Do You Live in a Bubble Quiz?

[Ichingcarpenter]

That's the thesis Charles Murray, a libertarian political scientist at the American Enterprise Institute, puts forth in his new book, "Coming Apart." In a piece soon to appear on the NewsHour, Murray argues that the super wealthy, super educated and super snobby live in so-called super-ZIPs: cloistered together, with little to no exposure to American culture at large.



The higher your score, the thinner your bubble. The lower, the more insulated you might be from mainstream American culture.

I scored a 66


I 'm really off the charts on this one, sicne i've done high academic work and labor
but I guess the test is OK for the general public.. I found the test questions interesting
but rather shallow in depth.... but hey, its the internet.



http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2012/03/white-educated-and-wealthy-congratulations-you-live-in-a-bubble.html

[TheWraith]

1. I scored 64. nt

[Proud Public Servant]

2. Weirdly accurate

My score (31) was just 2 points off the typical score for "A first-generation upper-middle-class person with middle-class parents," which is exactly who I am.

[snooper2]

3. So you never go fishing, eat at Applebees, or

stock your fridge with Bud Light

[Ichingcarpenter]

4. I eat at none those restaurants on the list and only drink

decent beer.



I scored higher by working on a floor and hurting.

[CreekDog]

38. Why are we posting Charles Murray (author of "The Bell Curve") here on DU?

Why are we posting something that's by the guy that said black people are less smart than white people?

Why are we posting a quiz that purports American culture at large to be whiter than it actually is, evangelical, when it's not and rural, when it's not --and chiding people as "out of touch" for living in urban areas (93% of Americans live in urbanized areas), the largest religious group isn't evangelical but Roman Catholic.

this is ridiculous.

[Ichingcarpenter]

55. OK.... fine

I only thought it was worth an intellectual interest



“Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.”


“The IQ and the life expectancy of the average American recently passed each other in opposite directions.”
― George Carlin




The Bell Curve doesn't take into emotional IQ and other fctors and is over rated.

I wanted an attack on his methodolgy and got it..... thanks

[CreekDog]

74. Thanks, though there is nothing intellectual about it

his quiz isn't grounded in any kind of science, statistics or 2000+ demographics.

and points are lost for people who are disabled or were born gay (no military service and also the former group loses more points if they didn't stand on a factory floor).

he's an idiot. discerning DUers' BS meters should hopefully go off while taking the quiz.

[TransitJohn]

102. ..

[Proud Public Servant]

6. Nope, and I don't

watch any of the TV shows listed either. But I grew up in a neighborhood with almost no college graduates and I have worked in factories (on the floor, not office work), so that kept my score from flying off into Limousine Liberal Land.

[snooper2]

28. They should really change the questions up...

Like, do you know what C4 means? (answer can be either "an explosive" or "a shitty transmission", both equal same points LOL )

[Proud Public Servant]

34. I want to see the opposite quiz

- In the last 5 years, have you and your wife attended the opera?

- Have you ever eaten at a restaurant that didn't serve french fries? (Do not count Chinese restaurants, Mexican restaurants, or pizza parlors)

- Have you or your wife ever purchased a German luxury sedan?

- What does "Kennebunkport" mean to you?

- How many of the following Ivy League seals can you identify?

[snooper2]

60. How about, when you hear the word "Scallops"

Do you instantly think of this-




Or this-

[get the red out]

5. I scored a 67

Interesting, not sure what it means overall though. The way the world is now, you can be "in a bubble" and still see outside it.

[Ichingcarpenter]

17. I think that's the gated community syndrome

and living in fear. I think the test is interesting and has some validity.
Not knowing where people come from and their day to day struggles
There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning.

[gkhouston]

84. And yet, there were no questions about housing.

Whether you thought most of your neighbors well college-educated, yes. But nothing about apartment vs. house vs. gated community, nothing about country clubs or neighborhood associations, etc. It's like it was written by someone who's so much in a bubble that they imagined what the not-bubble was like and got it surprisingly wrong.

[uponit7771]

48. +1

[Johnny Rico]

7. 27 here. I guess I'm pretty isolated.

Which is exactly the way I like it.

