Analysis: How poverty can drive down intelligence
I think there are class cultural habits ingrained that may ALSO play a role (the study described seems to talk about stress).<p>I live surrounded by thousands of people in NYCHA housing, as well as live in an area with a poverty rate in the 40 percent range.  Now, one thing that strikes me every day, and moreso in the warmer months, is the amount of noise people live within. In stores, a radio plays everything including commercials, while in the courtyards of the buildings people blast music at extremely high levels.  And it&#x27;s not the opera they&#x27;re blasting, either.  It&#x27;s music that demands attention with massive bass.  Cars park with their trunks open doing the same.  Now if children grow up in these environments, how in the world can they have sharpened minds if they&#x27;re assaulted by loud, distracting noise during every weekend and evening?<p>I don&#x27;t know how strong a factor this is globally, but I&#x27;m pretty confident it&#x27;s something that should be researched and perhaps, just like we have nutritional health research and recommendations, we should also have &#x27;environmental&#x27; ones that include noise levels and effects on children and stress.  The poor need it more than anyone since they have no choice.  The rest of us move (or help gentrify away noise, if I&#x27;m cynical).