Sonntag, 25. November 2012

Educational, Cognitive and 'Cultural' Similarity:

Put people with greater educational and cognitive similarity together, and you have the makings of greater cultural similarity as well. When one spouse is a college graduate in the top centiles of cognitive ability and the other is a high school graduate with modesty above-average cognitive ability, they are likely to have different preferences in books and movies, different ways of spending their free times, different friends, and differences in a dozen other aspects of life.

Charles Murray, Coming Apart, 2012

Samstag, 24. November 2012

The spread of TV:

In 1950 barely 10 percent of American homes had television sets, but by 1959, 90 percent did, probably the fastest diffusion of a technological innovation ever recorded. (The spread of Internet access will rival TV's record but probably not surpass it.)

Robert Putnam, Bowling Alone, 2000

Donnerstag, 22. November 2012

Life Outcomes, Intelligence & Self-Control:

When psychologists isolate the personal qualities that predict "positive outcomes" in life, they consistently find two traits: intelligence and self-control.

Roy Baumeister and John Tierney, Willpower, 2012