[Retrograde]

16. I'll join you

I don't eat at chains or see many movies (or fish) so I'm apparently a lot higher-class than I should be.

I don't think he allows for age. Some of us 60+ers remember the days when the US still had factories and steel mills, so it was possible to grow up in a major metropolitan area and still live in a neighborhood where no one had a college education, and many didn't even have high school diplomas.

[Whiskeytide]

8. I scored a 39

which surprised me. I think my minimal TV and movie viewing habits brought me down. I'm an expert on movies 20 to 30 years ago. Not so much the new stuff.

[Mojorabbit]

9. 50 nt

[1StrongBlackMan]

10. I scored a 54. n/t

[RZM]

11. Did it a month or two ago. Got a 38

I was actually a little surprised how low it was. I thought I was a bit less bubbly.

My favorite part is the question about Branson. In the answer key, he makes sure to mention you get zero points if your first thought was Richard Branson

[OriginalGeek]

62. I didn't know how to answer that

I thought of both of them and I couldn't tell you which came first

But then I figured I'd find myself in Missouri long before I found myself brunching with Richie so I picked that.

I got a 66. I refuse to stock Macro-brew in my fridge although I will drink it when I'm out and about and I'm in the mood for a beer and it's what's there. Never a lite beer though.

I do stock up with Yuengling though - I don't think that counts what they were talking about - the Big 3.

[Blue_In_AK]

67. Oh, really?

He was my first thought. Oh, well....

[pinboy3niner]

12. 59 nt

[justabob]

13. scored 51

but it was wildly off on the description(s) that went with the score. The results seem to assume I am upwardly mobile or doing better than the last generation instead of starting with advantages and living in poverty now. Interesting never-the-less.

[annabanana]

101. same regards upside down assumptions. . . n/t

[tk2kewl]

14. 40

[Xyzse]

15. Hmmm..

I scored a 34.

11–80: A first-generation upper-middle-class person with middle-class parents. Typical: 33.

0–43: A second-generation (or more) upper-middle-class person who has made a point of getting out a lot. Typical: 9.

Hmmm... Not sure, I came from a different country initially so.
I don't watch much television and I keep pretty active so I don't know how that affected my score.

[Speck Tater]

18. I scored 67

and I've been all over the place, teaching at a university, working a lathe in a furniture factory, software engineer for 3 different major video game companies, aerodynamics engineer at a NASA contractor, and handyman/electrician at a cattle feed lot in Colorado, not to mention pizza delivery and venetian blind repair while in college and running a paper baler at night in a recycling center while getting my first MS degree. I've lived in a 4500 sq-ft house in the hills overlooking San Fransisco Bay, with stables and horses for my kids, and later for several years in a run down two room motel/apartment in rural Oregon where most of my neighbors didn't speak English.

[Ichingcarpenter]

27. I'm like you high education, factory working, criminal court coordinator for Houston

labor organizer,

I noticed it didn't ask us of our EDUCATION, only our parents. and their income.
I thought the Doctor Phil, Operah, Judge judy question was odd.
I wonder if I scored higher for Operah? ... Watched a few with some good guests.

Why did we score higher?...........

[Scuba]

19. 62 but I don't fit any of the score range descriptions which seem to have a lot to do with ...

... TV and movie habits, which are mentioned in three of the six. Wonder how my never having seen any of the TV shows or movies affected my score.

[Go Vols]

20. 48

I watch none of those shows or eat at any of those restaurants.But I do fish and know JJ was the coach for Dallas.

[ohheckyeah]

23. Or a NASCAR driver...

but we could only choose one.

[ctaylors6]

61. first names spelled differently I think

Jimmy = Cowboys coach
Jimmie = nascar driver

I live in TX and like nascar.

I got 44. I didn't eat at any of those restaurants, and Big Bang Theory was only show on list I watch.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

21. 39 but I have no clue what that's supposed to mean. I do know my friends in the hood consider me a

little too "bougie" and my stuck up friends consider me a little too "hood".

[ohheckyeah]

22. I got a 69

and I think that's still low.

[Cirque du So-What]

24. 84

Higher than I would have expected, and I don't even drink Bud Light.

[gkhouston]

25. Maybe it was my answers, but I didn't see an attempt to separate "wealthy" from "educated".

And I doubt those two groups inhabit the same bubble.

