DISQUS

crasshopper · 1 year ago

I'm surprised how low down some of my favorite bands are: Anberlin, 311, Nickelback … does liking them make me dumb?! Also my school's average SAT score is in the 200's, does that make me dumb?!?!

Joemomma · 1 year ago

i think you're dumb!

VladP · 1 year ago

Very dumb!

Ehsan · 12 months ago

Very very dumb!

<b>He's dumb</b> · 10 months ago

Very very very dumb!!!

He's dumb · 10 months ago

<script>alert(1);</script>Just kidding!!

:D · 9 months ago

FFS you are dumb!

You're a moron · 9 months ago

Yeah you're dumb or more than that :)

stimulate · 1 year ago

You get 400 points on the SAT just for writing your name. So do the math, if you can.

crasshopper · 1 year ago

Hypothesis: People who name a specific jazz artist or classical composer whom they like are of above-average intelligence. People who say they like "jazz" or "classical" are of below-average intelligence.

Proposed Explanation: Signaling.

Hesitation: How costly could it be to buy a few jazz CD's and look at the artists' names on the back?

Voodoo Chile · 6 months ago

Charles Mingus, Dexter Gordon, Wayne Shorter, John Coltrane (of course) for favorite jazz.
Rachmaninoff (too lazy to check spelling), and Gershwin off the top of my head.

Unfortunately, i also like Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, and The Doors. That brings my average down, right?
Wait a minute, why are these guys higher than "classical"? WHAT?!?!? does that mean i should have my kid listen to Voodoo Chile while in the womb instead of classical?!?

As they say in japan, 何だこれ？！？

Christine Rogers · 1 year ago

Ah, another genius Counting Crows fan here!

minkspwn · 1 year ago

haha "gospel" and "christian" are also very low like "The Holy Bible" and "The Bible" were on the booksthatmakeyoudumb site

C. Smith · 1 year ago

Christian music doesn't do much for me, but the Bible, for example, Ecclesiastes, leaves modern existentialist thought in the dust.

Jordan · 1 year ago

Why is classical limited to Beethoven? Let's see some more contemporary composers. Glass, Reich.

Eric · 1 year ago

That's what people wrote on facebook. If you'll look at the music section, schools where classical was a favorite averaged 978, while schools that had Beethoven as a favorite scored 1371.

Nick · 9 months ago

Maybe Beethoven simply made the "top 10" at a specific university and was therefore represented? I wonder which university that would have been?

Catperson · 1 year ago

Hmm, I'd have guessed Talking Heads would be high up on this, I guess they're not as popular as I thought.

1500 sat baby · 1 year ago

this is clearly spurious. Being a geek is correlated with liking beethoven, being a geek gives you time to study for the SATs.

Black Sunshine · 9 months ago

I'm surprised Aphex Twin isn't on there. His music is as great to listen to, as it is wonderful to study to. Aphex Twin's Drukqs is my study music of choice.

Alex P. Keaton · 1 year ago

Musical preference is subject to greater stigma than book preference.

I scored over 1400 on the SATs and would have chosen Nas here. However, knowing the mainstream bias against hip hop music, in addition to knowing that potential employers look at your Facebook profile, I probably wouldn't actually list him as tops. Of course, this is even more theoretical than it sounds because I have never at any point actually had a Facebook account...

I'd wager that musical taste is also more class-based than literary preference simply because of the disproportionate role music plays in everyday culture when compared to explicit influence of books (I know, it's a daring position...). So, any class bias issues present in the books study would be even more poignant here.

I wish we could see individual artists sorted by album. Taking, for example, Outkast, my anecdotal experience would suggest they, indeed, deserve a spot near the top. Unfortunately, my suspicion is that many of those who selected them did so based largely on what hardcore, long-time Outkast fans consider the nadir of their work...

Zero X · 1 year ago

Can you provide data to support your claim that "Musical preference is subject to greater stigma than book preference"?

Just curious.

C. Smith · 1 year ago

Motorhead, presumably, off the chart, though which side is uncertain.

pksage · 1 year ago

Glad to see Country where it is, though it beats out almost every other popular genre...

This list certainly seems to favor artists over genres.

Techer · 1 year ago

Why not do movies/TV shows that make you dumb? Or is that a foregone conclusion -that anyone spending that much time in front of the box is likely to be dumb already..... LOVED the Beethoven score as i only listen to classical anyway...however, GF Handel is my favourite composer.

not a bigot, just curious · 1 year ago

I would be curious to see the data broken down further --- perhaps by gender, class year, sexual orientation, and so forth --- though I have no idea if you've collected that data or not. For example, women score significantly lower than men (by 35 points in 2001) on the SAT. Women tend to do better in their first semester of college than men (I've heard this anyway, but I'm not sure I've seen any study). However, this is just how men and women perform on the average. One could ask whether smarter people (which is at least correlated to those who listen to Beethoven, for example) have the same score differential or not. Just a thought.

srh1son · 1 year ago

Might we be seeing a moviesthatmakeyoudumb or tvshowsthatmakeyoudumb? Or will we assume that television and cinema dumbs everybody down? I'd like to think no.

