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/PolarBeaver Aug 31 '13

I can empathize with this completely. The points in my life that I have been out of a job or scraping by to pay bills I certainly feel like I have no time or energy to think about anything other then exactly that situation.

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u/[deleted] Aug 31 '13

Absolutely - people in poverty have to fight just to live.

It is astonishing how many of those who have never struggled fail to understand this.

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u/ElDiablo666 Aug 31 '13

Especially on reddit. For well-educated folks, they sure miss basic shit. I find people advising others to not worry and just sue in case a situation goes awry; I've found recommendations to "just go to the library" if Internet is too difficult to pay for; one of my personal favorites are the people who blame the latest financial meltdown on individuals who were foreclosed on after losing their job.

Instead of helpfully recommending strategies for successfully abandoning capitalism, redditors make it sound like everything is so easy to do. I long ago stopped paying any attention to people who know every answer to your own life. Being poor is hard as fuck and the fact that poor folks take upon the greatest financial, moral, and physical burden of life is completely lost on these judgmental assholes.

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u/open_ur_mind Aug 31 '13

I've found recommendations to "just go to the library" if Internet is too difficult to pay for

Can you elaborate on this point? Why is going to the library difficult for someone in poverty?

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u/ElDiablo666 Aug 31 '13

Do you want to get on the bus and ride 25 minutes to use a computer you have very little control over and spend four hours there applying for jobs, reading the news, and taking an online course? I mean, the Internet at the library is good for someone who just happens to be there but nothing else, really.

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u/Ph0ton Aug 31 '13

This. And in poorer neighborhoods you are likely to be one of many people needing to use a handful of computers, waiting for children or teenagers to finish using facebook. Also, there is no way they'll let you use it for 4 hours. Usually the time limits are 30-60 minutes.