[JHB]

26. 36. I wonder where that is on the Bell Curve...

...while I give a reminder of who came up with this.

Where's the Conservabubble, 'Christian'ishbubble, and WashingtonVillagerbubble quizes?

Thar's more than on bubble in this country. And some are much thicker than others.

[one_voice]

29. I scored a 69...

probably cuz I watched American Idol.

I was raised in a working class family. Mom was/is a nurse and dad worked in plant. We had a blended family with lots of kids. At one time there were 8, then 3 of my dad's kids went back to live with their mom and it was 5 of us forever.

I married a blue collar guy--he works in an office job now, but was always in construction in some way. He was in the Army, went to college but didn't finish.

My daughter went to college and has a masters degree, and my son is a junior in college now. He'll probably stop at his bachelors degree.

We're very ordinary.

[Larry Ogg]

30. I got a 76

Last edited Thu Apr 12, 2012, 06:31 PM - Edit history (1)

I drink Beer 30 cause it cost only $15.49 for a 30 pack.
And my wife will (as the old saying goes) pinch a nickel till the buffalo shits.

That, and good beer gives me a headache.

[Ichingcarpenter]

31. Could we get some more records other than mine so

other DUers can see this and take the test?

I've gone back and look at why the questions were asked
whichI I think might help understanding his methodology.

[WCGreen]

32. 54...

I live in one of the "wealthy" suburbs of Cleveland....

My mother had a masters and both my father and step father were small business workers.

I worked a whole lot of jobs and took a Greyhound all the way to Oregon from Cleveland.

Like all tests, I think this one is more or less crap shoot.

Hey, the Big Bang Theory is funny.

[Egalitarian Thug]

47. Backgrounds sound very dissimilar, yet I got 54 as well. n/t

[RebelOne]

33. I scored a 37

0–43: A second-generation (or more) upper-middle-class person who has made a point of getting out a lot. Typical: 9.

[Bake]

35. 65 here.

And I have 3 post-baccalaureate degrees. But I hang out with musicians and other smokers ...



Bake

[Ichingcarpenter]

40. Living for the whisky wine and gin

Couldn't stand the weather..

If you don't understand the blues and feel its talking to you
You live in a bubble.

[crazylikafox]

36. Oops. Only got 19.

But a lot of the "not going out" to restaurants & movies is more about being retired & on very limited income. So why does that count so much? I also grew up in College towns, and my taste in movies & tv doesn't include dancing with the stars & Judge Judy. But does that make me part of the elite? I don't think so.

[CreekDog]

37. This is bullshit, no offense...this is stating American culture as something it's not

-- Murray's work is laughable. Murray puts forth a quiz to find out if you're isolated from "American Culture at large" but the norm he describes IS NOT the norm at all, and may never have been.

He asks if you're in a Metro Area, 82% of Americans are, that's the NORM, he is saying it's not. He asks if you are exposed to evangelicals. The two groups you're most likely to be exposed to as an American are Catholics and non-affiliated/non-believers. He takes his anecdote of a factor floor as "at large" American culture, when that sector is a small part of the economy now --few people, rich or poor have or will work on a factory floor.

If Murray is purporting to find out if the wealthy are isolated from the poor, there are statistical ways of analyzing that. But instead, he created a quiz designed to tell middle class liberals living in Metro areas that they're living in a bubble, when in fact, they probably vastly outnumber those that he describes as part of "American culture at large".

This is a particularly lazy effort by Murray --a surprise that you wasted a good reporter like Solman on this, especially knowing how bad Murray's "The Bell Curve" was.

[gkhouston]

39. IMO, it's an attempt to undermine the 1%/99% meme.

It's a way of asserting that anyone who has a college degree and has never done physical labor might as well be the same as a billionaire.

[obamanut2012]

49. Agreed -- Mr. Bell Curve

[MineralMan]

41. Charles Murray? Of the Bell Curve?

I wouldn't give any theory of his the time of day, much less take part in a quiz based on it.

No, thank you very much.

[steve2470]

42. 36 nt

[uponit7771]

43. 74, WOW! My past life experience REALLY shape who I am now. I think God for them, I no longer live..