D · 1 year ago

I say one name: Sufjan Stevens, that's enough I think ;)

Tasha · 1 year ago

As far as I can tell, Indie and Misc are the same color on the chart.

Tasha · 1 year ago

Interesting that there are more books in the higher SAT numbers than music.

Sameer · 10 months ago

I think like Books and Music, you can easily extend this to Movies and TV Shows! Like mentioned earlier, it would be 90% of the same code :)

Joan · 10 months ago

This whole thing assumes that SAT scores are an accurate measure for intelligence. The likeliness of that is low at best, seeing as there are a whole slew of things that the SAT doesn't test as well of plenty of geniuses (e.g. Einstein) that would have scored low on the SATs (he failed most of his primary and secondary school classes).

pinecone · 10 months ago

This data correlates music to class less than it does music to intelligence. Those of certain social classes will share musical tastes with their equivalents, and are also likely to be educated to a better or worse level. The higher average scores of Indie listeners is more of an indication of the sort of class to which it appeals and less of an indication of the cranial abilities of its listeners.

SATs I presume correlate more with level of education than they do with intelligence, and therefore your statement is somewhat unjust. Similarly, children who are encouraged by parents to study hard for their SATs may also be encouraged to listen to Classical music, and this is well represented in the data.

However, the placement of Jazz was, in my opinion (as a keen Jazz listener myself), placed a little lower than my ego would have liked. As someone already commented, this may be due to some very peculiar modern definitions of Jazz.

Otherwise your results are entertaining and enjoyable, but also fairly indicative despite the above. A great conversation piece, too, but I'm not sure that many people could pull off taking out a large chart in the middle of a pub.

KilgoreTrout · 10 months ago

SATs scores seem to be most correlated with socioeconomic status and facebook contains no actual information. this site will be high on my Websitesthatmakeyoudumb website.
it is a pretty entertaining graph though.

jabble · 10 months ago

This is great. Its really funny.

I'm sure you've noticed the cultural signifiers and maybe thats part of the joke but it took me a few minutes to realise. Maybe you dont care.

How about counting the SAT scores of only those that want to be valued for their reading or for their music? The correct statistical fraction? And then that doesnt work since there they lie in their sheets of mirrored vanity. So? Measure the dumbness of vanity? Or the vanity of facebook?

I think I've enjoyed this more than you will. All is vanity?

Casper · 9 months ago

This clearly indicates who the music industry caters to, and what they promote. I wouldn´t ever argue that music makes people dumb, when the record companies are the ones responsible for promoting popular music. I can´t say I like Lil´Wayne, but as a rap-listener since age 6, I do see how there is a big difference between what I appreciate and what is popular. It´d be interesting to see where you ranked people with, i.e. one of my favorite artists, Aesop Rock. Btw. my SAT score was an even 1300, and I am not American, but went to high school and college in the US. If there is one thing I would conclude from reading your survey, I´d have to say that it is the mainstream media´s fault, that America is being dumbed down. People would listen to more intelligent music, if they were presented with it.

hazydave · 9 months ago

There's a clear flaw in the "genre" rankings... I didn't see the questionnaire, but whether I answer "Country" or list a bunch of country artists, that should add to the weighting for "country". It's obvious, because the "genre" ratings are largely constricted points.. they're meaningless. Well, that, and the fact you have Alternative, Rock, Oldies, Gospel, Pop,R&B, Rap, Jazz, Reggae, Classical, and Hip-hop all fall lower. as genres, than Country. EVERYONE knows that's just plain impossible.

dub and dummer · 9 months ago

Well I've been listening to reggae all day and night and I'm feeling pretty dumb. In fact I'm feeling so dumb that I'm tempted to comment something such as "I think it is smart for people to listen to music that they like..." or "What's wrong if it makes you stupid as long as it makes you happy" or "If Beethoven were so smart than why is he dead? And blind two four that matter!".

QED · 9 months ago

Thanks!
For some reason stupid people are so much more entertaining (for us intelligent people).

It is fairly obvious that the exercise is US-based (and since FaceBook is largely made up of US-based people under the age of 22, it makes sense). The rest of the world doesn't do SAT, and they don't listen to Green Day or Country music. Maybe an international version would see some serious contention from Kraftwerk and Depeche Mode? Ahh, but the European artists are most likely further to the right in the chart. What does that say about the statistical properties of those people who are proud owners of an SAT, compared to the rest of the world?

