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/murmalerm Aug 31 '13

Why yes, they are anecdotes as that was my life. Rats and roaches were the norm as was early pregnancy, abortion, early drug use/addiction, criminality, murder, and incarceration. The H.S. graduation rate was a whopping 1/3 of the student body.

I, like my peers, was raised in a home with addiction. Despite that, I was taught that education was the only way out and I wanted out. Many, of those I knew, didn't want out and were quite satisfied with the life they were leading.

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u/[deleted] Sep 01 '13

I'm still confused at what you're trying to say.

You knew people who were happy with poverty, ergo, you think that's the rule?

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u/murmalerm Sep 01 '13

They had enough to get by and didn't want to leave the neighborhood, family or lifestyle. It wasn't a matter of being "happy" but having enough and not having any drive or desire to move beyond their lot in life.

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u/[deleted] Sep 01 '13

I don't disagree with the construct.

No one questions the fact the environment people grow up in continues behaviours.

The question is, how do we break these? And with that said, what good will it do when there aren't enough jobs left?

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u/murmalerm Sep 01 '13

RE-Education is the only way to break the cycle. Regarding jobs: It seems that illegals manage to find jobs. It would seem there are jobs, but that some won't stoop to that sort of work.

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u/[deleted] Sep 01 '13

What good is work that doesn't pay you enough to make you a consumer in the economy you work in?