...the lifestyle I grew up in. If my last 10 years were measured I'm sure I'd be in a huge bubble relative to my first 20 years

[Jennicut]

44. I got a 52. I grew up in one of the wealthiest towns in Connecticut.

M Dad worked for the telephone company all his life (CT Telephone which eventually was bought out by SBC and then AT&T) and we were average middle class. At least Cheshire, CT middle class. My Mom had her own business selling handcrafted dolls, quilts and other sewn items. I live in a middle class/working class little town now, still in CT. I watch average shows like The Mentalist and NCIS and go out to Chili's and The Outback. I drink Bud Light on occasion. There are not many Evangelicals, its New England. Everyone is usually Protestant or Catholic or atheist. Not sure what this quiz exactly measured. You are as insulated or aware as you make yourself to be. Very wealthy people can be aware and strive to help the poor and some can live in their own little bubble forever.

[uponit7771]

45. I think it's your last sentence that, ....

...the test is trying to measure.

Most likely if people grow up in a rich lifestyle they're most likely to stay around them and people like them....

I know some rich people who have never had the opportunity to know someone middle class outside of abstract thought so it's hard to be able to relate to people outside of their world.

The issue with "trickle down" is the people at the top can't relate to anyone that's not in that lifestyle, I find most liberal or left leaning people to be able to relate to people outside of their demographic.

Reminds me of the opposite of the Romneys,

WTF is dressage?!

Obama has pissed me off at times but there's no way I would want Mr and Mrs. "dressage" in office

[Jennicut]

53. I went to high school with kids who had BMWs.

And huge mansions and enormous pools in their backyards. And they did horseback riding like Ann Romney. Some of those people were good people and nice people and some were just total snobs. The Romneys are clearly isolated while some would say Edward Kennedy and FDR were champions for the poor while being extremely wealthy. I think it depends on how you chose to live your life. I have worked with a lot of poor children as a counselor in a group home and at some inner city schools as a sub. I looked around some of the people I grew up with and their parents and it made me uneasy how complacent and out of touch with reality they were. It turned me into a Democrat. My parents are conservatives but most people in the town I grew up in are.

[spinbaby]

46. Ouch

"A second-generation (or more) upper-middle-class person who has made a point of getting out a lot."

[mainer]

50. +18

"Second generation upper middle class with the TV/movie habits of upper middle class."

Wow. They got me to a T.

[sudopod]

51. You're good people Iching.

You might want to do a google on Charles Murray though, lol.

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/411212/march-27-2012/charles-murray

[jwirr]

52. I got a 63. Average middle class.

[One of the 99]

54. The questions are based on conservative talking points

It's not a fair test.

[ceile]

56. 42, but honestly I don't understand his method.

42–100: A first-generation middle-class person with working-class parents and average television and movie going habits. Typical: 66.

11–80: A first-generation upper-middle-class person with middle-class parents. Typical: 33.

0–43: A second-generation (or more) upper-middle-class person who has made a point of getting out a lot. Typical: 9.

Why no questions about my education in determing the results? Why is that not relevant?

[gkhouston]

58. Good question.

Also, why do all the years I spent living below the poverty line as a grad student not count? Why isn't the childhood socioeconomic status of my parents not taken into account? Why does region not count, since evangelicals are more common in some parts of the country? Why is it so focused on which TV shows I do/don't watch, without mentioning others? Why isn't "local diner" a restaurant option? Why are reading habits not mentioned at all? Why is country music the only type of music alluded to?

on edit: I've seen better-constructed "quizzes" in Cosmo.

[bongbong]

57. Interesting quiz

I got square in the middle, 50.

The repig oligarchs would score between 1 and 5 (R-Money would score in negative digits). And the repig sheep, er voters, would be at the opposite end. Funny, but the behavior of the Corporate Tools never surprises me.

[ieoeja]

59. I scored 74 and still say some of this is back fucking asswards.

The author goes on to show a massive lack of knowledge about much that he considers "outside" the bubble. They didn't give his score, but I'm thinking it must have been in the single digits!

- Lived in non-white collar community all my life even though I am white collar myself.