Josh Bennett · 9 months ago

Beethoven was not blind, he was deaf.

archer · 9 months ago

you missed dub and dummer's joke, josh

Josh · 9 months ago

haha well i wasn't sure if he was being funny or serious - oh well

Josh Bennett · 9 months ago

I must say that a lot of this has to do with who is being exposed to the music - you can't realize that music is "good" or "intelligent" if you're not exposed to it. For example, "gospel," which I am assuming refers to "black" gospel in this case, has a significant number of composers who are highly influenced by jazz and classical music, and you can hear this through the intricacies of their music - for example, Tye Tribbett, Kim Burrell, Richard Smallwood, etc. These artists have songs that are technical musical masterpieces that could only be composed by someone highly skilled in composition and trained in jazz &/or classical music. Why is this one of the lowest genres on the chart? Because the typical student that scores high on the SAT is rarely exposed to this kind of music, or doesn't listen to enough of it to realize how musically impressive it is because it's not "his/her kind of music." There are other examples of this on the chart, but i happen to be a personal advocate for gospel, and I'm at work, so I'm keeping my response short. I'm not saying this chart is completely irrelevant, but exposure is a very big confounding variable here that needs to be taken into account. Sorry if this has been said before - I didn't read all the comments written.

Tim · 9 months ago

This is very biased towards USA, Europe would have a very different chart, and the UK an even more different one - it would show much more diversity, and depth of music. I mean folk in the UK would not put U2 so far to the right, they are more to the left. Still an interesting chart, I do wonder if American schools had heard of Punk ? I mean the truley intellectual music of late has been bands like the Clash, Joy Division, Monochrome set , XTC, Talking Heads, Neil Young (2002-2004), Blur, Kate Nash, etc etc ; Coldplay? wow just a bunch of talentless whiners - Yellow makes everyone who hears it dumb!

Luzis · 9 months ago

Hi!
This study came finally into Argentina! We (too bad) don't do SAT's because there aren't any. But at least we have IQ tests and all of that. If we had SAT's, nobody would do them, anyway.
I tried to the same with my friends and classmates, and it's amazing the similarities that our results were. The thing around here is that Emo music (I don't believe in Emo) is for the smarter people. If you say Beethoven, they tell you "Oh, that old guy of my Cellphone Ringtone". Hip-hop & R&B are definitely for the dumber in both sides. The smart ones (Like me!) are more into the MCR/Radiohead thing, because it's not too cheery and you can concentrate in other things instead of dancing to that sticky melodies.
But well, at least we listen to all those artists, and have Beethoven on our cellphones ;)

A huge kiss to everyone, I hope not forgetting something...
(Anything, contact me!)

::Luz::

Chris Ticehurst · 9 months ago

I'm surprised there's not a rank for Elvis or Michael Jackson here.

Paul More · 9 months ago

What I really wanna know is: What about people who say: "Ohhh I like everything". Ummmm ;-) How can you like everything? If you like everything, then you like nothing. Those are the real dummies in my eyes ;-)

d · 9 months ago

Agreed. I hate when people say that. It's a sign that they're a bit insecure, a bit unsure of their own personality.

Someone · 9 months ago

Wow, thats the biggest load of sh!t i've ever come across in my whole life.
Where i do start to get you reviewed and removed from you college by the academic integrity board?

Newsy Chick · 9 months ago

What a crock! Very entertaining and headline grabbing though.

SlipKnoT · 9 months ago

holy crap this test is shit!there are not only but alot unknown bands!why isnt there a popular band like SlipKnoT?

Stonewall · 9 months ago

The study was not done as a survey (i.e. by questionnaire). A band can ONLY get on the list if: (a) A specific college is surveyed AND (b) The band appears in the "Favorite Music" field of a student's Facebook profile AND (d) a SAT/ACT score is found for that Facebook profile AND after sifting through a college's valid profiles (c) the band is among the 10 most often listed favorites. FINALLY (d) When averaging the SAT/ACT scores for each band, there must be enough students across all colleges who listed the band as a favorite, otherwise the average is not going to be reliable and the band will drop off the final list. (This means for instance that a band with a cult following at a small college may be #1 locally, but could not feature on the final list.)

As for Slipknot, it seems that they are not that popular among college students - the group to which this study is restricted. Or - Slipknot makes you so dumb you cannot even take SATs...

operationally define this · 9 months ago

SAT scores are not a measure of intelligence, and what people will say they listen to is often very different than what they actually listen to. This study merely correlates SAT scores (NOT intelligence) with the brands of music you feel comfortable publically claiming as a reflection of your self-image. Your thesis statement better not say anything about intelligence or your committee is going to tear you a new one and call you racist and a classist.

Velocian · 9 months ago

I don't think this experiment has all that much scientific merit but it is interesting seeing the correlation between how accessible certain genres of music/artist are vis-a-vis the mainstream and the average test scores of specific institutions. I mean yeah, probably, the more a certain music is listened to en large the more likely it is that a larger quantity of slightly less intellectually competent folks are listening to it, in the same way that you kind of have to make an effort to both seek out and get into Beethoven or classic rock primarily because most people aren't exposed to it on a daily basis hence making it harder to process at first... we need more Falco.

Some people are too easily offended by these things though.

Steve the First · 9 months ago

Where's Insane Clown Posse on the list? Their fans probably don't even know how to spell SAT much less be able to take the test. I kid of course. Or do I?

