U2 fans are smart
I know, stating the obvious. We picked the right band. But we’re also like … brainy-smart. So says a CalTech grad student named Virgil Griffith, who put together this very unscientific chart showing the relationship between SAT scores and music preferences. As you can see below, U2 fans are among the brightest folk out there.
But seriously … Sufjan Stevens? Guster? I kinda like Counting Crows, so no biggie there to me. Chart is below, and there’s already an enormous discussion on BeatCrave.

Last 4 posts by m2
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- Imagine If You'd Never Heard The Joshua Tree... - January 30th, 2010
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- Eno on Bono, U2, & Coldplay - January 17th, 2010


it doesn’t make any sense! LOL
look who’s up there: Blink 182!
Blink 182 is up there with Kanye West. This chart is pretty accurate!
The higher scores are to the right, not the top.
Counting Crows above Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, U2 and Bob Marley?
um lolz
I agree with Jason above. So my question is: What is the signficance of the Y axis? What is the difference between an artist that is at the top vs an artist that is at the bottom? Why are there more at the top than at the bottom?
Breaking news: Guster is better than The Beatles.
Maybe U2 fans aren’t so smart after all…good Lord.
There is no Y axis significance on this study. It is organized from top to bottom only to allow for room easy reading. The larger the “bubble” for the band, the more respondents AND the wider the span of SAT scores.
So now when anyone asks me what i’m listening to i can respond: U2..it’s a nerd thing..you wouldn’t understand
Without revealing too much about my mediocre SAT scores, does this mean I have to start liking Phish?
hahaha I would have thought that the Dead Heads would’ve been more to the left after all the substance abuse.
I use a lot of music in my work. Listening to music from an early age (ie from 8 years and up) creates neuron growth in the brain. I was raised on beethoven and mozart then at 13 heard A sort of Homecoming…..The directness and simplicity of how U2 play and write, can be found in the writing methods not only of Beethoven but of Kurt weil/Brecht, Schiller, and Shakespeare above all. Yes Shakespeare. Bono has understood the power of repetition in a way that would make the bard green with envy.