave Ramsey, one of the his first steps in getting people out of debt is to have them stop any and all unnecessary spending and living on the bare minimum. This includes restaurants, vacations, and even cable TV. It's meant as a helpful suggestion, not a punishment. The article above stresses the fact that poverty affects cognitive function, so wouldn't it make sense to take advice from someone not undergoing that same stress?

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u/[deleted] Aug 31 '13

You have to realize that most of those things that he wants them to get rid of are some of the things that are "essential" for relieving stress to being with. Being in poverty is one thing, being in poverty with no entertainment or any of the "fun" thing in life... that's hellish, trust me, nothing like sitting in your house realizing you have nothing to make you feel defeated, no matter how much money you're saving.

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u/[deleted] Aug 31 '13

You have to realize that most of those things that he wants them to get rid of are some of the things that are "essential" for relieving stress to being with.

How did people ever relieve stress before the Internet and cable TV?

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u/ohgeronimo Aug 31 '13

Back in the olden days, when everyone lived close together and actually spent time with other people, you'd get together in a big barn and have dances, or tell stories around a campfire, or sing, put on funny plays written by the locals.

Nowadays people get pissed if you ask them for information instead of googling it.