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this week in I Am Very Smart: having enough money to go to the opera, museums and concerts correlates with having enough money for food, shelter and basic health needs

They controlled for socioeconomic factors though! The people who conducted this study knew that people with lots of money to attend the opera were also more likely to be able to afford basic necessities, so they controlled for it in their analysis. The fun thing about statistics is that you can control for different confounding factors so you can look at the effects of one independent variable (opera or whatever) on the dependent variable (mortality). Part of being critical of potential biases is actually reading the article and knowing what to look for.

In addition to that very good point about controlling for socioeconomic factors, the article says a single museum or concert per year makes a difference. Most cities have free community concerts (some even have free opera performances!) and museums that are either free, pay-what-you-want, or at least have specific days/times during which they are free or at a significantly reduced cost. Many libraries (which are free) provide free museum passes to card holders. In fact, the article quotes a museum worker who works at a free art museum in Baltimore.

If you actually read the article you would also read that educators are excited about this study because it provides evidence that the arts should be made more accessible financially - by restoring arts programs in the public schools, for example.

My dear @jamiebythesea I hope you don’t mind but your tags are important I don’t want them to disappear

Tags that read: Also : no you won't be dress-coded if you go to the opera or theater in jeans and a t-shirt You don't have to dress fancy And don't let anyone tell you that it's a sign of disrespect to the people on stage because people on stage don't look at you and When they do they don't give a shit what you look like They're just glad you're here enjoying the play/concert If your local theater/opera/auditorium offers cheap entries then by all means go and have fun

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People tend to have a very specific idea of how opera audiences look, and it’s like evening gowns from no later than 1950 and tuxedos in the Met in New York City.

Also to note: if you’re in a relatively small area, performers will probably just be happy to see people are in the audience for their performance. The majority of singers and actors don’t get to perform on stage in front of thousands of people. They appreciate any audience they have.