You too can spend time digging in old census data! This tidbit is from the 1850 census, and the figure is for the whole state, not just Hamilton County. Looks like most of our idiots were homegrown white males. While it is not surprising that such a classification existed 160 years ago, it is fascinating to dwell on, and is a good example of, the subjectivity of data collection and classification. Some census worker(s) in 1850 - Tennessee, matter-of-factly classified these folks as idiotic, a class stated in the directions of the census and one understood in the culture of the day, but were unable to gather where they were from.
(Sidetrack - Idiotic classification/quantification continued for a while, but I haven't looked up the numbers on them. Also, having a family and a job, I must limit my time spent parsing historic figures of idiocy. Perhaps I should be more concerned with the lack of quantification of idiocy in the 2000 census and its certain absence in the 2010 census.)
More census fun and facts to follow. Census.gov is an incredible resource. I find myself going there more and more. Whether it is for historic data, population projections, or shapefiles for GIS use. Spending some time on the site will give you an appreciation of the wealth and value of the information collected, and hopefully influence your decision to be a part of the 2010 census.
This all contributes to what will probably be a continuing topic on ChattaData - the dual role we have as data consumers and generators.
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ahhh. GIS. i did that in a past life. until like an idiot i apparently committed the one unforgivable sin: finished a project on time and in budget for the government.
ReplyDeleteim sure you have them, but there are a number of great sources for TN .shp files. if i remember them in my musings i ll post them. if relevant of course.