Posted on 06/25/2013 5:29:24 PM PDT by 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
Nonsense. Atlanta should be prominently represented, since it is the computing hub of the entire Southeastern United States. It is also the home city of the Center for Disease Control, sporting 14,000 employees in Atlanta alone. The CDC has as an AVERAGE level of education of Master of Sciences. There are many PhDs there. It is also a structural, mechanical, and electrical engineering hub.
LOL...my state is not listed!
Read my last post Laz. There might not be a city in the WORLD with more dumb people dragging them down than Atlanta.
DALTON is smarter than Atlanta per capita. That should scare you to death!
There is a reason why I always like Louisiana ... well minus New Orleans.
I would, however, argue that intelligence is not an aggregated function. We are not hive minds. Therefore the means and/or medians don't matter. It is the exceptional and individual intelligence that matters to making a city more functional, more livable.
The dumber among us do not engineer, maintain, and improve the efficient power grids, the sewer and water systems, the telecom and internet networks, the traffic conduits. The more intelligent do.
It’s concentrated intelligence in small markets that makes their stupid list. Simple as that.
I would offer that the authors of this list have demonstrated a lack of intelligence. :)
They are all college towns. Six of the top ten are in the Big Ten.
Burlington, NC. You must be kidding me. At least 40% of the population doesn’t speak English and 30% of the rest think BBQ comes from the grocery store. I am soooo ashamed.
It’s obvious to me that the people in REALLY smart cities (like conservative Colorado Springs) don’t feel they have to “improve” their intelligence by playing games on the internet.
Yeah, right.
Washington, DC, was dead last.
Lemme guess - that’s where you live?!
Great post from Great War Eagle supporter...
Boulder, CO, is on the list ? It is full or retards! Colorado Springs and southeastern Denver has 99% of the brainiacs in Colorado. Boulder couldn’t support Apple or Sun Microsystems so they closed. The other places I mentioned have a vast amount of aerospace, telecom, aviation, etc.
Yeah, well I didn’t compile the list. I just posted it - as well as explaining what I thought it’s flaws were.
Take it up with Boulder. In fact, invade them. They seem like a bunch of assholes anyway.
We should have expected as much........on both cities...Lol
Thanks for posting.
AUsome! However, I'm afraid they might drop one notch next year when my daughter graduates and moves on ;-)
Umm, with those criteria, Atlanta may not help bolster your argument ;-)
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