- Grew up in blue collar family. Given that most people I grew up with stayed there and know little of the outside world even to the point of saying things like, "suburbs and the city are the same thing," and, "you must be really brave to live in the city," how in the fuck do those people qualify as outside a bubble while those of us who have experienced a wider array of living including time spent living in a large city full of people with different ways of thinking are considered inside a bubble? WTF?!?

- Grew up on a farm.

- Poor as a child. Poor as an adult. Wealthier than most now.

- Walked factory floors. Not related to my full-time employment, but has been to a small business I own on the side. I answered "not related".

- Hurt after working (see: grew up on a farm)

- No evangelical friends. I now have evangelical family, but not when growing up. And I avoid them.

- I have friends with different political ideology when the last person they heard speak happened to be Republican. If that person was a Democrat then they we have the same ideology until they hear a Republican speak again. Seriously. There are a lot of people like this. And, sadly, they vote.

- I had friends who seldom got better than Cs. I have no idea if they tried hard. I went the assumption they did.

- Almost 100% of my friends smoke.

- All five military insignia

- I knew Jimmy Johnson was a Dallas Cowboys owner and thought I had heard of a NASCAR driver by that name, but stayed with the consolation prize. I have never purchased Avon products though I always received them as gifts as a child (eww) so figured I would cheat on that one.

- I have a trailer for my car instead of a pickup. Good enough for a yes in my book. The idiot who developed this is too far inside a bubble to understand.

- I'm a Miller High Life drinker. And will admit to being a bit put off by the people who keep making jokes about that fact.

- I don't fish, but have taken the child fishing. So yes to that one, I guess.

- I have eaten at all of these restaurants, but I don't recall eating at any of them in the last year simply because none of these are near where I live, work or play. There is another pancake house chain nearby, so I put my dozen visits for that under Waffle House. On the other hand, wealthy suburbanites loves them some pancake houses (not sure why), so the point he was trying to make is likely to get lost. For that matter, pretty much all the stuff I saw on this are restaurants my suburbanite co-workers frequent. Doofus really missed the boat on this one.

- Participated in sports for a time. However, the farm kept me too busy to letter, not because I was "aloof". So doofus strikes out again.

- No Kiwanis, Rotary or union locals. And in rural communities where Kiwanis and Rotary "are more influential" they are also the domain for the local rich snobs. Doofus just keeps on swinging for the fences and missing. On the flip side I practically grew up in the American Legion and VFW which is where the non-snobs hung out. Doofus is hopelessly ignorant.

- I don't think I have ever participated in a parade. Too bad Doofus didn't include 4-H. But then he has probably never heard of 4-H despite many counties having 4-H faires rather than county faires.

- Worn a uniform as busboy on one job then as a dishwasher on another.

- Ridden Greyhound. And have hitchiked on several occasions.

- Movies at the theatre: Iron Man 2, True Grit and the King's Speech.

- No TV series

- I watched all of Oprah a handful of times in my life early in her career.

- "Branson" means big entertainment center to me. Never been.

[slampoet]

63. I got an 85 which must be near impossible seeing i never served in the military.

Also the racial bias in this test is appalling.

Not a single question dealing with the experience of any of minority America.

If you eat at Applebees you should be found MORE likely to be in a bubble than if you eat at your local soul food place, not less.


I think the comment from one person says it all.....

"Basically, this is "am I a right-wing television-owning white poor person or not" test. "



and for the record, I haven't owned a tv for 7 years and am a laborist and ethnic white person.

[SoCalDem]

64. 77 for me, but some of the questions were unfair

Last edited Fri Apr 13, 2012, 06:43 PM - Edit history (1)

I knew BOTH Bransons, but could choose only one
and they did not list even ONE tv show I watched..

[Blue_In_AK]

65. I scored 43,

but I sure don't feel like I live in a bubble. I don't understand this test.

[gkhouston]

66. Someone needs to tell Murray he got this mixed up with

his, "Do you watch Fox News" test.

[Blue_In_AK]

69. Indeed.

I think his definition of "bubble" must be opposite mine. Do I have to eat at all those chains (we only eat at local restaurants) and watch all that dreck TV to be part of the American mainstream? Thank you, I'll pass.

[FreeJoe]

68. Hmmmm....8

Maybe I should get out more.

