CHINESE FLOOD 1 DSL 200 Journal 3 Student Name Lynn University 2 JOURNAL 3: CHINESE FlOOD Journal 3: Chinese Flood There are many myths used by people to confirm their beliefs and explain why certain events happen, such as the disappearances of aircrafts and boats within the Bermuda Triangle for example. These myths are in the history of most societies. One of the myths in Chinese history is that a great 20 year long flood happened which cause the citizens of china to get together and fend off the flood. After this flood was fended off the people of China got together and became their own civilization. The inspiration for this experiment to see if the flood myths was actually true. It was hypothesized that this flood did happen. The primary source is the article Outburst flood at 1920 BCE supports historicity of China’s Great Flood and the Xia dynasty. The secondary source is the article Evidence Found for China’s Ancient Origin Story. This experiment was broken into two different experiments. In the first experiment the researchers went and looked for evidence from the flood such as rocks moving, sediment, and carbon dating in the area that the flood was said to have occurred. The second experiment was the use of a computer model to protect where sediment and items from the damn should be if it happened. From the first experiment they found out that a flood did occur due to them finding sediment above the river level and other areas that the water would have over flowed at. From the second experiment it was garnered that the flood did happen because where it was found by the researchers. A future experiment would be to see if the flood happened for 20 years or not to fully test the truth of the myth.(Wu, 2016) It was found that found that the hypothesis of the flood happening turned out to be correct due to the evidence found in the sediment displacement and the verification of the computer simulation of the event which told the researchers where the sediment would move if the flood did happen. The news article references the flood happening but does not latch onto the JOURNAL 3: CHINESE FlOOD conclusion properly. The article is on the flood but is explaining the timing difference from when it was originally thought to have happened. But the article does correctly state that the flood did actually happen (Wendel, 2016). 3 4 JOURNAL 3: CHINESE FlOOD References Wu, Q., Zhao, Z., Liu, L., Granger, D. E., Wang, H., Cohen, D. J., . . . Bai, S. (2016). Outburst flood at 1920 BCE supports historicity of China’s Great Flood and the Xia dynasty. Science, 353(6299), 579-582. doi:10.1126/science.aaf0842 Wendel, J. (2016). Evidence Found for China's Ancient Origin Story. Eos, 97. doi:10.1029/2016eo057269 BBC NEWS | Health | High IQ link to being vegetarian 8/4/16, 6:12 PM High IQ link to being vegetarian Intelligent children are more likely to become vegetarians later in life, a study says. A Southampton University team found those who were vegetarian by 30 had recorded five IQ points more on average at the age of 10. Researchers said it could explain why people with higher IQ were healthier as a vegetarian diet was linked to lower heart disease and obesity rates. The study of 8,179 was reported in the British Medical Journal. Twenty years after the IQ tests were carried out in 1970, 366 of the participants said they were vegetarian - although more than 100 reported eating either fish or chicken. Men who were vegetarian had an IQ score of 106, compared with 101 for non-vegetarians; while female vegetarians averaged 104, compared with 99 for non-vegetarians. “ We've always known that vegetarianism is an intelligent, compassionate choice benefiting animals, people and the environment ” Liz O'Neill, of The Vegetarian Society http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6180753.stm Page 1 of 2 BBC NEWS | Health | High IQ link to being vegetarian 8/4/16, 6:12 PM There was no difference in IQ score between strict vegetarians and those who said they were vegetarian but who reported eating fish or chicken. Researchers said the findings were partly related to better education and higher occupational social class, but it remained statistically significant after adjusting for these factors. Vegetarians were more likely to be female, to be of higher occupational social class and to have higher academic or vocational qualifications than non-vegetarians. However, these differences were not reflected in their annual income, which was similar to that of nonvegetarians. Lead researcher Catharine Gale said: "The finding that children with greater intelligence are more likely to report being vegetarian as adults, together with the evidence on the potential benefits of a vegetarian diet on heart health, may help to explain why higher IQ in childhood or adolescence is linked with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease in adult life." Intelligence However, she added the link may be merely an example of many other lifestyle preferences that might be expected to vary with intelligence, such as choice of newspaper, but which may or may not have implications for health. Liz O'Neill, of the Vegetarian Society, said: "We've always known that vegetarianism is an intelligent, compassionate choice benefiting animals, people and the environment. "Now we've got the scientific evidence to prove it. Maybe that explains why many meat-reducers are keen to call themselves vegetarians when even they must know that vegetarians don't eat chicken, turkey or fish." But Dr Frankie Phillips, of the British Dietetic Association, said: "It is like the chicken and the egg. Do people become vegetarian because they have a very high IQ or is it just that they tend to be more aware of health issues?" Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/6180753.stm Published: 2006/12/15 00:15:39 GMT © BBC 2016 http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6180753.stm Page 2 of 2 Cite this article as: BMJ, doi:10.1136/bmj.39030.675069.55 (published 1 February 2007) Research BMJ IQ in childhood and vegetarianism in adulthood: 1970 British cohort study Catharine R Gale, Ian J Deary, Ingrid Schoon, G David Batty Abstract Objective To examine the relation between IQ in childhood and vegetarianism in adulthood. Design Prospective cohort study in which IQ was assessed by tests of mental ability at age 10 years and vegetarianism by self-report at age 30 years. Setting Great Britain. Participants 8170 men and women aged 30 years participating in the 1970 British cohort study, a national birth cohort. Main outcome measures Self-reported vegetarianism and type of diet followed. Results 366 (4.5%) participants said they were vegetarian, although 123 (33.6%) admitted eating fish or chicken. Vegetarians were more likely to be female, to be of higher social class (both in childhood and currently), and to have attained higher academic or vocational qualifications, although these socioeconomic advantages were not reflected in their income. Higher IQ at age 10 years was associated with an increased likelihood of being vegetarian at age 30 (odds ratio for one standard deviation increase in childhood IQ score 1.38, 95% confidence interval 1.24 to 1.53). IQ remained a statistically significant predictor of being vegetarian as an adult after adjustment for social class (both in childhood and currently), academic or vocational qualifications, and sex (1.20, 1.06 to 1.36). Exclusion of those who said they were vegetarian but ate fish or chicken had little effect on the strength of this association. Conclusion Higher scores for IQ in childhood are associated with an increased likelihood of being a vegetarian as an adult. Introduction Children and adolescents who score higher on standard tests of intelligence have a lower risk of coronary heart disease in later life.1–3 The underlying mechanisms are still unclear. Findings that higher intelligence is linked with a lower likelihood of starting to smoke4 5 and a higher likelihood of giving up,6 suggest that the ability to learn, reason, and solve problems may be important in determining how people respond to information on risk and the extent to which they adopt behaviours considered conducive to health.7 Vegetarianism, “the practice of living wholly on vegetable food, with or without dairy products, honey and eggs,”8 is a behaviour that has for centuries been adopted primarily because of ethical objections to the use of animals for food. Some vegetarians have claimed that not consuming meat has beneficial effects on brain function. According to Benjamin Franklin, the 18th century statesman and scientist, a vegetarian diet results in “greater clearness of head and quicker comprehension.”9 But in the early part of the 20th century medical opinion on the potential health benefits of a vegetarian diet—at least in Britain— tended to be unenthusiastic: “Vegetarianism is harmless enough, though it is apt to fill a man with wind and self-righteousness,” declared Robert Hutchison in an address to the BMA in 1930. In the past few years, however, growing epidemiological evidence, some from prospective studies, has suggested that the health benefits associated with vegetarianism may be considerable: lower serum cholesterol concentrations, lower blood pressure, and a reduced risk of obesity and coronary heart disease.10–12 Might vegetarianism explain in part why children and adolescents who score higher on tests of intelligence have a lower risk of coronary heart disease in later life? In view of the evidence that vegetarians tend to have lower levels of cardiovascular risk, the decision to adopt a vegetarian diet might be viewed as a healthier option than the consumption of meat. Does a higher IQ make this decision more likely? This question could not be answered by a search of the biomedical and social science databases. We used the 1970 British cohort study to examine prospectively the effect of childhood IQ on the likelihood of being a vegetarian as an adult. Methods The 1970 British cohort study comprises 17 198 live births occurring to parents living in Great Britain between 5 and 11 April 1970. Mental ability was assessed at the age of 10 years using a modified version of the British ability scales.13 The four subscales were word definitions, word similarities, recall of digits, and matrices. We carried out a principal components analysis of the positively correlated scores from these four tests to establish the presence of a general cognitive ability factor (traditionally referred to as “g”).14 The first unrotated principal component accounted for 57% of the total variance among the four tests. We used this component to derive a g score for each participant. For ease of interpretation we transformed the g score to the widely used IQ equivalent: mean (SD) 100 (15). At age 30 years participants were interviewed at home, when they were asked about whether they were vegetarian and, if so, what diet they followed. Information on socioeconomic status was reported by the parents when the participants were aged 10 years (parental occupational social class) and by the participants at age 30 (current occupational social class, academic or vocational qualifications, and income). Overall 11 204 participants provided information on vegetarian status at the 30 year follow-up, of whom 8170 (72.9%) had data on IQ score at age 10 years and were therefore included in our analyses. page 1 of 4 BMJ Online First bmj.com Copyright 2007 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd Research We used analysis of covariance and the
