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> Now, well into the 21st century, researchers led by the University of Cambridge have detected remnants of the pioneer personality in US populations of once in
by 2trill2spill 6y ago
> Now, well into the 21st century, researchers led by the University of Cambridge have detected remnants of the pioneer personality in US populations of once inhospitable mountainous territory, particularly in the Midwest.
As a person who was born and raised in the Midwest[1], just where are these mountainous regions they speak of in the Midwest? There's the black hills[2] and that's pretty much it. I wonder what definition of the Midwest the University of Cambridge is using, cause it sounds like they are talking about the intermountain west[3], not the midwest.
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midwestern_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midwestern_United_States
[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hills https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hills
[3]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermountain_West https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermountain_West
- reaperducer 6y agoThat pretty much sums up the quality of any of the thousands of attempts by British people to dissect and understand the United States. See also: Almost every single BBC News report ever filed.
- falcolas 6y agoAs someone who lives in this "Intermountain West", I've never heard of the "Intermountain West" term before your post. It seems like a term that someone came up with, but it's never caught on. I've typically heard of us referred to as the Western US (as opposed to the West Coast).
- 2trill2spill 6y agoI hadn't heard of the term either until moving to Utah, I noticed quite a few orgs/business with the term intermountain in it, like intermountain healthcare. But when I was living in the midwest we just referred to the mountain region as "out west".
- jakeva 6y agoI'm from Utah, my parents ran a business with the word 'intermountain' in it but I remember thinking it was a strange word. And (aside from intermountain healthcare, which I doubt I would have remembered without your comment) I don't think it's a word I've heard or seen used otherwise.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- rjsw 6y agoThe term is used for regional sporting organizations.
- reaperducer 6y agoAs someone who lives in this "Intermountain West", I've never heard of the "Intermountain West" term before your post I'm not from the area, but once I started visiting and doing business in Utah, I found it was pretty common. Once I became familiar with it, I noticed it more and more.
- phobosanomaly 6y agoI could see it as East of the Sierras in California continuing across the midwest. The economic and cultural differences crossing from the western coastal strip in California to east of the Sierras are mind-boggling.
- meristem 6y agoI am most familiar with this term in the context of detailed weather forecast discussions.
- 2trill2spill 6y agoMaybe that's why I've heard the term so much recently as I just started getting into weather, and weather forecasting, particularly snow.
- kipchak 6y agoIt sounds like they're talking about the Rockies to me as well. I think the thought is perhaps everything between California and Oklahoma = Midwest.
- Kalium 6y agoSounds about right, and I've corrected that same error in Europeans before. That's the kind of error someone with a limited understanding of American history or culture would make. It's an easy mistake to make, looking at a map and knowing the name without knowing about the Northwest Ordinance
- rosseloh 6y ago>perhaps everything between California and Oklahoma = Midwest If you're right and that's the definition some people use, I'm not surprised they're confused. Considering I see most people using "midwest" referring to places like Ohio and Michigan. I've always preferred "Great Plains" when trying to describe my general location to folks online. You say "I live in the midwest" and everyone seems to assume you're in Ohio or Indiana or thereabouts. Nope, I'm in South Dakota. America's a big place, y'all. The middle of Colorado is where I draw the line - west of there you're not Midwest or Great Plains, you're in The West.
- XaspR8d 6y agoYeah I try to avoid "midwest" at all, except when being vague is a goal. The distinction between "Great Lakes" & "Great Plains" seems quite useful both geographically and culturally and "midwest" seems to just splotch right over that boundary. I agree with your western boundary, though I'd probably just call it "The Rockies" myself, and let Nevadans and Utahns get absorbed either into "West Coast" or "Southwest" as they personally desire. This system does create some problems for e.g. Missouri & Arkansas, which are in the confluence of 3-4 other regions, and you have to accept that Pennsylvania and New York get cut in half, but it's what my brain has settled on.
- AnimalMuppet 6y ago
- baddox 6y agoHow about the Ozarks? They may not be the most visually impressive mountains, but I would at least consider the St. Francois Mountains in southern Missouri to be part of the Midwest.
- chrisco255 6y agoThe Ozarks extend into Arkansas, and I would say that's sort of where the south meets the Midwest. The people from the Ozarks, from my touring of the area in Arkansas, with the strong folk music tradition and the diet, remind me more of Appalachia than out West.
- clairity 6y agoi would consider all of the ozarks part of the south, splitting missouri roughly in half between south and midwest. eastern oklahoma and even (rural) eastern texas is more south than southwest too.
- Ancapistani 6y agoThat’s because our ancestors came from Appalachia - and before that, from the Shenandoah Valley, and before that, from Scotland. It’s interesting to me to look around and see so much of my local culture influenced by our largely shared Scottish ancestry while simultaneously realizing that so few people here really know much about it.
- 2trill2spill 6y agoThe Ozarks are awesome but I wouldn't consider them mountains just big hills. The St Francois mountains for example are only 1700 feet above sea level. Minnesota also has many points above 2000 feet that are awesome but again I wouldn't consider them Mountains either. There's no official definition of a mountain however so its all in the eye of the beholder.
- crocodiletears 6y agoPretty sure 'midwest' has taken over as a more polite version of 'flyover country' in the minds of many in our more uhh elite institutions. I'm sure we're not worth distinguishing. Outside of the cities, we're all just barbarian backwaters.
- RobRivera 6y agoIts more fun rolling as a barb anyways.
- throwaway0a5e 6y agoYeah the problem with that is all the rich people seem to have plenty of time on their hands to tell you how to live your life.
- remarkEon 6y agoYeah but the best part of being a mountain barbarian or a midwesterner is you get to ignore them while you live rent free in their heads.
- throwaway0a5e 6y agoThe problem with ignoring them is that left to their own devices they'll outlaw your way of life directly or indirectly.
- vikramkr 6y agoIt's from a UK institution. I'd be surprised if the average member of that institution could distinguish US cities either. I assure you that people in coastal US cities are fully capable of distinguishing the mountainy place where there's legal weed from the flat place where there's corn. As a former midwesterner though, wouldn't feel confident about assuring you of anything more than that. Except during election season. For like 3 weeks everyone suddenly becomes an expert on Iowa and Ohio. An old but relevant meme titled "how non-Americans see america": https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/051/807/26e.jpg_large https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/051/807/26e...
- nickpinkston 6y agoThey could be referring to some like Appalachia too? That does include the bottom of Ohio near the WV / KY / PA borders (where I grew). I'd believe that these rural places could have the "pioneer personality" they're describing.
- viridian 6y agoThe Appalachian mountains are present in Southeastern Ohio. The hollers don't just magically appear when you cross the river over from Marietta to Parkersburg.