FLASHPOINT · 9 months ago

Virgilgriffithmakesyoustupid

ANTIMETAL · 8 months ago

jajajajaja i also thought da same. virgil is a poor faggot

Larissa · 9 months ago

i really want to know if the jonas brothers make you dumb!!!! they probably do ith their stupid music

Matt · 9 months ago

Yeah people who really fall for them can't be all too smart. Too bad 13 year old girls don't take SATs though.

Riva · 9 months ago

This is a fun and interesting study, but there are too many overlooked variables for the data to be accurate.

Jose · 9 months ago

Can you do a study on how wrestling fans and mma and ufc fans might be closet homosexuals? I mean seriously. It needs to be proved. I think most are homosexuals or in the closet.

penises everywhere · 9 months ago

yes

mjade2 · 9 months ago

Thank you for doing this study. It just confirms what I've long suspected - if you're taste in music is that shitty, then yes, you really are that stupid. How refreshing.

Matt · 9 months ago

It seems that the dumbest people are also those whose musical tastes are influenced by other media facets. Smart people enjoy music for what it is, which I guess would explain why Beethoven is rated so damn high. I would really like to see how high Rush would be rated. I've heard many people say that it's music for smart people, but I'd love to see what the statistics say.

Jordon · 9 months ago

This is done in a very wrong way in terms of both ethics and scientific accuracy. The SAT is a poor measure of intelligence (not that there's a good measure of intelligence, though taking multiple tests would better suffice); calling it "music that makes you dumb" is assuming a cause and effect relationship that has no founding; exposure to music is every bit as important as the taste itself--which means that a student who attended, say, Tufts University is likely to listen to Guster because they have actually had Guster play at their school (and thus having a huge impact on the data with localizations like that)--; you're not taking data from individuals, and thus are ending up with a much shorter list of bands and a much more generalized assumption of intelligence. You're completely negating the possibility that statistical outliers from their colleges have completely different tastes than the subset (which is extremely significant in terms of what you're trying to get at, here). A kid who attends a Community College in a low-income area could have scored a 1600 and listen to completely different music than his peers, but you're grouping his average in with the rest and negating his own tastes for the community average.

Vitale · 9 months ago

Wow, the results are astounding, I'm happy that The Beatles, my all time favourite band, is fairly up there, all of my favourite bands are towards the top, and if your SAT score is in the 200 section, then your acedemic results must be very poor, therefor, you might not graduate, which, if you think about, is pretty bad, and like that other buddy said, you get 400 points just for writing your name, you must have stopped writing half your name for you to even reach 200 points.

Lala · 9 months ago

Yeah so Akon fans are "smarter" than classical music fans yet Beethoven fans scored the highest. Interesting

Sarah · 9 months ago

I think it is rash for this to be presented as it currently is without considering other factors that may and do have a role in determining musical taste, for example, social group/class etc. I personally know a very gifted child who adores Beyonce. I myself like Beethoven although not as much as I like Holst and Mozart but I am also very fond of Radiohead, Muse, Nirvana and Green Day. I also like one or two of the songs by many of the featured artists, including Beyonce and Eminem. Perhaps this is the reason that my exam results (exams in England) are often incredibly warped (several As, Bs and a C and an E last time). xD

Or perhaps not. I am probably 'dumb' for taking a site called 'Musicthatmakesyoudumb' seriously.

bekka · 9 months ago

yes i love classical music, as well as indie rock > arctic monkeys, however i don't think it's fair to say these people are deemed "stupid" if they listen to say lil wayne, there are several different kinds of smart and this only shows book smart, i am book smart but i'm more so art smart. i think it's over generalizing peoples intelligence. just my thoughts

d · 9 months ago

Dylan makes the list but Joan Baez is nowhere to be found. Shame, shame. Since when is The Fray "smarter-sounding" than Frank Sinatra? The only thing good about this list is Lil Wayne is dead last.

Bob Lawblah · 9 months ago

Frank Sinatra has no tone.

jemememm · 9 months ago

GO SUFJAN! i always knew you and i were smart. <3

Tim · 9 months ago

So, lets just assume that all the data is correct and unbiased. Is the point that liking bad music MADE you stupid, or you're stupid enough to like bad music? Could it be argued that the schools with the higher SAT scores are creating smarter people, hence their choice of music is "smarter"? Did the education influence the music choices, or do the music choices demonstrate the ability to learn?

NotAStupidPerson · 9 months ago

Ok, I can understand Beyonce and Nickelback make people dumb, but seriously, I listen to Green Day and blink-182, and a bunch of bands in the lower region (quite a few in the higher region, but still), and I get pretty high grades, so wtf makes you think Taking Back Sunday is going to make a person dumb? I'm getting A+s, for God's sake!

Marie Hélène · 9 months ago

what is exactly the true meaning behind those kind of tests? THe IQ tests and SAT's are made so that a certain type of group of the society (a minority in the world) can outshyne the others. I say that because they are based on results that can only be well obatined by a certain way of schooling, education, soccial education, etc. Which is definately the same around the world. The United states have many represents of other cultures. So these results can't be accurate or adapted to everyone. There are an infinite variaty of intelegences. And yet, what is intelligence? There are so many genres of music that you didn't even include in your test. You forgot maybe the third of the americans just by doing that!!

