Aberdonians are getting smarter…

Well, according to science


Word on the scientific research street is that we’re getting well more cleverer.

NHS Grampian and Scientists from our very own uni have taken it upon themselves to have a gander at IQ development in Aberdeen.

The study consisted of two groups, the first made up of people born in 1921, and the second born in 1936. Both groups were IQ tested at the age of 11, and then retested in later life between the years of 1998 and 2011.

It seems that just 15 years is all the time needed to boost the average IQ in later life up by 16.5.

Dr Roger Staff, the leader of the study, has shared his thought-provoking commentary on the matter:

“Aberdeen has been good for their IQ.”

Well said Roger, well said.

Speculation as to why this IQ increase has come about has swiftly followed the results, with various influences considered.

The Great Depression:

No one’s going to be that bothered about the development of the genius of the average Aberdonian child while chewing a thistle for sustenance because they’re too skint to afford bread.

If you have to have A National Hunger march (held in 1932) then you knowing things are far from swell. 1921 kids were all about survival: more Lord of the Flies than Schrodinger’s cat.

World War II:

The 1936 clan were born into a world of discipline. Such interesting foods as Spam were on the menu, and though squished up pork shoulder in a tin is usually something you’d find at the back of the cupboard when you move house, wartime rations such as this were generally high in nutritional value – Spam makes you smart.

Post War Politics:

Their prize for the consumption of so much miscellaneous tinned meat, and of course for getting through the war in general, was that the 1936 peeps experienced the political emphasi put on education, as well as the introduction of the welfare state. Bit of wiggle room provided for thinking thoughts and stuff.

Oil:

It has been suggested that because the 1936 young’uns experienced the oil boom in their 30s and 40s, they’ve been lubed up quite comfortably to slide on a sleigh of money to a more comfortable existence which ultimately gives them more time for doing smart things, and so allowing them to get smarter, at least in the greasy world of fracking.

Well done oil, you slick bastard.

This is of course all just Tab speculation. The scientists involved are hoping to continue the study, researching next people born in the 50s and, Jesus, maybe even to people outside of Aberdeen…

So whether it’s Spam, oil or education, or maybe just the fact that hot people are on shows for the clever these days (Rachel Riley), we’re apparently doing grand.

Let’s just hope the 50s don’t let us down – I imagine being a teenager in the 60s might well have affected their cognitive capacities… but maybe in a good way…

Let’s do more studies on that please.