Based on a publicly available dataset, I track the European geographical distribution of notable scientists, philosophers, and other intellectuals from 1000 AD until the Industrial Revolution.
Are differences in population density taken into account in any way? For example, if two cities had a population of 1 million and 1 thousand respectively, and each had 10 geniuses, would they both be equally "lit up," or would the latter be brighter since the proportion of geniuses is so much higher?
No, population densities are not taken into account in this analysis. It was not meant to. Here I only wanted to figure out where notable people came from, regardless of whether that is due to differences in sheer number of people or any other reason that might matter.
However, I am working on some analyses to see where the per capita rates of notable people are highest. I plan to make a short post about it in the future. I can reveal that there are still substantial differences in per capita rates between regions (e.g., Central/Northwestern Europe vs Eastern Europe). Countries like Germany, France and England have high per capita rates (however the capital cities do not necessarily stand out compared to many other regions once population density is considered).
Hello, I found this picture and I wanted to know if it was related to this study : https://i.4cdn.org/pol/1683909508386602.jpg
If it is, is there a way to get the full database?
Hi, yes. That is from a different blog of mine. (https://inquisitivebird.substack.com/p/which-european-nations-are-overrepresented)
You can message me on twitter and I can make the list again for you.
Are differences in population density taken into account in any way? For example, if two cities had a population of 1 million and 1 thousand respectively, and each had 10 geniuses, would they both be equally "lit up," or would the latter be brighter since the proportion of geniuses is so much higher?
No, population densities are not taken into account in this analysis. It was not meant to. Here I only wanted to figure out where notable people came from, regardless of whether that is due to differences in sheer number of people or any other reason that might matter.
However, I am working on some analyses to see where the per capita rates of notable people are highest. I plan to make a short post about it in the future. I can reveal that there are still substantial differences in per capita rates between regions (e.g., Central/Northwestern Europe vs Eastern Europe). Countries like Germany, France and England have high per capita rates (however the capital cities do not necessarily stand out compared to many other regions once population density is considered).
Whoops, saw your Twitter, ignore my comment
Have you read Charles Murray’s Human Accomplishment?