为何选择北上广 研究称聪明人喜欢大城市

 　　Cities are more crowded, more polluted, and more stressful to live in than any other kind of man-made environment in the world. But they are also where the smartest people want to live.

　　城市比世界上其他的人工环境更加拥挤、污染更加严重、生存压力更大。但它却也是聪明人喜欢居住的地方。

　　A new study of American mobility¹ patterns suggests that people with higher intelligence are more likely to be moving in and out of cities. Among them, those individuals who originate from rural towns exhibit the highest forms of intelligence. The findings, now online, will be published in the September/October issue of the journal Intelligence.

　　一项关于美国人口迁移模式的研究表明，智商高的人更喜欢迁入和迁出城市。其中，来自农村地区的人智商水平最高。此项研究的结果目前可在网上查看，另外也将发布在Intelligence杂志的9月/10月刊上。

　　The study, conducted by psychologist Markus Jokela from the University of Helsinki, traced the 16-year migratory² patterns of 11,500 Americans between the ages of 15 and 23, starting in 1979. Jokela found that people who moved from rural and suburban³ areas to central cities typically had much higher intelligence scores than people who stayed put or made other kinds of movements. Those same people also tended to leave central cities for suburban environments, to a lesser⁴ degree.

　　此项研究由芬兰赫尔辛基大学心理学家马库斯·乔克拉负责，跟踪了11500名15-23岁的美国人在1979年后16年间的迁移模式。乔克拉发现，相比那些一直呆在一个地方或进行其他迁移的人，从农村和郊区迁移至中心城市的人通常智商更高，而且他们离开中心城市迁往郊区的可能性更小。

　　The findings themselves aren’t particularly revelatory – it has long been thought that smart young people flock to the cities for better education and higher-paying jobs, and move out to the suburbs in order to raise a family. But the most striking part about Jokela’s study is the numbers; most notably⁵ a 12-point intelligence gap between rural residents who stayed in their hometown and those who moved to central cities. When Jokela controlled for socioeconomic status, this gap was reduced to 4 point. While this is less stunning⁶, it does indicate that intelligence plays a role in where Americans decide to live. “The most general message is that the selective residential⁷ mobility we observe associated with socioeconomic status has its psychological underpinnings in intelligence differences,” Jokela told CityLab.

　　这些并不是什么惊天发现。长久以来，人们一直认为聪明的年轻人为了养家糊口，会蜂拥至城市寻求更好的教育和报酬更高的工作。但乔克拉的研究中有一点十分令人惊讶：留在农村和搬入中心城市的人群间智商水平相差12点之多。若将比对范围限制在社会经济地位差不多的人中间，相差水平则缩小到了4点。这个数字虽然没那么大，但也显示出智商对美国人生活地选择的影响。乔克拉对CityLab说，“总而言之，据我们观察，与社会经济状况有关的选择性居住迁移的心理基础在于智商差别。”

　　While the results are interesting, they should be read with caution. Jokela’s analysis illustrates⁸ that intelligence and migration⁹ are connected, but not whether intelligence actually influenced individuals’ decision to move. The dataset for the study is also cut off after 1996, and American migratory patterns may have changed a great deal in the last two decades.

　　研究结果虽然有趣，看时却也不可大意。乔克拉的分析表明智商与迁移有关，但并未说明智商是否真的对个人的迁移决策有所影响。此外，研究并未包含1996年后的数据，而美国人口迁移模式在近20年内可能发生了很大的变化。

　　The biggest takeaway, however, is that smart people are constantly anxious to keep moving around. If you live in the city, you may want to talk to your new neighbor from that rural town you’ve never heard of – they probably have a few things to teach you, before they leave for greener pastures.

　　还有最重要的一点在于，聪明人总是渴望不停地搬来搬去。如果你住在城市里，不如去和你来自农村的新邻居聊聊，即使你从没听说过他的家乡——他们也许会在搬去绿色大草原前教给你一些东西。

1 mobility   

n.可动性，变动性，情感不定

参考例句：

• The difference in regional house prices acts as an obstacle to mobility of labour.不同地区房价的差异阻碍了劳动力的流动。
• Mobility is very important in guerrilla warfare.机动性在游击战中至关重要。

2 migratory   

n.候鸟，迁移

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• This does not negate the idea of migratory aptitude.这并没有否定迁移能力这一概念。

3 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

4 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

5 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

6 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

7 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

8 illustrates   

给…加插图( illustrate的第三人称单数 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明

参考例句：

• This historical novel illustrates the breaking up of feudal society in microcosm. 这部历史小说是走向崩溃的封建社会的缩影。
• Alfred Adler, a famous doctor, had an experience which illustrates this. 阿尔弗莱德 - 阿德勒是一位著名的医生，他有过可以说明这点的经历。 来自中级百科部分

9 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。