These are the 100 smartest cities in America (study)[Lumosity]

Venture Beat ^ | 6-25-13 | Sean Ludwig

[FlJoePa]

The study released today (PDF) used data from more than 3 million people in the U.S. between the ages of 18 and 75 who had played several Lumosity brain-training games. These games measured performance across five cognitive areas: memory, processing speed, flexibility, attention, and problem solving. Then the scores were ranked by location.

Many of the cities and towns on the list, not surprisingly, are prominent “college towns.” Ithaca, N.Y., the top of the list, is home to both Cornell University and Ithaca College. State College, Penn. number two, is home to Penn State. Lafeyette, Ind., number three, is home to Purdue University.

“One of the most interesting findings from this analysis is that most of the top metro areas contain major research universities, suggesting that education is an important predictor of cognitive performance,” Lumosity data scientist Daniel Sternberg said in a statement. “Neuroscience research has found that those who are engaged in learning and cognitively stimulating activities throughout the lifetime build up a ‘cognitive reserve’ that helps maintain and improve cognitive performance.”

Check out the top 100 list of “America’s smartest cities” below to see if your town made the cut.

1. Ithaca, NY
2. State College, PA
3. Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN
4. Iowa City, IA
5. Ames, IA
6. Ann Arbor, MI
7. Bloomington, IN
8. Madison, WI
9. Lawrence, KS
10. Pullman, WA
11. College Station-Bryan, TX
12. Appleton, WI
13. Champaign-Urbana, IL
14. Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA
15. Charlottesville, VA
16. Boulder, CO
17. Provo-Orem, UT
18. Harrisonburg, VA
19. Rolla, MO
20. Houghton, MI
21. Muncie, IN
22. Corvallis, OR
23. Boone, NC
24. Logan, UT-ID
25. Stillwater, OK
26. Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI
27. Claremont-Lebanon, NH-VT
28. Lebanon, PA
29. Moscow, ID
30. Cedar Rapids, IA
31. Lincoln, NE
32. Bloomsburg-Berwick, PA
33. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
34. Starkville, MS
35. Athens, OH
36. La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN
37. Brainerd, MN
38. Burlington-South Burlington, VT
39. Fargo, ND-MN
40. Stevens Point, WI
41. Columbia, MO
42. St. Cloud, MN
43. Rochester, MN
44. Auburn-Opelika, AL
45. Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA
46. Oil City, PA
47. Fort Collins, CO
48. Sheboygan, WI
49. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH
50. Keene, NH
51. Oshkosh-Neenah, WI
52. Burlington, NC
53. Pittsburgh, PA
54. Fond du Lac, WI
55. Concord, NH
56. Morgantown, WV
57. Bellingham, WA
58. Mount Pleasant, MI
59. Ottawa-Peru, IL
60. Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN
61. Laramie, WY
62. Barnstable Town, MA
63. Lancaster, PA
64. Reading, PA
65. Winchester, VA-WV
66. Bozeman, MT
67. Bloomington, IL
68 Gainesville, FL
69. Duluth, MN-WI
70. Michigan City-La Porte, IN
71. South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI
72. Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA
73. Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA
74. Oxford, MS
75. Altoona, PA
76. Wooster, OH
77. Bismarck, ND
78. Grand Forks, ND-MN
79. Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI
80. Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY
81. Binghamton, NY
82. Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA
83. Wisconsin Rapids-Marshfield, WI
84. Ogdensburg-Massena, NY
85. Kansas City, MO-KS
86. San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, CA
87. Torrington, CT
88. Trenton, NJ
89. Rochester, NY
90. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
91. Oneonta, NY
92. Eau Claire, WI
93. Warsaw, IN
94. Norwich-New London, CT
95. Eugene, OR
96. Topeka, KS
97. Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ
98. Mankato-North Mankato, MN
99. Helena, MT
100. Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN

[FlJoePa]

I have no idea what to make of this list as it makes not a whole lot of sense. Nonetheless, I post it here for you all to make even less sense of.

[KarlInOhio]

35. Athens, OH

Apparently one of the grading criteria is drinking in huge quantities. About the only things of note in Athens are Ohio University and the bars that serve it.

[unixfox]

Book smarts do not equate to common sense.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Most of those towns are college towns. I figure that they all have a population that has a lot of time on their hands to play games and work puzzles.

[ConservativeInPA]

My town is not listed. I think I will ease into this intellectual thing. I think I will move to #88 Trenton, NJ.

Opps, that's the reason why my town is not listed.

[left that other site]

49. Boston/Cambridge/Newton

So much for a Hahvahd Edumacation!

[txhurl]

Obviously written by an Aggie.

[Cletus.D.Yokel]

:: Most of those towns are college towns ::

All of those are State University towns, Div1 or Div2. Makes PC-sense.

[Dilbert San Diego]

Whoever wrote this does not know the difference between a city and a metropolitan area. But we are supposed to overlook that and embrace the overall conclusion.

[Menehune56]

I see the City of Evil is in first place.

[gorush]

We need “No City Left Behind” legislation.

[catfish1957]

I say these are the 100 stupidist cities that are paying $10 a month for brain teaser games that they can find free all over the web.

PT Barnum smiles more and more every day.

[re_nortex]

Book smarts do not equate to common sense.

Yes and it's likewise with genuine wisdom:

For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

Proverbs 2:6

[stayathomemom]

For all the colleges in California, it seems to be underrepresented as are some other fair weather states. I would suspect that making the list would have something to do with feeling somewhat housebound due to weather? Note that Houghton, MI is #20 on the list.

[catfish1957]

Uhhh stupidest rather......yuk yuk yuk!

[Chode]

Bullsh!t!!! i work in ithaca, it's the smartest, God help us...

[Jemian]

#44 Auburn-Opelika, AL

HA! WAR EAGLE!

I did not see the other school’s town even mentioned. Of course.

[ansel12]

So the Aggies come in at 11, and UT doesn’t rate at all.

Aggies are going to love that.

[cripplecreek]

I live about 30 miles west of Ann Arbor.

Trust me, it ain’t that smart.

[Chode]

Bullsh!t!!! i work in ithaca, IF it's the smartest, God help us...