Theory: Conservatives are Bad at Math

[ThoughtCriminal]

Setting aside those who are conservative because they are either:

1. Wealthy
2. Bigots
3. Sadists

I have noticed another common trait - they are terrible at math.

Some weeks ago I encoutered yet another right-winger repost of the claim that Washington DC is more dangerous than Iraq. Did he check the math? I asked. Yes he assured me it was 100% correct (I'm surprised the claim wasn't 110%). I pointed out the innaccuracies:

1. It compared one MONTH in Iraq to one YEAR in DC
2. The population for DC was also wrong
3. The number of U.S. soldiers in Iraq was wrong
4. The DC murder rate was based on the worst year ever (peaked at end of Bush41). The DC murder rate had declined to half that rate by 2000.

Using corrected numbers and math, I came up with a U.S. military death rate 14 times higher than the DC murder rate. The actual rate is probably higher than that, but I used a "conservative" estimate of the average number of soldiers serving in Iraq .

I also noted that this only counted deaths of U.S. Soldiers, not other countires, non-military workers, Iraqi soldiers, and most of all - Iraqi civilians.

When you think about conservative arguments regarding tax cuts, the National Debt, Social Security, healthcare, Medicare, crime, the actual risk from terrorists, and scores of other issues, the inability to do basic calculations or simple research eludes them.

[SharonAnn]

1. Not Bad at Math - They Just Make It Up! Not-reality based.

[Tace]

3. It's True

My dad graduated from an Ivy League school with a degree in civil engineering. He's in his 70's now, reading Moonie literature, watching Fox and listening to Limbaugh. He's scared to death of publications like Scientific American. It's just way too much for him to try to comprehend. It's really too bad.

I mention this because I don't think that bigotry is simply a matter of a lack of education. I've been thinking lately that there's an organic basis for such ignorance.

[zbdent]

8. No, likely that the guy got it off a stupid freeper, and, like everything

else that still tastes like a crap sandwich, they swallowed whole without checking facts ...

[MrCoffee]

2. Freeper Math 2+2= WMD!

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

4. They're As Good At Math As Anyone Else. It's Their Ability For

critical thinking and accurate perception of reality that is the problem.

[achtung_circus]

5. Math

is just a Lieberal re-interpretation of good old fashioned God-Given ARITmetic.

If GOD wan't us to us e math he wouldn'y have ginven us only 10 fingers. (or in the case of my Mom-sister, 12)

Math is confusing to lie to us!!!!

[Libby2]

6. They pretty much suck at everything

except lying.

[elehhhhna]

7. VOODOO Economics, baby!

RR invented it, Poppy called it, Bushler ressurected it.

[akushuki]

9. That one crops up every now and then. I came up with closer to 16

times higher with corrected numbers. Also, when that email came out it had the wrong number of dead soldiers.

[ThoughtCriminal]

11. It ranges from about 14-18 times higher

And it varies depending on when the calculation was made and if non-combat fatalities are included.
The tricky part is calculating the fatal casualty rate in Iraq since troop numbers vary over time. At the time. I used 130,000 as a rough estimate of the average deployment.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/iraq_orbat_es.htm

[MazeRat7]

10. They don't need math or independent research.. they have "Truthiness"