[Motown_Johnny]

73. 8?

wow

[FreeJoe]

98. My answers

Have you ever lived for at least a year in an American neighborhood in which the majority of your fifty nearest neighbors did not have college degrees? No. I grew up thinking that virtually everyone went to college because I knew almost no one that didn't.

Did you grow up in a family in which the chief breadwinner was not in a managerial job or a high-prestige profession (defined as attorney, physician, dentist, architect, engineer, scientist, or college professor)? No. Dad was an engineer/manager/executive.

Have you ever lived for at least a year in an American community under 50,000 population that is not part of a metropolitan area and is not where you went to college? Suburbs of L.A., New York, and Houston.

Have you ever lived for at least a year in the United States at a family income that was close to or below the poverty line?

You may answer "yes" if your family income then was below $30,000 in 2010 dollars. Graduate school doesn't count. Living unemployed with your family after college doesn't count. Almost yes. I spent several years after college barely employed, but I lived at home. I moved out and earned over $30,000 the first year. I strugged for most of the second year, but after about 9 months I landed a job paying the equivalent of about $40,000.

Have you ever walked on a factory floor? No. I've been out to oil drilling sites and wells, but not factories.

Have you ever held a job that caused something to hurt at the end of the day? No. Cooked at a pizza place. Babysat. Office jobs.

Have you ever had a close friend who was an evangelical Christian? Yes. I'm not, but living in Houston, it's hard to avoid them.

Do you now have a close friend with whom you have strong and wide-ranging political disagreements? Yes. Most of my friends are Republicans or Libertarians. I work for an oil company in a Houston suburb. My being a Democrat almost makes me a freak show act.

Have you ever had a close friend who could seldom get better than Cs in high school even if he or she tried hard? No. I was part of the geek crowd in high school. Few of my friends ever got Cs in anything.

During the last month have you voluntarily hung out with people who were smoking cigarettes? Definitely not. I have no close friends or co-workers that smoke. I find it nauseating.

Do you know what military ranks are denoted by these five insignia? (Click each one to show the correct rank.) At least one. I think the bird is a colonel. The stars are probably a two star general. The two stripes is a corporal. The one with lots of stripes is some kind of sergeant. The bars is some mid level officer, but I don't recall which.

Do you know who Jimmie Johnson is? Dallas Cowboys coach.

Have you or your spouse ever bought a pickup truck? No. Sedans and minivans. Pickups are things you borrow from your neighbors.

During the last year, have you ever purchased domestic mass-market beer to stock your own fridge? I don't drink beer. Strictly water and fruit juices.

During the last five years, have you or your spouse gone fishing? No. We canoe and kayak, but we don't fish.

How many times in the last year have you eaten at one of the following restaurant chains? 0. We don't eat out much. When we do, it is typically at non-chain pizza places.

In secondary school, did you letter in anything? No. Geek crowd. You couldn't letter in math.

Have you ever attended a meeting of a Kiwanis Club or Rotary Club, or a meeting at a union local? Not even sure what those are.

Have you ever participated in a parade not involving global warming, a war protest, or gay rights? No. My wife sometimes helps set up the Fourth of July parade while I watch with the kids.

Since leaving school, have you ever worn a uniform? Assuming that a suit doesn't count, no.

Have you ever done either of these for a trip of fifty miles or more? I've taken plenty of commuter and inner city buses, but never a 50 mile ride. I take that back, I took a chartered bus on a rafting trip once, but I assume that the question was regarding public buses.

Which of the following movies have you seen (at a theater or on a DVD)? I saw Despicable Me at home on a Blu-ray. I haven't seen any of the others. I generally only watch movies with my kids and they are a little young for the others.


During the 2009–10 television season, how many of the following series did you watch regularly? I rarely watch TV. When I do, it is kids shows with my kids.

Have you ever watched an episode of any of these shows all the way through? I've never seen any of any of them.

What does the word "Branson" mean to you? I've heard of both. I picked Richard because I know more about him than the town.

I must have changed one of my answers. I'm up to 12 now!

