Evening star., 1940-12-08
Utah Holds Honors,
Massachusetts Next,
In Ability Race
Psychologist Declares
They Produce Higher
Rotio of InteIlectuuls
By the Associated Press.

BOSTON, Dec 7.--If there were
some sort of Rose Bowl contest be-
tween States that produce the most
smart people per 100000 popula-
ton the nod would go to-Utah and
Massachusetts,.
At least SO says a report filed
here with the American Academy Of
Arts and Sciences by Prof. Edward
L. Thorndike, Columbia University
psychologist. He listed those States
in one-two order with respect to
producing men and women of great
ability"
Others he named in a kind Of
mental top 10" for the Nation were ::
Connecticut, Colorado, Idaho and
= Vermont (tie), New Hampshire,
Wyoming, Maine, Iowa and Rhode
Island (also even-StephenD and
South Dakota.
Prof. Thorndike's ratings-nased
on a study of birthplaces listed for
people who have made" recent
editions of Who's Who in Amer
ica," Leaders in Education and
american Men Of Science"-listed
New York in twenty-fourth place.
Tailenders were Texas and Ten
nessee, Alabama and Florida. New
Mexico, Georgia, all punched to-
gether, and finally Louisiana.
Attracted to Other Areas.
The order of the States was al
tered markedly in the psychologist S
oNo1,cic of rop,p,,,pitioc which 70
tain the superior people they have
and those that attract to them
selves the able born elsewhere.
Prof Thorndike's report did not
list the No. l State or States in
those two analyses, but he said
Massachusetts, was tenth among the
States in keeping her able folks on
the home grounds and fourth in at
tracing others from outside.
New York, rated practically at
the average for the birth rate of
superior men and women was,
however. third in retaining her own
crop of heavy thinkers, and second
in Turing the able born in other
States.
And, even though California did
not rate in the top 10 for her birth
rate of Mr.. Bigs-she was four
teenth-she could hold her head
high, if she played host at any Rose
Bowl showdown between the leaders.
California Rated Good.
Prof. Thorndike rated her No l
In what he termed the most i'm
portant measured fact about State
its general goodness score
He said he figured this score for
State from study of some 81
social conditions, including the rec
ord of public health, educational
expenditures, recreational facilities,
prevalence or prevalence of
poverty, child labor and literacy,
the records with respect to homi-
eide, and the existence of creature
comforts" such as telephones and
radios.
Next to California in general
goodness" according to Prof. Thorn
= dixie, are Connecticut and Washing
ton and then come Massachusetts,,
Minnesota, New Jersey, New York,
Oregon, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska,
Ohio, Wisconsin, wyoming, Idaho,
Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Montana,
Nevada, Colorado, Delaware. New
Hampshire, North Dakota, Pennsyl-
vania, Rhode Island. South Dakota,
Utah and Vermont.
States rating high in this good
ness business, he said, produce far
more than their share" of able men
and women as compared with States
scoring low but he added
They do not retain their ability
product any better, or even quite as
well. Their attracting power is
little, but not much, stronger"
Distribution of Persons.
What happens, he said, rs that,
to a large extent, the good States
produce able persons and distribute
them to the rich States and manu-
featuring States"
This may be. and probably is. for
the common good. There should be
free trade between the States in great
ability as in everything else. I"
Perhaps the troubles of agriculture
in this country would be reduced
If agriculture and agricultural
States made itself and themselves
more attractive to persons of high
ability
In further analysis of the farm
States, Prof. Thorndike said:
There is a common opinion that
agricultural and rural communities
produce the great majority of able
men who are then fed into the NAV
of industry CT sucked into the vortex
of some metropolis, or sacrificed on
the altar OF capitalistic production.
In actual fact. the agricultural
States do not produce quite their
share of the able, much less a great
majority of them. They fail
relatively to retain them or attract
them. The manufacturing States
outdo them in retaining and attract
ing the able
Encouraging Production.
But Prof. ThOrndike had tip for
States which might want to improve
their ratings as breeders of the bril-
liant.
IF State wishes to produce more
able persons" he said, 1T can en-
courage production from the top of
what it has and improve the quality
of what it has by attracting from the
top rather than the Bottom of the
worlds population"
And this" he added, lis equally
true of country. 1t is perhaps