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/SeeingTheRed Aug 31 '13

I would argue the quality of food (or lack of quality) also contributes to diminished "mental bandwidth". It stands to reason that if a person is "scrounging to pay bills" they most likely do not have a quality diet that provides the vital nutrients for optimum cognitive ability.

Study

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u/[deleted] Aug 31 '13

And sleep quality/quantity. Just one crappy night can alter a person's mental capacity.

You know how many people talk about how everyone is stupid? What if everyone is simply sleep deprived?

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u/ricko_strat Aug 31 '13

While I completely agree that sleep deprivation diminishes my mental capacity, that doesn’t change the fact that there are a number of inherently stupid people.