Sunshine and Light

You call this science?

As Jane Galt of Asymmetrical Information says about this article, Oh My God, I'm a Liberal. (I trend conservative with a few blips into liberal in specific areas.) Some of the "findings":

• Liberals are messier than conservatives. Their rooms have more clutter, more color. Conservatives’ rooms are better organized, more brightly lit, and more conventional. Liberals have more books and their books are on a greater variety of topics. (I think anyone whose been inside our house can say that we are for sure liberals. If we get any more liberal you won't be able to get from the back door to the front)
• Compared to liberals, conservatives are less tolerant of ambiguity, a trait researchers say is exemplified when George Bush says things like, "Look, my job isn't to try to nuance. My job is to tell people what I think," and "I'm the decider." (eh, 50-50 on this one. If I'm on vacation, I'm perfectly dandy with ambiguity. If I have to get things done, I want to get facts, make a decision, move on.)
• Conservatives have a greater fear of death. (Can't even touch this one, I don't know how I compare to anyone else)
• Liberals are higher on openness, which includes intellectual curiosity, excitement-seeking, novelty, creativity for its own sake, and a craving for stimulation like travel, color, art, music, and literature. (cough, cough BULLSHIT. I'm a travel fiend, for one. And pretty much a "liberal" on the rest as well, although I don't know how to prove that without getting tedious.)
• Conservatives are higher on conscientiousness, which includes neatness, rule-following, duty, and orderliness. (eh, 50-50 here. See neatness/orderliness above, but I do have a strong sense of duty & rule following)
• Conservatives are more likely to have been insecure as kids, whereas liberals are more likely to have been confident as kids. (I'll give them this one. I grew into confidence after being the quietest kid in my grade school class.)

I agree with Tyler Cowen, these folks tried to paint with too broad of strokes. My personal, unscientific experience is that most of my friends all want the same things, we just have different ideas as to how they are achieved. We all want (at some level) security, food & shelter, fulfillment, and happiness for all. How we think those are achieved, varies, and that tends to indicate whether you're conservative or liberal. I personally think any "science" to explain this is b.s.

posted by MyHusbandRules @ 8:52 AM