Anyways, i find it unfortunate that people feel the urge to spend time to create studies and mediums to segragate people in anyway, and even more sad that they publish it.
WHat kind of scientist would do that? what is your practice?

smart kid · 9 months ago

This man is so stupid. Notice how everything that people who listen to rap are stupid. My friend listens to rap and he is really smart. I listen to Christian music and i scored a 1420 on the SATs. This chart is not scientific in anyway. It is wrong, stereotypical. This website should be shut down because people actually believe this crap.

iieee · 9 months ago

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! All over the internet, you have SERIOUSLY twisted people's tails in a knot.
And I haven't laughed this hard in ages!


GO RADIOHEAD!

He a MORON · 9 months ago

nah I don't think you're dumb, i think you're way beyond that, no offense mate :) but please send me your thoughts :) i'd love to be entertained by a person who has an IQ of a monkey :)

Bob Lawblah · 9 months ago

I believe Beethoven and Sufjan Stevens are the least distracting artists. If you look at the chart, the top artists are the ones who's music isn't really all that distracting. However, artists such as Lil' Wayne make people want to get up and dance and get them more off topic. The ones who answered Gospel are most likely Christians who would get distracted and start to worship. I believe there is a pattern in this sense, and as much as I want to believe this, (considering my favourite artists are those ranking above average), I do not believe listening to this music makes you smarter. I believe it makes you concentrate better.

casey123_d · 1 month ago

Dunno if you have ever listened to Sufjan Stevens, but I would classify that as Christian music - borderline gospel.

Jonathon Scratch · 9 months ago

Thank you for finaly bring some weight behind all my arguments with others about music. Im so glad you could prove that all that dribble that is being overplayed over the radio, is making people dumb.

LOLAGIRL · 9 months ago

I think your an absolute idiot, and your study is complete garbage. GET A LIFE!!!!

drew nucci · 9 months ago

I should have gone to carnegie melon

Nick · 9 months ago

I would interested to see the difference in correlation between simply instrumental music & music with vocals, not necessarily separated by genre either. For example, have people choose their favorites between only instrumental examples of Metallica/Handel or Beethoven/Harry Connick Jr and examples with vocals from the same. Obviously people are drawn to music, and anything else, that they "understand" and are accustomed to. But could there be a IQ correlation between people that prefer specific music because they understand the words vs preferring the music because they simply appreciate the sound. Of course, be literate in music, music professionals and those with background in music theory would obviously have a higher understanding and therefore should not be included in the sample.

Mike · 9 months ago

An interesting idea. Music has certainly been shown to affect performance on standardized math tests as seen with the 'Mozart Effect' and its stimulation of the frontal lobe. However, it seems there are far too many variables, both in terms of statistics (Number of students from each University) as well as social variables that need to be considered. It is hard to say these bands have any direct correlation with performance, and then deconstructing the aspects of their thematic musical structures that facilitate testing proficiency without taking such things into account. It seems to be an interesting subject that deserves some deeper exploration.

Joe · 9 months ago

Hey you guys, It's not in the way that "listening" to certain music will make you smart or dumb. The chart only shows that smart people (people who get high scores on tests) listen to certain types of music and the other way around with dumber people. What another person said: Beethoven, etc. will help you concentrate, it just shows that people who like to concentrate and work hard for grades will probably like this certain type of music.
And for people who say their friend is smart but listens to rap, the chart is based all on averages. one person can get 100% another can get 0%: the average is 50%.

Cassie · 9 months ago

THIS IS VERY FALSE! I listen to Lil' Wayne and Beyonce and I have a 80-90 average in almost everything. I know people that listen to more classical bands and people and some aren't smart. It doesn't matter what you listen to. Certain types of music don't give you smarts, and the other types don't make you dumber.

Shelia · 9 months ago

I am a grandmother and now attending college after 20 yrs seeing music evolve.Remember there was a time music as well as education was segregated. Educated in Nursing in NY.Now living in the south attending South University the music and genre has really changed over 20 yrs for the best I pray. When I see polls like this I also consider the history.PS my husband was in a funk band and used to open for George Clinton of
Parliment Funkadelic. He was the genius of his music and in old school music.I wonder how he would do today? Kanye,J.Legend and Outkast are
artist that scored high for A.A. artists.They are young and their music is still evolving from their life experiences. The Beatles and Billy Joel and artists
from my day like Bob Marley music had a powerful presence for my day inthe 70's and still speaks to this generation.

what · 9 months ago

music likes and dislikes change and evolve daily something might move you one day then repulse you the next its so objective and you might just like a sound over what is "profoundly" trying to be told

