Email Worse for your IQ Than Pot, Says CNN

Eric Mack points to an article at CNN that postulates that email is worse for people’s IQ scores than smoking pot is. My favourite bullet from the article is this:

Nine out of 10 people thought colleagues who answered messages during face-to-face meetings were rude, while three out of 10 believed it was not only acceptable, but a sign of diligence and efficiency.

So this means that at least two people thought that it was rude if someone interrupts a face-to-face conversation to reply to an email, yet they believe it is a sign of diligence and efficiency. I’m not calling this statistic into question; I think it’s accurate. I think we are all developing double standards with respect to politeness and respect, and somehow are able to take no notice of the inherent conflict we force ourselves to live with.

Thanks to (who else) Marc for pointing out the link.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 25th, 2005 at and is filed under Email. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

6 Responses to “Email Worse for your IQ Than Pot, Says CNN”

  • bw Says:
    April 25th, 2005 at

    Here here… I would agree with the rudeness factor 10 out of 10. I think MY iq drops when other people respond to personal communcation devices (especially cel phones) at inappropriate times …such as meetings… or (this one really bugs me) while jay-walking in front of my car!

    All of these fractional statistics reminds me of a ‘deep thought’ I heard on the radio the other day:
    “A recent poll revealed that 5 out of 4 people have trouble with fractions.”

  • J.P.C. - Jason Clarke » Blog Archive » Email Not Really Worse Than Pot Says:
    May 16th, 2005 at

    [...] orse Than Pot Well, leave it to a blog to debunk the CNN article that stated that email is worse for your IQ than marijuana. Mind Hacks p [...]

  • Norman Engh Says:
    January 26th, 2006 at

    Being a retired military man, I am compelled to write you asking if I am the only person that feels like Ramsey Clark is a “Traitor” to this fine Country the USA.

  • Jason Says:
    January 26th, 2006 at

    Hi Norman,

    I’m not sure exactly why you chose to post that comment here, other than that I share the same last name with Ramsey Clark (although we spell it differently). I’m also a Canadian, and have to admit that I had to look up the name Ramsey Clark on Google to figure out who you were talking about. I think maybe you found the wrong Jason Clarke – there’s another one at http://www.jasonclarke.org who is heavily involved in US politics.

  • marijuana forum Says:
    November 2nd, 2006 at

    Interesting, I will keep this in mind for the next job interview. I wonder if there is a way too tell who will respond which way…perhaps by their style of “communication accessory”

  • Jim Mirkalami Says:
    February 9th, 2008 at

    I have been visiting this site a lot lately, so i thought it is a good idea to show my appreciation with a comment.

    Thanks,
    Jim Mirkalami

    PS: I am a single dad. ;)