I'm second generation upper middle class. Like my father, I've held professional roles in the oil and gas industry. He was an engineer. I am in IT. I don't think that I have "upper class" taste in movies or TV. I watch little of either. I read lots of technical books, spend a lot of time on photography, and read an odd mix of literature, sci-fi, fantasy, and history books. I follow my own path and don't feel that attached to any class stereotype...well, maybe "geek" if you consider that a class.

[Lucky Luciano]

106. I got an 11 for reasons mirroring yours.

I will probably remain a bit "sheltered" living in Manhattan. I was raised very middle class by two teachers, so no getting "Cs" and my parents lived in the suburbs after moving from Manhattan. Lots of blue collar people, but my family did not mix well with the conservative neighbors...so I got an 11.

[MuseRider]

70. 67

I think that is about right. My husband was a doctor and we have lived in nicer areas than I ever expected to but we never did the doctor social thing or country clubs or fancy stuff, couldn't stand it. Although I may have a nicer car than I used to have (a nicely used car, not a new one) and live in a much nicer house on my farm (that we work ourselves) and really don't have to worry much about money (I do anyway, hard to change after growing up lower middle class) I don't do anything different than I would have if I lived like my parents did. That upper bubble represents mostly a life that is vacant of concern for anything or anyone who does not directly, immediately affect you. A horrible, sad and lonely way to live. I have "friends" there and a lot of my husbands family is horribly tied to that life, they can keep it.

I am unclear about why some of the questions were there. Seemed odd to me. I will go back and read (that always helps).

[GeorgeGist]

71. I scored in the 11-80 range ...

which means the whole thing is Murray pseudointellectual shit.

[Motown_Johnny]

72. 57

I thought I would score higher.

I have lived in 4 states, everywhere from Detroit's east side to a cabin on the banks of the Colorado river. I think I am pretty well rounded but it seems I may be kidding myself.


I guess the "close friend" questions got me. I honestly don't consider anyone I have strong political disagreements with a close friend. Maybe I should not have defined that phrase so strictly.

[gkhouston]

76. There was no way to distiguish between respondents who have political

discussions, but only within their party, and those who have no inclination to discuss politics at all.

And the questions about factory work -- when was this quiz written? 1960?

[Motown_Johnny]

80. I think that if you answered yes then you must have visited Japan.

[gkhouston]

81. Yeah, didn't notice that question.

"Have you ever entered/exited the U.S.? If yes, did you do so legally?"

[Motown_Johnny]

83. Hell, I used to make beer runs into Canada

The drinking age was 19 over there and 21 back here. Also the beer was stronger.

Nothing like walking into a party with a couple cases of beer from Canada (when everyone was under the drinking age).

I don't think that expanded my bubble any.

[hedgehog]

75. I think this test needs to be fine tuned.

I think there is a lot of confusion here between cultural class and economic class. For example, I know some relatively well off people hooked on reality TV and poorer folks who never watch. I'd like to see more questions along the line of
"have you ever been in danger of losing a job because your car kept breaking down?"

"do you pay for your children to participate in sports?"

"who shops at the same grocery store as you?"

[gkhouston]

77. The questions about movies...

if you haven't seen them, is it because you don't want to or can't afford to?

[Rex]

78. 47

nt.

[DutchLiberal]

79. I got only 28 points.

But then again, I'm not an American.

[jeff47]

82. They really need to fix some of the questions

I knew both Jimmy Johnsons and both Bransons.

[Bluenorthwest]

85. Proud to score a 26 on this right winger's idea of what our culture is.

This Murray is a right wing fraud. This test is written suggest people are insulated for not going to the mall to eat a huge cinnamon role each week.

[CreekDog]

109. good observation and one of the few here that picked up on Murray's BS poll

[LeftishBrit]

86. Is this Charles Murray of 'The Bell Curve'

If so, I would not trust anything he says. That book was not only politically repellent but bad science; e.g. extrapolating from findings that there are genetic influences on individual differences in IQ within relatively environmentally-similar groups, to assuming that there is a similar level of genetic influence on differences between groups.

We all live in bubbles to some extent, but I'd say he does more than most.

[obamanut2012]

91. Yes -- Mr. Blacks Are Not As Intelligent As Whites

[bigwillq]

87. 48

Scoring

You got 48 points.

