08.30.06
Posted in Uncategorized at 1:54 am by Jon Silpayamanant
NEW YORK (Reuters) - While researchers have long shown that tall people earn more than their shorter counterparts, it’s not only social discrimination that accounts for this inequality — tall people are just smarter than their height-challenged peers, a new study finds.
“As early as age three — before schooling has had a chance to play a role — and throughout childhood, taller children perform significantly better on cognitive tests,” wrote Anne Case and Christina Paxson of Princeton University in a paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
The findings were based primarily on two British studies that followed children born in 1958 and 1970, respectively, through adulthood and a U.S. study on height and occupational choice.
But researchers Case and Paxson believe the height advantage in the job world is more than just a question of image.
“As adults, taller individuals are more likely to select into higher paying occupations that require more advanced verbal and numerical skills and greater intelligence, for which they earn handsome returns,” they wrote.
For both men and women in the United States and the United Kingdom, a height advantage of four inches equated with a 10 percent increase in wages on average.
But the researchers said the differences in performance crop up long before the tall people enter the job force. Prenatal care and the time between birth and the age of 3 are critical periods for determining future cognitive ability and height.
“The speed of growth is more rapid during this period than at any other during the life course, and nutritional needs are greatest at this point,” the researchers wrote.
The research confirms previous studies that show that early nutrition is an important predictor of intelligence and height.
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08.16.06
Posted in Comics at 3:40 am by Jon Silpayamanant
humorous comments here
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08.04.06
Posted in Uncategorized at 1:34 am by Jon Silpayamanant
I think Phil Yu (aka “Angry Asian Man“) summarized this better than I would have.
There’s an interview over at CHUD.com with Jon Favreau, director of the announced Iron Man movie in the works, with some more information on the “Mandarin” character:
Q: And he’s a tough character because in his original appearances he’s a racist caricature.
Favreau: There are certain fears and certain strengths the character evokes that are applicable, but of course you have to completely remove any of that short sighted cultural ignorance that leads to any sort of bigotry in the storytelling. That isn’t to say those fears and shortcomings of Iron Man as relating to that character aren’t relevant.
Think about what made the Mandarin someone everybody gravitated to – if you look at the message boards, overwhelmingly that’s someone everyone wants to see. He was intelligent, he was powerful, he was mysterious. He was always one step ahead. Despite his suit and technology, Iron Man was always the underdog. Mandarin always had this Machiavellian web he would fall into. He was based in China which was then mysterious because it was Red China. Today China is mysterious in other ways because it’s Global China. China is the economic powerhouse that is quickly catching up and will eventually surpass us.
A comic book movie that capitalizes on fears of China’s future economic domination. Fun. And so timely. The moment they announced the villain was going to be Mandarin, I knew this was bad news. I’m not planning on seeing this one. Not willingly at least.
I probably am going to see this, if only to see Mandarin’s portrayal. I’m sure there will be much to talk about…
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