Your brain on visible poverty

[Demovictory9]

Your brain on visible poverty

You might think that visible poverty — like tent encampments along a bike path — would prompt a tender response from sheltered individuals. You would be incorrect.

In actuality, research has found that increases in visible poverty result in an increase in wealth inequality. The Haves, in this case, are less charitable, less generous and less emotionally drawn to help when they can see just how little the Have Nots have.

This is, I believe, linked to the perception of scarcity, and the idea that our economy is a zero-sum game. That is, if a poor person were to suddenly become not-poor, they may come for what you have and you might have less.

The companion to this is the assumption that when someone is poor, it must be because they deserve to stay that way. They must, fundamentally, be different than you are.

If not, there’s no clear answer as to why they are poor and you are not.

https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2018/07/11/Poverty-Biases/

[Loki Liesmith]

1. fMRI studies are just so much bullshit

much of the time. Looking at which areas of the brain are activated by stimuli is frequently statistical ledgerdemain.

A fun (but not totally fair) example:

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/scicurious-brain/ignobel-prize-in-neuroscience-the-dead-salmon-study/