Poil de cul · 9 months ago

i dont speak english but im not a dumb ;), u certanly have a smart linguist friend to translate this ^^ i, no ! ( they listen beyonce )
je ne connais pas la contenance du système d évaluation pour l entrée en université aux états unis mais il y a un certainement un énorme problème de causse a effet dans ton raisonnement.
je m explique, ce qui va d abord et avant tout influencer le résultat est d origine social. en France par exemple il y a un phénomène de reproduction social, pousser par un système faussement méritocratique, qui pousse les individus les mieux pourvus a des meilleurs résultats en terme d intégration dans le système l'éducatif scolaire et autre.
un exemple plus concret tu détestes le tennis, tu n y joues jamais. manque de chance je fais une étude sur tes capacités sportives qu on a évaluer grâce au tennis car admettons que se soit ce qui prévaloit dans une société donnée en terme de qualité sportive, résultats tu es considéré comme un handicapé ( bon il y a une différence fondamentale dans mon exemple, c est que le terme sport est générique, ce qui empêche de fait que le "tennis" soit lié directement a "qualité sportive".
alors que dans ton exemple on confond volontiers culture dominante et intelligence car c est le schéma prédominant de notre société, il faut donc s en extirper, car de la même manière qu il faut une certaine intelligence pour articuler ça culture et réussir ces testes, il faut indéniablement des qualités sportives pour être bon au tennis , pourtant tu n es pas handicapé !) gros bisou

Joe · 9 months ago

Where's the Rolling Stones? How could they not be on the list?

métis972 · 9 months ago

Is it an impression or strangely again on down once again the African culture (African American) ?? This test means that if you listen to "black music", you're dumb => if you're black, you're dumb , it desgusts me...

Reid Moore · 9 months ago

LOL oh MAN!!!!!!!!
YOU are SPOT ON with Gospel and Soca.... I don't care if your study is true or not
it explains EVERYTHING about the culture in my home country, Trinidad & Tobago
We're in the grip of the worst murder rate EVER and almost public figure says the solution is for us to come together and PRAY.
Even gov't officials! Imagine - a PRIME MINISTER telling ppl. they have to pray to bring down crime!
I listen to hendrix, floyd, radiohead, (some) u2... all I need is some Beethoven and I'd be the smartest guy in the country.
Thanx SO much for this! I'm gonna have so much fun w/ your index

RM in T&T

Reid Moore · 9 months ago

btw- Trinidad INVENTED soca... TRIPLE whammy :D

WInston · 9 months ago

I only listen to Beethoven and my SAT scores just so happen to be, 1375.
BUT I didn't condone this study because it typecasts music genres.

Jason · 9 months ago

Clearly, comma splices are not covered by the, SAT.

NancyP · 9 months ago

How sincere are the owners of Facebook pages? Motives for the owner's choice and rank could include 1. genuine liking for the music/ book 2. fitting in with the bulk of the students at that college 3. impressing those people the owner hopes to date 4. impressing possible employers 5. censoring controversial favorites (for example, gay-interest books / music preferred by a closeted gay student who attends a Christian college or whose parents would cut him off if the student were outed).

For the cultural differences in self-presentation strategies among literati, check out the personals column in the New York Review of Books versus the personals column in the London Review of Books. The Americans aim for straight-up intellectual pretension, the British for self-deprecatory humor with occasional literary references.

Sherry · 9 months ago

Is this really reflective of IQ and music, or reflective of the tie of opportunity to education and the cultural pretenses that surround this.

Marcus · 9 months ago

You really slacked off with techno, didn't you? You do realize 'techno' is not an artist, but a form of electronic music?

Go figure.

Jerry · 9 months ago

Reading through some of these comments made me dumb.

Jason · 9 months ago

I scored lower than the range for Radiohead and Sufjan Stevens, but listen to both artists for more than 50% of my music listening time. Am I listening smarter than I should be? Or ... if I took the SAT again now, after having listened to higher-test-scoring music, would I score higher? Thanks for posting your work.

Lewis · 8 months ago

God you're an idiot! I was one of the top people in my class and my favourite artist happens to be lil wayne...

Lewis · 8 months ago

You must be one of those music freaks that have to listen to music that has meaning. What happened to listening to a song because it was fun or you could dance to it !

roland · 8 months ago

Most people who listen to The Counting Crows are geniuses

Edward · 8 months ago

This chart mainly shows that respondents with higher SAT scores wrote shitty bands down on their response sheet.