See below for scores Charles Murray would expect you to get based on the following descriptions. Note that there are ranges of possible scores for categories and some overlap. In the graphic, your score is denoted by the horizontal black line, and typical scores for each range are marked with gray lines. The possible overlap is represented by the blue bars.

The higher your score, the thinner your bubble. The lower, the more insulated you might be from mainstream American culture.

48–99: A lifelong resident of a working-class neighborhood with average television and movie going habits. Typical: 77.

42–100: A first-generation middle-class person with working-class parents and average television and movie going habits. Typical: 66.

11–80: A first-generation upper-middle-class person with middle-class parents. Typical: 33.

0–43: A second-generation (or more) upper-middle-class person who has made a point of getting out a lot. Typical: 9.

0–20: A second-generation (or more) upper-middle-class person with the television and movie going habits of the upper middle class. Typical: 2.

[gkhouston]

88. Interesting that there's no apparent range for people going down the ladder, only up. n/t

[BoWanZi]

89. Got a 44

[MrScorpio]

90. 61

[Ruby the Liberal]

92. 21

But I am not 'upper-middle-class'.

Interesting notes about TV watching. I didn't check any of the TV questions and only 2 of the movies they listed.

I should have checked the "why is this question here" link, but didn't know to until I saw the comments in the results.

I'm just not a big tv fiction person.

[lumberjack_jeff]

93. 58. I think I lost points because of the absence of a TV. n/t

[MrSlayer]

94. 56

For whatever that is worth.

[Odin2005]

95. Charles "Black people are stupid" Murray? FUCK HIM!

[NuttyFluffers]

96. dude, it's AEI.

i got a 67 and i consider myself highly insulated from American culture, on purpose.

edit: oh hell, i knew i heard that name before. bell curve guy? why is anyone giving him the time of day? oh, that's right, conservative-front think tank AEI...

[Art_from_Ark]

97. 56

How can this be a gauge of American culture if no fast food joints are listed among the restaurants?

[janx]

99. The stereotypes involved in the quiz are astounding.

I scored 47, and boy was he wrong.

[Canuckistanian]

100. 44 for me

But I'm a city boy now living in the country. A lot of those questions apply to my RECENT home.

[Cleita]

108. Me too. I scored a 46. n/t

[Cleita]

103. I actually do, but I don't need a test to tell me.

Most of the people I live around and interact with socially and shopping wise are way better off in income than I am. The only reason I live among them is that I live with my family. I notice how unaware they are of people who are struggling because they don't have to see those people unless they drive into the nearby city to do shopping or see doctors. Conversations revolve around trips they are taking, parties they are going to or have gone to, some tragedies like unexpected deaths, but not because of lack of nurture or health care. I sometimes try to initiate conversations about current events but am usually met with blank faces and no reply. So I don't bother anymore.

[countryjake]

104. Got an 87, but I don't understand his scoring method...

Last edited Sat Apr 14, 2012, 02:59 PM - Edit history (1)

at all. Beer would never be seen in our fridge; we rarely eat out (never even been to any of the restaurants on his list, except for Denny's); I only checked one tv series that we watched regularly (Lost); and we've gone to see exactly one movie in almost twenty year of partnership and it was NOT on the list, so I can't figure what my answers did to earn the points that I got. Maybe cause we're practically paupers? I already knew that I am and always have been solidly working-class, but the questions posed didn't actually question much criteria that makes that my reality.

I worked in several factories in my life and served as shop steward in two of them. Also worked in a uniform, but it sure as hell wasn't a military one.

Okay, this test has pissed me off a bit...shallow doesn't begin to describe what I think of this fella's questions. He must set the standard with those income and neighborhood questions and then add minor points from there on out. If my man was home, I haven't a doubt he'd score much higher.

[treestar]

105. 23

I lost a lot of points for not watching TV or movies much.

There is also quite a bit of stereotype in that.

[Broken_Hero]

107. Scored a 71, nt

[retread]

110. More pseudo-science from Mr. Bell Curve.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

111. 46, but I'm not particular about beer.

After the first can, beer is beer.

[Tracer]

112. 8. But I don't live in a bubble.

I'm completely aware of what's going on in the world and have become much more liberal as I get older.

This "Quiz" seems to be more of a lifestyle questionnaire than anything else.