Music as correlated to SAT score

[6MT_FTW]

I know that correlation does not imply causation, and there may not be anything of scientific merit contained within, but on a superficial level I found this somewhat interesting. This is just some guy's research project I stumbled across whilst looking for a particular Venn diagram. I'm not sure what to make of this - I'm a big fan of jazz, mostly fusion, but also like to listen to Sufjan Stevens, Ben Folds, RATM, Led Zeppelin and David Bowie.

And where are The Police? I assume that, at least in this chart and the limited sample size, they fall under the generic 'classic rock' category, making me feel especially old. I'd have to see the date at which this data was collected to gather some idea as to whether or not the students in question would really have any clue who The Police were, other than some stuff that their parents listened to. If they were to be in their own category I'd expect them to be towards the right side of the chart as I don't think most pop artists would refer to such things asbooks by Nabokov and Arthur Koestler (which lead Sting some theories by Carl Jung), the Scylla and Charybdis, and my favorite, Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (although the piece mentioning Quintilian was actually written by Eberhard Schoener).

Here's one of my favorite silly songs that I love to sing (as long as nobody is listening to my off-key warbling):

[jayvincent]

@6mt_ftw hmmm, maybe age dependent, because I did better than predicted based on a diet of Billy joel, ACDC, Pink Floyd and Classic Rock. I'm concerned there's no Jim Croce, maybe he's off the scale to the right, helping to pull my score up?

[6MT_FTW]

@jayvincent I remember being quite young and 'accidentally' listening to Billy Joel, and becoming quite a big fan, when I was digging through my parent's LPs trying to find that song 'Me and Mrs. Jones', unaware that it was sung by Billy Paul...

[spacekraken]

Wait, classical and jazz (and beyonce) make you dumb and U2 makes you smart? Hmmm lol seems suspect

Still love this chart. And Led Zepplin and Jack Johnson both sort of align with my scores, though I took the ACT... so guesstimating the difference

[BicycleBuck]

@6mt_ftw

With the site hosting the source being down, we can't evaluate the work, the methodology, or the author. On the face of it, correlating music tastes to intelligence might provide some insight, but I doubt there's any causation to be found. It's highly unlikely that swapping your Nickelback playlist for Counting Crows is going to make you smarter.

The methodology for correlating the two variables is limited. I listen to many of the artists and genres represented here, so am I dumber when my radio is tuned to Aerosmith and smarter when a Led Zeppelin song comes on? Simple questions like these tend to expose the limitations of the work and I'd bet that this student's work has been called into question after all the publicity.

[Krusty Walnut]

@6mt_ftw Their biase is showing. R&B, Hip Hop, Gospel, and jazz are near the bottom?! Ben Folds and Guster near the top?! This list is stupid.

[orneryduck]

The lack of Insane Clown Posse is disturbing.

[3point8isgreat]

@spacekraken I dont think there's a classical genre listed at all. Not enough retired people taking SATs. (For the record, I had symphony season tickets until the pandemic cut the season short.)

[nth256]

@6mt_ftw - I smell some bullshit. I went to this site "VIRGIL.GR", poked around, and it all feels very fake. Went to his youtube page, looked at his uploaded videos, and he's part of a competition called "King Of The Nerds". I feel like a lot of the "data" science stuff on his page is filler material that is meant to pass as "research".

[WhoIsTheLeader]

@6mt_ftw Why is U2 more intellectual than Bob Dylan?

[ttyymmnn]

@6mt_ftw

A whole lot of research has been done that seems to point to the role music can play in "intelligence," at least as it is quantified in test scores. But it's my understanding that the benefits only come if you play music, not just by listening to it. Playing music requires different levels of mental organization and cranial multitasking, analysis, rigor, etc. The whole Baby Mozart "playing Mozart for your baby will make them smarter" thing has been debunked.