Olga · 8 months ago

First of all, let me thank you for the work you did - very impressive, I enjoyed both sites (music and books)
Imho, the reason the book list is more extensive is a matter of educational. Literature is something you have to study at school and music is more optional. Of course there are a lot of avid readers but if not for school the book selection would be significant less. Personally I can tell apart different composers but it's only due to the fact that I went to music school for several years. Otherwise I would know just a handful of "mainstream" pieces.

antimetal · 8 months ago

wow, so nigga and latino music is dumb for you. you are maybe one of the most idiot person i have ever met you motafucka son of a bitch. i think bethoven and radiohead is BULL SHIT. you really suck dick and i swear to god that if i see you one of this days, i will punch you in the face and i will rape you in di ass so hard you will bleed for the rest of you sick life.

antimetal · 8 months ago

you suck dick motafucka son of a bithc

ANTIMETAL · 8 months ago

WOW, YOU AREA MOTAFUCKA RACIST, SO LET ME TELL YA OMETHINNG, bethoven is bulshit and also radio head. be careful cause if i see you iwill force ma dick in you mouth so hard you will vomit all ovah. an i will also do da same to ya mother and ya sister and you grandma, motafucka

Michelle · 8 months ago

As a graduate student, I would think you would know that the SAT is not an intelligence test! The material it tests obviously favors some books, books that are considered "classic" by "intelligent" white males. During SAT prep in my summer at Yale, it was revealed to me that the test does indeed test the way the test makers believe the average highly intelligent white male would respond. This is not my take on the matter, but what was told to me by several white instructors, both male and female. Thus, I find this and your music study to be, how did you say, "dumb!" They merely confirm what was told to me and support your white supremacists views.
FYI, I found out about you through your music comments. I have a 150 IQ and happen to adore Beyonce! Lil Wayne, I will not defend, nor I will you!

thebadseed · 8 months ago

rap and hip hop - Gee, they make people dumb, what a concept

yo · 7 months ago

Lol. I suppose I should embrace this study because I'm proud 'my music' is 'smart', but the final statement (that intelligence denotes music choice) is one of the most pathetically supported I've seen in a while.

Alright, because I'm a snobby party kill, I'll state the obvious:

STUDY OVERLOOKS OBVIOUSNESS
1. SAT scores are related to class/education/race
2. Class, education, and race are related to music choice
3. Colleges are influenced by regional culture and unique cultures that develop within each college
4. Also, there's the factor that people post bands on facebook not just based on what they like, but WHAT THEY THINK WILL MAKE THEM LOOK COOL (i.e. the 'cool' culture of their immediate peers). Ex: as I was trained in the ways of indie rock music, I realized it was uncool to like Third Eye Blind. Off the list. Etc. etc.

Still, it's a hilarious survey, and I'd support it more except that it's an unfortunate (and inaccurate) tool for pretentious music snobs. Also, you could potentially correlate the Beethoven to a glitch with the demographics of classical music training. People in fancy music conservatories always say they like Beethoven. They have to...they're super educated and white and have been taking private lessons since they were five.

But I'm a broken record since I'm sure other commenters already have these problems nailed, so I'll go back to hipster runoff now.

lulz.

Carlos · 7 months ago

Your study makes no sense. You have jazz style on the most dumb people but then Frank Sinatra and Norah Jones are in the midle of the table. WTF?

Besides that you cant measure the intelligence of a person by what they do in school.

I suck at regular scool, still I teach advanced musical harmony concepts for poliphonic instruments to most of the music teachers from regular schools. You really suck for being so lame ^^ LOL

And by reading some comments, you are not cientists, and dont know nothing about what you're doing.

mbh · 7 months ago

This is an amazing study, plus the guy in that press photo is really cute.

kayvon · 7 months ago

Wow, crasshopper. I've got say, that's reallllly bad. Really. Nickleback? Are you serious? They really might be the single worst band on this planet, and Chad Kroeger definitely is the biggest douche on this planet.
And to answer question simply, Yes, liking Nickleback makes you dumb. Sorry, but it's the god awful truth. Also, your school does not always reflect the individual. You can still be book-smart and go to decent school and still be dumb. It's just.... a different kind of dumb.

As for the list, I agree with the trend completely. Now, It would have been way cool if you listed bands like Animal Collective, Maps & Atlases and a lot of other really intelligent bands that aren't very well known. There is good hip hop and rap, really good like People Under the Stairs, Immortal Technique, Aesop Rock, Black Star, i.e. I understand that you took in account pretty much what comes on the Radio to get a good general basis, and I agree full-heartedly that only atrocious rap/hip-hop comes on the radio and mtv. I do think rage against the machine and modest mouse should have been placed higher. And it's funny how two bands from OK were next to each other.

BOOMER SOONER

Karla Díaz · 7 months ago

c'mon...people who says that "like all kind of music" ( I'm Incluided) isn't that their personality is undefinied, is just a fact...I like nas, maroon 5, beck, norah jones, radiohead, pink floyd etc...so you tell me that i'm not sure 'bout my personality just because i'm a open person...I think its stupid...

and respect the music, here (chile, southamerica) we have a similar method of ranking students to enter to prestigious universities, but I consider it as an invalid way, because the guys who have highest ranking mostly went to expensive schools, not like the guys who went to popular schools, that are not really bad..but not good enough. so its not uniform and not fair way. but well, I get your point, and I know what you mean with this...in fact it shows correlativity, so congratulations ;)

Anonymous · 6 months ago

This is such a ridiculous correlation. It's probably the worst case of analysis I've ever seen in my life. To put it bluntly, I doubt I'll see one worse before I die.

