5.07.2009

I wonder if Brad Pitt will be their spokesperson...

My alma matter has made its way into the news these days due to a study that may not be super-scientific, but it sure caught my attention.

Geographers used scientific data to study the national distribution of the seven deadly sins (which, by the way, is sooo 1995), including an in-depth look at one state that is more known for vice than virtue.

How did they do it?

According to this article, statistics were calculated as follows:

Greed: by comparing average incomes with the total number of inhabitants living beneath the poverty line.

Envy: total number of thefts — robbery, burglary, larceny and stolen cars.

Wrath: total number of violent crimes — murder, assault and rape — reported to the FBI per capita.

Lust: number of sexually transmitted diseases — HIV, AIDS, syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhea — reported per capita.

Gluttony: number of fast food restaurants per capita.

Sloth: comparison of expenditures on arts, entertainment and recreation with the rate of employment.

Pride: aggregate of all data (combination of all data from the six other sins and averaged).

Check out the maps of their findings and the list of the top offenders here.

Uhh...so I guess that means K-State needs a new logo?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

i can't describe how much i loved this.



and you.

lauren said...

That's so interesting...especially the data they used. I'm not so sure about the sloth one (I think TV watching should be a factor), but overall they mostly make sense. Crazy...what an interesting idea.