I suppose you could try to find some sort of correlation between the kind of music being listened to and the societal strata of where that music tends to get listened to and draw some kind of ridiculous conclusion based on average test scores for that demographic or something. But I think this whole premise is bunk.

[6MT_FTW]

@ttyymmnn I'm in total agreement. This whole thing seems rather amateurish and would be something that a professor in a 101-level class would easily debunk before much time was wasted on it. The possibility of selection bias in all categories being compared is way to high to ignore, and I question the methodology used in gathering the alleged data.

[6MT_FTW]

@3point8isgreat In a later different version, posted below, there is a section for Beethoven, which makes me wonder if that's just the author's catch-all term for classical music and what that might indicate about their knowledge, or lack thereof, when it comes to classical music. If I say that I don't care for Beethoven does that indicate a lower SAT score? What would the author have to say if I said that I preferred Satie or St. Saens or Bartok? This graphic reeks of personal bias and a decided lack of proper research methodology.

Years ago I had the pleasure of being a recording engineer and videographer for a regional orchestra. In order to do my job to the satisfaction of the conductor I was actually on stage for each performance, the only exception being when he also wanted me to take still photographs during the concert. There were days when I felt like I had the best seats in the house, and based on that experience going to a concert these days and sitting in the audience felt like a bit of a disappointment, to be completely honest.

[davesaddiction]

@6mt_ftw My dad only listened (and listens) to classical. He was a musician, a pianist and organist (his hands shake too much to play anymore, sadly).

Apparently, people with my score don't listen to music?

I really do like Beck, Ben Folds and Counting Crows, though, along with plenty of others on the chart.

[6MT_FTW]

@whoistheleader I have no answer to that. I believe that this whole thing is flawed and probably based more on opinion rather than any objective research.

[3point8isgreat]

@6mt_ftw I agree, it all seems silly. Also given that people will be fans of lots of music types and bands, this really just seems like a weird way to say people who like music will, on average, have average SATs.

Where do you normally sit in the audience? My wife and I always try to be front row, almost in line with the Concertmaster. Especially for soloists. Since this spot is supposedly worse sound balance they are often the cheap seats. Its awesome being able to pick out individual violins. Or feeling like you have a personal concert soloist in your living room. So many little tricks and techniques they use really pop when you're that close.

[way2blu]

@6mt_ftw I did pretty well on my SAT, but also got this award from Spotify:

Do they cancel each other out?

On a more serious note, I also listen to tons of orchestral & soundtrack music. Strauss and Shostakovich to more modern composers like John Williams and Hans Zimmer. There’s so much great music available to stream now.

[RPMesq.]

@6mt_ftw If this correlation shows anything at all, it's just that well-to-do white suburbanites have better access to test prep classes and whatnot than average. ETA: that's exactly, and only, what it does. It's correlated by school's average test scores, not individuals'. https://exclaim.ca/music/article/us_study_digs_into_musicthatmakesyoudumb

[6MT_FTW]

@3point8isgreat My seating choice usually depends on the concert and soloist. If it's something like a quartet I'll usually pick something as central as possible for the balance. If there is a featured soloist I prefer to be as close to them as possible so that I can focus on their particular talents.

One of my favorite memories was going to see the late, great Oscar Peterson at the Jazz Bakery in Los Angeles; this was a few years after he had suffered a stroke. I took a friend of mine, a rather talented pianist, and wanted to see him in action. It was a rather intimate venue, and we were able to get seats up front but off to the sides, the intent being to hear the music similarly to how the musician hears it and to see his hands in action.

I can't wait for spring to return. While the whole COVID thing will still be going on there should be some great live outdoor performances either at the botanical garden or at one of the many large parks in the area. This is all based on the assumption that such performances will be allowed should proper social distancing protocols are followed. Given the selfishness, anger and general idiocy of too many people I don't know if that will be possible, but I figure that the ignorant anti-maskers will not be drawn to such events. Let them spread disease amongst themselves listening to a jukebox in a crowded dive bar whilst I enjoy live music in the park.