{"id":24242,"date":"2017-05-24T05:34:02","date_gmt":"2017-05-24T09:34:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/angry.net\/blog2\/?p=24242"},"modified":"2019-06-03T05:08:55","modified_gmt":"2019-06-03T09:08:55","slug":"new-study-shows-journalists-brains-are-below-average","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/angry.net\/blog2\/?p=24242","title":{"rendered":"New study shows Journalists brains are below average"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good day all. I have, as have many many others, blasted the media, referring to them as the \u201cMostly Stupid Media\u201d or \u201cMainly Stupid Media.\u201d The operative word being \u201cStupid.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Who knew that I would be proven accurate? A study has show that journalist brains function at a lower level then normal people. Here are the details from the Business Insider<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Journalists’ brains show a lower-than-average level of executive functioning, according to a new study, which means they have a below-average ability to regulate their emotions, suppress biases, solve complex problems, switch between tasks, and show creative and flexible thinking. <\/b><\/p>\n

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The study, led by Tara Swart, a neuroscientist and leadership coach, analysed 40 journalists from newspapers, magazines, broadcast, and online platforms over seven months. The participants took part in tests related to their lifestyle, health, and behaviour.<\/p>\n

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It was launched in association with the London Press Club<\/a>, and the objective was to determine how journalists can thrive under stress. <\/b><\/p>\n

They needed a study for that? I could tell them in two minutes. They thrive by drinking, toking and snorting.<\/p>\n

It is not yet peer reviewed, and the sample size is small, so the results should not be taken necessarily as fact. <\/b><\/p>\n

Oh I think we can assume that it will scale with minimal issues.<\/p>\n

Each subject completed a blood test, wore a heart-rate monitor for three days, kept a food and drink diary for a week, and completed a brain profile questionnaire. <\/b><\/p>\n

And what did that turn up?<\/p>\n

The results showed that journalists’ brains were operating at a lower level than the average population, particularly because of dehydration and the tendency of journalists to self-medicate with alcohol, caffeine, and high-sugar foods.<\/strong><\/p>\n

So they live on a diet of Twinkies, coffee and booze?<\/p>\n

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Forty-one percent of the subjects said they drank 18 or more units of alcohol a week, which is four units above the recommended weekly allowance. Less than 5% drank the recommended amount of water. <\/b><\/p>\n

Now I have a question. Just how much booze is in a \u201cUnit\u201d anyway? Are talking pints, liters? Gallons? Barrels? As to not drinking enough water, why would they? It might lower the level of alcohol in their blood stream, and eat into their \u201cbuzz.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, in interviews conducted in conjunction with the brain profile results, the participants indicated they felt their jobs had a lot of meaning and purpose, and they showed high mental resilience.<\/b><\/p>\n

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And how many times have we been out with friends who had one to many \u201cBad Ice cubes\u201d who also thought they had high mental resilience? Usually just before the crash their cars into a tree or something.<\/p>\n

Swart suggested this gave them an advantage over people in other professions in dealing with the work pressure of tight deadlines. <\/b><\/p>\n

I can see that. There\u2019s nothing like a few martini\u2019s at lunch to relax you when you have a major deadline coming up in a few hours.<\/p>\n

Compared with bankers, traders, or salespeople, journalists showed that they were more able to cope with pressure. <\/b><\/p>\n

I think part of that is the small detail that bankers and traders, (Assuming they\u2019re talking about investment traders), need to keep clear heads since they are responsible for other people\u2019s money. Salespeople need clear heads so they don\u2019t sound like a drunk monkey to their customers, and can appear to be knowledgeable about the products they\u2019re selling. Journalists?<\/p>\n

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The results, however, showed that the journalists were on average no more physically stressed than the average person. The blood tests showed that their levels of cortisol \u2014 known as the stress hormone \u2014 were mostly normal. <\/b><\/p>\n

So, they\u2019re just using that stress as an excuse to get tanked?<\/p>\n

“The headline conclusion reached is that journalists are undoubtedly subject to a range of pressures at work and home, but the meaning and purpose they attribute to their work contributes to helping them remain mentally resilient despite this,” the study says. <\/b><\/p>\n

“Nevertheless, there are areas for improvement, including drinking more water and reducing alcohol and caffeine consumption to increase executive functioning and improve recovery during sleep.” <\/b><\/p>\n

Let me see if I can translate this. They appear to be mentally resilient, but since they drink to much, eat crap and the only water they consume is in the ice in their drinks, it really doesn\u2019t matter much since their judgment and basic intellect is actually sub-par. Considering the crap most journalists write, and their complete lack of objectivity these days, I think that drinking is just part of the problem.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also an excuse. Most journalists are blithering idiots, and were blithering idiots before they wrote their first propaganda piece<\/i><\/span> news story. My late father was a banker and stock broker. Decades ago, he began to question his business judgment and decided to quit drinking. He considered it his duty to his clients. He also had a joke he told me about drinking and making business decisions.<\/p>\n

He once said that a new ruling had come down from on high saying that brokers were no longer allowed to drink Vodka at lunch. Scotch, Bourbon, Whiskey, those were fine. Why? Clients couldn\u2019t smell the Vodka on their brokers breath. The management decided that when bad choices by the brokers were made, they would rather have the clients think their brokers were drunk, not stupid. Pity journalists don’t actually think that way…or think at all for that matter.<\/p>\n