OT - Columbus, OH Named Most Intelligent City in America

Submitted by jscbus on

According to the ICF, which I cannot expound upon much.

 

Article states that if one is feeling "brainy", it's because one is part of the smartest workforce in the states. Probably...not.

 

It also references the "abundance" of technical schools. Schools of trade. Schools of...thought? Schools of, trucks. 

 

PROOF:

 

http://www.nbc4i.com/story/21859068/columbus-named-most-intelligent-city-in-america

 

Please, someone, explain.

JimBobTressel

April 3rd, 2013 at 6:57 PM ^

 

If you are feeling brainy it could be because you are part of the smartest workforce in America. The Intelligent Communities Forum has named Columbus in the top seven most intelligent cities in the world, and it is the only American city to make the cut.

 

 

Bell said that more than 400 cities around the world vie for the intelligence designation.

 

 

400 cities

 

evenyoubrutus

April 3rd, 2013 at 7:10 PM ^

If I'm reading this correctly it sounds like Columbus had yo actually nominate itself or enter itself into a competition, and only 400 cities worldwide actually felt the need to enter this thing. Not really that impressive.

Muttley

April 3rd, 2013 at 7:11 PM ^

Columbus Named Most Intelligent Indigent City In America

Keep in mind that those are big words for nbc4i.com of Columbus.

Current local news around Columbus per the website.

 

MichiganManOf1961

April 3rd, 2013 at 7:11 PM ^

Exactly what formula did they use?  Columbus is not a college town, not a tech town, not a center of culture, not in a desirable state, etc.  Perhaps there was a minimum population?  Even still, what about Palo Alto, San Fran, Boston (college population), etc? 

~Herm

ChiBlueBoy

April 3rd, 2013 at 7:13 PM ^

Is that a front for the Bleacher Report? I believe it's been scientifically shown (using math and everything) that if a citizen of Columbus moves to AA, the average IQ for both cities goes down.

inthebluelot

April 3rd, 2013 at 8:26 PM ^

A great downtown area and a low cost of living. Large population and tax base. I'm starting to get jealous the more I think about this. I see why you moved to LA instead of Detroit, although, California's economy
is not much better unfortunately, But I'll take your weather bar none.

inthebluelot

April 3rd, 2013 at 10:27 PM ^

You and I both grew up in west Michigan, so obviously we have a similar perspective. I was just trying to make a point that Ann Arbor is a great college town and beyond that, has nothing on Columbus as far as a quality city is concerned. People here rag on it because we're all a bunch of Michigan fans, but for those who've never spent any time there, it's a really stupid opinion to vocalize because it couldn't be further from the truth. Michigan is a better state than Ohio for many reasons, but Columbus is a great town and you don't build that kind of infrastructure without having some academically competent residents living and working there.

Blue in Yarmouth

April 4th, 2013 at 9:38 AM ^

But I am friends with Jody Shelley who now plays with Philadelphia (if you could call it plays) and has lived in many places across the USA (Cali., New York, Ohio, Florida, also clagary in Canada) and he loves Columbus. He still maintains his residence there and when speaking to him last summer he had nothing but good things to say about it. My brother has also been a couple of times to various medical conferences in Columbus and agreed with Jody that it is a very nice city. 

Again, I have never been there but it seems from my experience that anyone who has been there that doesn't have a rooting interest in UM seems to speak very highly of the city. It seems sad to me (and yet not unexpected given what I know about many fans) that people would paint an entire city with the same brush that they paint a rival schools sports team. Oh well...I'm sure Columbus doesn't give much thought to what UM fans think about their city. 

caliblue

April 4th, 2013 at 2:15 AM ^

California is doing MUCH better than Michigan. The Bay Area is doing very well, though the central valley not so much. It's a very big state in both area and population, and it all depends where one lives. The economy is fairly diverse and  not dependent on a single industry like Michigan. Although Columbus may be doing well it is probably the only place in Ohio that is.

Indiana Blue

April 3rd, 2013 at 7:28 PM ^

Who the fuck has ever heard of the ICF before ?   Seriously ... anybody ?  Obvious "think-tank" organization that is no doubt bilking millions of dollars from somebody ... the gov't maybe (oops I mean We the People !)

Go Blue!

 

DonAZ

April 3rd, 2013 at 7:32 PM ^

This reminds me a little of a "Best Places to Retire" survey from 20 or so years ago.  The winner?  Pittsburgh.

I've got nothing against Pittsburgh, but it all depends on the evaluation criteria and the weighting that's used.

I went to the "Intelligent Community Forum" website and did a little browsing around.  Here's an interesting bit of discovery -- Columbus, #1 in the world (not just U.S.) in 2013, was not even in their top 7 the prior year.  Nobody moves a city that far that fast.

Cleveland, OH was #1 in 2006 ... then disappeared ever after.

From their website: "Intelligent Communities are those which have – whether through crisis or foresight – come to understand the enormous challenges of the Broadband Economy, and have taken conscious steps to create an economy capable of prospering in it."

Broadband.  I haven't heard that word used with any reverence since ... um ... the 1990's.

CRex

April 3rd, 2013 at 7:32 PM ^

Ah yes, I'm sure places like Palo Alto or Cupertino, awash in not only Stanford folk but also the employees of about six million high tech companies just pales beside the brain trust that is Columbus.  Ann Arbor got a most educated award awhile back and I was a bit confused in that while Michigan is of course a great school, we don't have that much industry that actually retains the talent.  Whereas other cities not only produce it domestically via a school, but also have multiple Fortune 500 companies recruiting talent in from other areas.  

Mr. Yost

April 3rd, 2013 at 7:34 PM ^

....foooor???? Squirrels?

....foooor???? Shitty people to earn employment?

....foooor???? Someone to hate?

 

I'm sure Columbus is the most intelligent city for a lot of things. Good for them.

inthebluelot

April 3rd, 2013 at 7:58 PM ^

It's sort of "Spartyish" or "Little Brother-like". I'm a resident of this great state
of ours (Michigan) but I will say this, Columbus is a great city. It doesn't surprise me
that there are many intelligent folks who live there. Heaven forbid anyone even suggest that Ann Arbor is not the bastion of intellect that it strives to be. Come on, if not for the U, Ann Arbor is Flint. It's a ghetto compared to Columbus. Michigan is a great academic institution, but some of the minds they turn out are ridiculously child-like and petty. News flash... Ann Arbor isn't even the best city in the state of Michigan. Sometimes the truth hurts.