2 test to examine the characteristics of the participants, and logistic regression to examine prospectively the relation between childhood IQ score and vegetarianism as an adult. Results In total 366 (4.5%) of 8170 participants of the 1970 British cohort study with IQ scores at age 10 years said they were vegetarian: nine (2.5%) were vegan and 123 (33.6%) stated they were vegetarian but reported consuming fish or chicken. Vegetarians were more likely to be female, to be of a non-manual occupational social class (in childhood and currently), and to have higher academic or vocational qualifications (table 1[T1]): 8.5% of vegetarians (n = 31) had a higher degree or equivalent vocational qualification compared with 3.5% of non-vegetarians (n = 275). This evidence of higher socioeconomic status was not reflected in the vegetarians’ annual income, which was similar to that of non-vegetarians. When strict vegetarians (no fish or meat) were compared with those who said they were vegetarian but consumed fish or chicken, no differences were found between them in any of these characteristics (data not shown). IQ in childhood was associated with all indicators of socioeconomic status. Mean childhood IQ was higher in participants from non-manual occupational backgrounds, both in childhood and currently; in those with higher academic or vocational qualifications; and in those with higher annual gross earnings (data not shown). Table 1 Characteristics of study participants in relation to self-reported vegetarianism at age 30 years (n=8170) Characteristics Total No (%) of non-vegetarians in each category No (%) of vegetarians in each category Women 4222 3951 (50.6) 271 (74.0) Men 3948 3853 (49.4) 95 (26.0)*** Professional or managerial 2244 2119 (27.2) 125 (34.2) Skilled non-manual 752 719 (9.2) 33 (9.0) Semiskilled 3081 2945 (37.7) 136 (37.2) Unskilled 1205 1165 (14.9) 40 (10.9) Unknown 888 856 (11.0) 32 (8.7)* Parental social class†: Current social class: Professional or managerial 2968 2798 (35.8) 170 (46.5) Skilled non-manual 2102 1991 (25.5) 111 (30.3) Semiskilled 1649 1611 (20.6) 38 (10.4) Unskilled 1274 1235 (15.8) 39 (10.7) Unknown 177 169 (2.2) 8 (2.2)*** Academic or vocational qualifications: On average, vegetarians had a higher childhood IQ score than non-vegetarians. According to sex, the mean (SD) childhood IQ score of vegetarians compared with nonvegetarians was 106.1 (14.7) and 100.6 (15.2) for men and 104.0 (14.1) and 99.0 (14.7) for women, differences of 5.5 and 5.0 points (P < 0.001). When vegetarians were divided into those who were strictly vegetarian (no fish or meat) and those who consumed fish or chicken, no difference was found in IQ score. Among those who had taken vegetarianism to its logical conclusion (“gone the whole hog,”, as it were) and become vegan (no animal products), mean IQ scores were lower. On average, vegans had a childhood IQ score that was nearly 10 points lower than other vegetarians: mean (SD) IQ score 95.1 (14.8) in vegans compared with 104.8 (14.1) in other vegetarians (P = 0.04), although this estimate must be viewed with caution as only nine participants were vegan. The odds ratio for being vegetarian at age 30 years for one standard deviation increase in childhood IQ score was 1.38 (95% confidence interval 1.24 to 1.53; table 2[T2]). After controlling for sex, the odds ratio increased to 1.42 (1.28 to 1.59). Separate adjustment for social class, both in childhood and currently, and academic or vocational qualifications, attenuated these relations, particularly when academic or vocational qualifications were added to the model—but the associations remained statistically significant. In multivariate analysis the odds ratio for being vegetarian was 1.20 (1.06 to 1.36) for one standard deviation increase in childhood IQ score. When the analysis was repeated after removing those who said that they were vegetarian but consumed fish or chicken, this result was essentially unchanged (1.19, 1.03 to 1.39). Additional adjustment for annual earnings had no effect on the strength of the relation between childhood IQ and later vegetarianism (data not shown). Discussion Participants of the 1970 British cohort study with higher intelligence test scores in childhood were more likely to report being a vegetarian at age 30 years. This relation was partly accounted for by educational attainment and by occupational social class in adult life but remained statistically significant after adjustment for these factors. Several investigators have examined the link between education (a strong correlate of mental ability15) and vegetarianism. Findings are mixed. Pooled data from a meta-analysis of vegetarianism and mortality11 showed that of four studies reporting data on educational attainment two showed higher levels in vegetarians than in non-vegetarians, whereas in two other studies the opposite association was seen. In previous analyses of the 1970 British cohort study, a greater consumption of non-meat products, such as bread or fresh fruit, was apparent in people with high educational attainment.16 Although the vegetarians in this cohort were, on average, more intelligent, better educated, and of higher occupational No qualifications 695 685 (8.8) 10 (2.7) CSE equivalent NVQ 1 647 629 (8.1) 18 (4.9) O level or equivalent NVQ 2 2320 2246 (28.8) 74 (20.2) A level or equivalent NVQ 3 1708 1638 (21.0) 70 (19.1) Degree, diploma, or equivalent NVQ 4 2494 2331 (29.9) 163 (44.5) Higher degree or NVQ 5 306 275 (3.5) 31 (8.5)*** ≤£11 440 1494 1424 (24.9) 70 (26.6) Adjustments Odds ratio (95% CI) £11 441−£16 600 1496 1432 (25.0) 64 (24.3) Unadjusted 1.38 (1.24 to 1.53) £16 6001−£23 000 1518 1451 (25.3) 67 (25.5) Sex 1.42 (1.28 to 1.59) >£23 000 1484 1422 (24.8) 62 (23.6) Parental social class 1.35 (1.21 to 1.51) Current social class 1.29 (1.15 to 1.45) Annual gross earnings‡: £1.00 (€1.48; $1.89). NVQ=national vocational qualifications. *P