Originally published at: Look at these photos of neighborhoods and try to tell if they voted Biden or Trump | Boing Boing
…
5 Likes
I took the quiz and it’s a really interesting way to train your brain. There’s the obvious neighborhood clues like is this a suburban or rural setting versus a higher density neighborhood. But then there are secondary clues you learn to look for: like: Is this location near the ocean? Or are their obvious west coast plants?
11 Likes
I participated (18/22), but I feel a little crummy for having done it. I’m not sure being good at classifying people like this is a worthwhile skill.
7 Likes
Not an American, but my main takeaway is that all your neighbourhoods (aside from obviously dense urban ones) look the same, with slight variations in background scenery. And that they all look more or less like the neighbourhoods I grew up in (Canada).
5 Likes
Like the Biden yard sign in Ohio. I think that was #6.
I did alright on this, but it’s hard to disconnect unconscious biases (rural or poor white trash looking must be Trump, urban for Biden, etc). Then again, that’s the challenge all day, every day.
1 Like
Look for recycling bins, that seems to be an easy tell
9 Likes
And solar panels.
6 Likes
And the book shelves.
10 Likes
I got 12 out of 15 by voting Trump if I saw a pickup truck first swiping around
13 Likes
Yup. I scored 15 out of 21 by looking at apparent population density, urban or rural setting, American flags displayed on private property, and the relative number of big American trucks.
2 Likes
10 out of 16, I didn’t twig onto some easy cues like Florida vs. California climates until too late.
2 Likes
13 outa 18 being totally judgmental. It was easier to pick out who supported 45 and didn’t vote for Biden than a community that went for Biden.
2 Likes
18 out of 21. But I lucked out with mostly Biden neighborhoods. I sorta love that we don’t all get the same number of questions. I am sure having travelled helps.
1 Like
I got 6 out of 18. Monkey with a dartboard could do better.
5 Likes
Well, I did my best…
Either naive or a bit judgmental. Shrug
1 Like
Being a Brit, and only having ever visited Manhattan, I wouldn’t expect to be able to do this correctly, so I just clicked ‘Trump’ for each one in order to just be able to see the answers.
I was left with the impression that the presentation order was anything but random and that, like those deliberately unusual pictures you get of well known people on TV quizzes, that a lot of the pictures had been chosen to be deliberately misleading. For instance, the first 10 pictures I was presented with were all of ‘Biden’ voting areas and all seemed to have been selected for looking run-down and having a preponderance of over-large pickup trucks on the streets and drives.
I don’t think the NYT wants people to genuinely test themselves, I think they were deliberately trying to trip people up with their own prejudices - which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but is perhaps a bit underhand to present it as a straight quiz.
3 Likes
I was sort of shocked by this too. All 15 neighborhoods I got were suburban, and almost any of them could have been a suburb of Atlanta, where I live. The closest one was in North Carolina. All were flat and pretty dull, frankly.
2 Likes
I was surprised to see one of the neighborhoods was the wealthier “on the hill” section of my hometown. I underestimated them by saying they went for 45 and I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong!
1 Like
I found this a nice little reminder that places don’t vote, people do.
4 Likes
Gotta acknowledge that this is one of the most natural use cases for VR that I’ve seen. Well integrated.
