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I don't think analytical thinking has anything to do with political leaning, I'd argue that the US higher education system particularly the humanities is a bree

I don't think analytical thinking has anything to do with political leaning, I'd argue that the US higher education system particularly the humanities is a breeding ground of idealogues. I would say the tendency of education to lean left is largely due to left leaning people being more attracted to working in academia.

onethought 6y ago
This is an umbrellas make it rain reverse causation. If you look outside the US the education level does correlate with the political spectrum. The higher educated the population the entire spectrum shifts left. See Northern Europe, Japan, Australia, Singapore, China, even political ideology (democracy vs socialism) doesn’t change this correlation
- WatchDog 6y ago
  > This is an umbrellas make it rain reverse causation. I don't see how. > If you look outside the US the education level does correlate with the political spectrum. I didn't mention anything about the US, it's a global phenomenon. Personality is a largely biological construct, and it's also highly correlated with political leaning. Looking at the big 5 model, left leaning people tend to be high in neuroticism(emotional stability) and openness, and low in conscientiousness. Right leaning people tend to be the opposite. These same traits influence peoples decision to work in academia, openness is a beneficial trait for learning new ideas. Meanwhile people high in conscientiousness, low in neuroticism are highly sought after in industry.
  - onethought 6y ago
    I’m saying even the right shifts left. It’s not about “left leaning people” it’s the entire spectrum moves. There are still of course right and left leaning people on that spectrum
    - WatchDog 6y ago
      What I'm saying is that the teachers are left leaning, and it influences their students.
- tested23 6y ago
  I guess your education did not teach you that correlation does not imply causation. The simpler explanation for why people that are educated lean left is that the people teaching them lean left. Why do teachers lean left? Because they are often broke and underpaid. The fact that there is such uniformity of thought in higher education just goes to show the power of indoctrination. I feel bad harping on common talking points but most degrees do not teach analytical thought.
  - onethought 6y ago
    I’m talking the whole spectrum, you are caught up on American domestic ideas of left v right. As my example stated, the far right in Australia would be considered left in the US... the whole spectrum has moved... not talking about individuals... they still exist across that spectrum
- tsimionescu 6y ago
  I can tell you that in the former Soviet bloc, higher education correlates very powerfully with leaning right. I'd bet it's more likely that higher education correlates well with elitism, and that elitism happens to have a left-ish flavor in some countries and a right-ish flavor in others, simply by accident of history, not by some general rule.
tsimionescu 6y ago
I don't think there is any general rule, the fact that higher educated elites in the US and western Europe happen to be left leaning is a self-perpetuating accident of history. In many other countries, higher educated elites are right-leaning.

onethought 6y ago

This is an umbrellas make it rain reverse causation. If you look outside the US the education level does correlate with the political spectrum. The higher educated the population the entire spectrum shifts left. See Northern Europe, Japan, Australia, Singapore, China, even political ideology (democracy vs socialism) doesn’t change this correlation

WatchDog 6y ago
> This is an umbrellas make it rain reverse causation. I don't see how. > If you look outside the US the education level does correlate with the political spectrum. I didn't mention anything about the US, it's a global phenomenon. Personality is a largely biological construct, and it's also highly correlated with political leaning. Looking at the big 5 model, left leaning people tend to be high in neuroticism(emotional stability) and openness, and low in conscientiousness. Right leaning people tend to be the opposite. These same traits influence peoples decision to work in academia, openness is a beneficial trait for learning new ideas. Meanwhile people high in conscientiousness, low in neuroticism are highly sought after in industry.
- onethought 6y ago
  I’m saying even the right shifts left. It’s not about “left leaning people” it’s the entire spectrum moves. There are still of course right and left leaning people on that spectrum
  - WatchDog 6y ago
    What I'm saying is that the teachers are left leaning, and it influences their students.
tested23 6y ago
I guess your education did not teach you that correlation does not imply causation. The simpler explanation for why people that are educated lean left is that the people teaching them lean left. Why do teachers lean left? Because they are often broke and underpaid. The fact that there is such uniformity of thought in higher education just goes to show the power of indoctrination. I feel bad harping on common talking points but most degrees do not teach analytical thought.
- onethought 6y ago
  I’m talking the whole spectrum, you are caught up on American domestic ideas of left v right. As my example stated, the far right in Australia would be considered left in the US... the whole spectrum has moved... not talking about individuals... they still exist across that spectrum
tsimionescu 6y ago
I can tell you that in the former Soviet bloc, higher education correlates very powerfully with leaning right. I'd bet it's more likely that higher education correlates well with elitism, and that elitism happens to have a left-ish flavor in some countries and a right-ish flavor in others, simply by accident of history, not by some general rule.

tsimionescu 6y ago

I don't think there is any general rule, the fact that higher educated elites in the US and western Europe happen to be left leaning is a self-perpetuating accident of history. In many other countries, higher educated elites are right-leaning.