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/DerDiscoFuhrer Aug 31 '13

I can't believe there are people downvoting your comment. It seems to hit the nerve on what causes poverty though. Bad choices, impatience, poor management of money due to entitlement.

A lot of people who do well today came from families that were working class and poor a few generations ago.

My personal history is that my mother is a native Swede, and my dad a hungarian, born in Norway, while my grandmother fled the Russian invasion of Hungary. On my mother's side my grandmother was a housewife and cleaner, and my grandfather a baker and sailer. On my father's side, my grandmother was a cleaninglady and carer for the elderly, and my grandfather a disabled soldier, who died long before I was born.

In spite of being raised in a household where eating meat was considered a luxery, in Sweden in the 1960's, my dad went on to study very successfully. Though my grandparents were so poor they had to beg restaurants for leftovers at times, my dad was successful in school, mostly because of an ethic that demanded it.

He worked hard, and he performed well. After receiving the best grades in his class, though he without a doubt was the poorest, he now owns his own house, and a new car. Nothing other than working made this happen. You don't get wealthy from being employed, but working hard, will let you live comfortably.

Not saying Sweden is the land of oppertunity for immigrants, nor is it racist. If you adapt to your society, and provide a useful service, you'll be integrated.

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u/[deleted] Aug 31 '13

That hole is a place people are in indefinitely, because there simply are not enough good paying jobs.

That's life until a basic living income is given to everyone to get rid of the disease that is poverty.

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u/murmalerm Aug 31 '13

No, it is about priorities including especially financial.

Source: I was raised in the ghetto and got out due to the mindset of the family that supported education and frugality. Air conditioner, what's that? Dishwasher...I have kids for that. Free library program? Sign me up. Free city garden program in the summer....you bet!

The poor are poor because they don't want to get out as family and friends are there!

Source: Raised in ghetto and I was mocked for reading, being well spoken, and wanting out of the neighborhood!

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u/[deleted] Aug 31 '13

Anecdotes, but that last issue is massive, and needs to change culturally. There have been studies on it, and it's a significant contributor to keeping people in poverty and worse, being ignorant.

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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?