Your results are in the SAT scores range of 876-1280 ~, which I consider quite average scores. 1280 is not a high SAT score. 876 is not extremely low. So what you've said, in effect, is that everyone on facebook who listens to music is of average intelligence. I fail to see the point in this exercise, and I find it ridiculous that there are people attempting to make a case correlating music preference with intelligence. There is no correlation, and there never will be. I doubt you listen to music.

susan · 5 months ago

I am a huge (and I mean huge) lil wayne fan and i scored over a 1300 hundred on my sat.

Name · 2 months ago

Okay Susan, the fact that you just put hundred behind 1300( which we already know has a hundred in it), tells me you probably didn't score a 1300 on your sat's. Go back to your daytime job at mcdonalds to feed all 4 of your fatherless kids. It's weezy baby hahahaha

corpsegrind · 5 months ago

This obviously doesn't work. for instance you left out so many kinds of music and downloaded music. I personally listen to death metal and scored well above the average that you have produced. The scores are based more on the schooling and drive of the individual student, rather than taste in music.

m_a_t_t · 5 months ago

Tell me again how intelligence is correlated in any way to achieving good scores in high school? I was suspended, just scraped through high school, and recently completed my phD in computational neuroscience. This is just another ill founded analysis.

Name · 5 months ago

Pseudo-Intellectualism that makes you dumb, more like. I'm sure giving your pretentious sensibilities a mental hand-job feels pretty good, but anyone with half a brain can see how biased and misguided the "research" for this data is. Please, there isn't any correlation between one's musical taste and their SAT scores. I scored in the 90th percentile and listen primarily to Reggae, Hip Hop, Jazz, 50's/60's Soul, Funk, Trip-Hop/Downtempo, anything at all with a fat groove, all of which scored pathetically low on your scale. Come on, Beethoven? Motherfucking Radiohead?! "Really nice music for people who like to savor the aroma of their own shits," now that would be a telling graph. Give me a fucking break you douchebag.

Hilario · 4 months ago

Wow, a lot of very funny comments so far. It makes me chuckle when I see that so many people are offended by this.

goggur · 4 months ago

I guess since Blue Öyster Cult isn´t on the chart here than that makes the creator himself an idiot that should commit seppuku for causing this atrocity.....right now

arnarg · 4 months ago

All the "heavier" metal is missing :(
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1546193/...

Name · 3 months ago

yay! smart weezer fan here!

danly11212 · 2 months ago

This is by far the dumbest thing I've ever read. Whoever made this must listen to lil wayne according to their dumb ass chart.

Seriously...wow. Epic failure sir...

romanpoet · 1 year ago

First Post!

hazydave · 9 months ago

There's a clear flaw in the "genre" rankings... I didn't see the questionnaire, but whether I answer "Country" or list a bunch of country artists, that should add to the weighting for "country". It's obvious, because the "genre" ratings are largely constricted points.. they're meaningless. Well, that, and the fact you have Alternative, Rock, Oldies, Gospel, Pop,R&B, Rap, Jazz, Reggae, Classical, and Hip-hop all fall lower. as genres, than Country. EVERYONE knows that's just plain impossible.

romanpoet · 9 months ago

No. Doing that would allow someone who contests the genre categories to contest the data. As-is, the numbers are completely independent of the genres.

Stonewall · 9 months ago

See Stonewall's reply to SlipKnoT above. There was no questionaire. The analysis was based on what students wrote in the "Favorite music" field in their Facebook profiles.
Many people make generic entries in their Facebook profiles, listing genres rather than specific artists/bands.
The name of the field in Facebook does not prompt you to list anything specific (e.g. "Favorite musicians/bands" or "Favorite type of music". ) Some people just don't think of being specific. Others like ALL Country, Pop, or whatever (or so they say). They simply cannot choose specific favorite artists, or have too many to list - so they write down entire genre(s) in their profile.
Note that NOBODY with SAT scores >= 999 entered genres as their favorite; these students ALL named specific bands/artists. They either knew exactly what they liked, and/or used initiative to interpret Facebook's vague field name as an opportunity to be specific.
Hypothesis: People who cannot express in precise terms what their favorite [INSERT CATEGORY HERE] is, are less likely to perform well scholastically, and visa

samandeep · 9 months ago

This is totally unscientific as people tend to not only like one type of music and even in a given genre there are different artists. This "study" seems to be conducted totally on subjective terms,you make a correlation but you have jumped to conclusions by drawing a connection between types of data. Maybe you should have taken it a step further using brain mapping techniques to see how Beethoven and Lil Wayne affected the frontal lobe and seeing whether the music as a stimulus led to any sort of different response among the different group types such as of if it lead to greater activation in the hippocampus or whether do the people who got high scores related to their genes or similar activation patterns. I think that scientifically there is no relationship between music and intelligence because even after numerous studies whether the Mozart effect exists has been largely inconclusive. By using more methods and drawing conclusions from a more wider data set can you then make any sort of conclusion about this music-intelligence connection (and if it even exists?!)