Do you live in a bubble? A quiz

[KQ]

There exists a new upper class that’s completely disconnected from the average American and American culture at large, argues Charles Murray, a libertarian political scientist and author.

Take this 25-question quiz, based on a similar one published in Murray’s 2012 book, “Coming Apart: The State of White America 1960-2010,” to find out just how thick your bubble is.

Do you live in a bubble?

Edit: Take the time to click on and read "why this question" it will help shed some light on where the quiz is going and why.


[possible polyass post but felt it was on the cusp so put it here for more exposure/discussion. I'm sure it will get moved if necessary]

[irul&ublo]

[MagnificentUnicorn]

73

[BmillsSkier]

Moops

[Skidog]

Moops

Classic.....

[old goat]

Question 26--do you drive a Subaru or a Pickup (75% of the people on this forum drive one or the other)

While there are certainly people whose life experiences and cultural preferences separate them from the majority of Americans--and these are not just well off highly educated folks but black people, immigrants, and others--one's cultural preferences and economic circumstances do not necessarily inform how one treats people of different circumstances, how one votes, or how one governs--FDR being the classic example.
The bubble is certainly a large part of why people (including myself) were surprised by the success of Donald Trump. OTOH, the Donald certainly grew up in a bubble and would score very low on the test but he has been very successful at reaching the people who score the highest on this test (however cynically).
Sorry KQ--probably got your thread banished to polyasshat.
BTW I scored 26, probably could have scored a little higher but if I wasn't sure I put myself in the bubble. (BTW--I suspect most Bud drinkers would buy better if they could afford to. And I drink my fancy beer with BBQ whenever possible--that should count for something.)

[MagnificentUnicorn]

Question 26--do you drive a Subaru or a Pickup (75% of the people on this forum drive one or the other)

While there are certainly people whose life experiences and cultural preferences separate them from the majority of Americans--and these are not just well off highly educated folks but black people, immigrants, and others--one's cultural preferences and economic circumstances do not necessarily inform how one treats people of different circumstances, how one votes, or how one governs--FDR being the classic example.
The bubble is certainly a large part of why people (including myself) were surprised by the success of Donald Trump. OTOH, the Donald certainly grew up in a bubble and would score very low on the test but he has been very successful at reaching the people who score the highest on this test (however cynically).
Sorry KQ--probably got your thread banished to polyasshat.
BTW I scored 26, probably could have scored a little higher but if I wasn't sure I put myself in the bubble. (BTW--I suspect most Bud drinkers would buy better if they could afford to. And I drink my fancy beer with BBQ whenever possible--that should count for something.)

I didn't get Question 26 that you had, maybe it's because of previous answers? Oh and I drive both, although the Subaru is a '99 and the truck a '76.

[Mazderati]

Hard to beat a big slug from an ice-cold bottle of High Life on a hot summer day.

[Meadow Skipper]

I got 47 but neither of these applies to me:

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.

Kind of an interesting quiz, but I'm not easily catagorizable. Over the years I've been both deep inside a bubble and way outside.

[ghosthop]

25 although I fudged a little on the hitch hiking question

the last I read by Murray was on the lack of diversity among marriages of upper class individuals, specifically intellectuals, due to the extremely selective nature and entrance criteria of prestigious universities. Specifically that by insulating themselves from the rest of the public that the lack of intelligence spread throughout the gene pool would be detrimental in the long run. Interesting stuff

out of curiosity KQ, are you a bell curve believer?

[::: :::]

Totally in a bubble...although I drive a big truck

[mtngirl79]

I got 58, but I bet I would have gotten higher if I had seen any of the movies or TV shows on the list.

I do not own a tv, by choice.

[TBS]

Score = 52

[shafty85]

https://youtu.be/JC_yYH39YP0

[KQ]

out of curiosity KQ, are you a bell curve believer?

It has its merits but not in all applications, no?

I scored a 20. Don't watch much in the way of TV & movies. Chose Branson MO over Richard. Own a truck. Have a close friend who is a friend of Ted and another who thinks Obama is a Muslim. Though I live in a small town now my life has been pretty vanilla keeping within a familiar sphere. I have dated men of other races but they came from privileged backgrounds (however they did open my eyes to what racism feels like). I don't believe I'm totally disconnected from other forms of American culture but can I really know that to be true?

<shrug>

[Gepeto]

I'll have to come back and catch the above. I don't need at test to understand the relevance or possibility. I live among the dis-asssociative morons that live as bubble heads. Sometimes, it's all I can do to pay witness to the ignorance. It's abhorrent and sometimes I feel the urge to bitch slap a severe transgressor back into the real. wtf

ETA: test score___

[KQ]

Ha! Just caught this from the accompanying article. Guess I was doomed from the start:

Having grown up in an upper-middle-class neighborhood inevitably means some restriction to your exposure to average American life. If you grew up in an exclusive part of town such as Chicago’s North Shore or Northwest Washington,

[iceclimb]

So I grew up in the middle and worked hard to move myself along that curve. Some of the questions were interesting, have you ever walked in a factory floor? As an executive, all the time. I was the guy dragging one of the largest printers in the country kicking and screaming into the digital age. I found that question to be indicative of my choices in life. While I often made more than friends and neighbors, I often deliberately surrounded myself with people different than me.

It'll be interesting to give this quiz to my kids, who are being raised in Aspen, which is a bubble of a whole different level.

[glademaster]

It has its merits but not in all applications, no?

I scored a 20. Don't watch much in the way of TV & movies. Chose Branson MO over Richard. Own a truck. Have a close friend who is a friend of Ted and another who thinks Obama is a Muslim. Though I live in a small town now my life has been pretty vanilla keeping within a familiar sphere. I have dated men of other races but they came from privileged backgrounds (however they did open my eyes to what racism feels like). I don't believe I'm totally disconnected from other forms of American culture but can I really know that to be true?

<shrug>

Data mining horseshit, why on earth would I answer those people's questions? Although the more I learn about you the more my earlier conclusions are justified [shudders].

[DasBlunt]

73

not surprising from you.

[narc]

From the UK so had to fiddle the forces and restaurant questions but.... 16

[skiballs]

^don't take the test man, that shit goes on your permanent record.

[Ski to Be]

28 but I hate tests that try to categorize you like that & I don't live in a bubble either . I have some friends that would score single digits as well as some that would score in the 90s.

[Cruiser]

Got a 20. Was hoping for something comically low but I guess my bubble is still translucent.

[WaistDeepGroomers]

38. Was worried it'd be 10 given the whole ski town monoculture history.