Groups with high IQs create cultures that encourage hard work and accomplishment. People act as if culture is just something floating around in the air, like clouds. Asians lucked out and a good cultural cloud descended on them. Others weren’t so lucky and a bad cultural cloud descended on them.
In fact, the gaps in performance between racial groups in America is replicated everywhere. Is there a place on earth where East Asians are notorious for churning out large numbers of fatherless kids, ending up on welfare, and failing on college entrance exams? East Asians have a good culture because they created a good culture, and they created a good culture because they have high average IQs.
I’ve got to agree with both of you. Culture and opportunity no doubt contribute to disparities in real-world educational levels, income and general life success. But the substantial, consistent difference in IQ tests really can’t be written off to primarily cultural differences. As puroresu points out, the old correlation-causation confusion pertains.
Do people really think culture is the only difference between your typical valedictorian and those, on average, at the bottom of the class? That culture is the difference between the brightest and the least bright in the typical workplace?
The sooner we get over the sensitivities here, the sooner we will stop watering down education on all levels.