RACE AND IQ: PART III

TownHall.com ^ | October 3 2002 | Thomas Sowell

[The Other Harry]

...we are all Americans, we will bleed and die together as Americans.

Exactly. Regardless of our racial background or anything else. That is who we are.

[The Other Harry]

If someone has offered me a chance to coast when I was 14, I would have taken it. That's essentially what many black kids are offered.

If kids are offered opportunities, there are some who will take them.

[AppyPappy]

And if kids are offered a free ride, many will take it.

[Little Bill]

That is who we are.

You have that right brother, I learned that in the Nam, when stuff happens you look around for a friendly face, color doesn't matter.

[thucydides]

An unrealistic assumption of radical equality between groups leads to attributing differences to some extraneous factor that may have had no part to play, such as racism.

[The Other Harry]

And if kids are offered a free ride, many will take it.

Then the hell with them. Truly. Screw 'em.

But I will go back to my original point: The Republicans need to be the party of opportunity. We need to clear paths and make things available to everyone. Let's the Dem's be the party that holds them down.

[Man of the Right]

There you go.

It's fascinating how many people leap to assumptions based on no information.

Read the book twice. It's elitist tripe.

[The Other Harry]

An unrealistic assumption of radical equality between groups leads to attributing differences to some extraneous factor that may have had no part to play, such as racism.

You been smoking dope?

A trip to Amsterdam might be in order. They have really great marijuana there. You can imbibe in the coffee houses. Then you can go try find your hotel.

[shrinkermd]

I find Dr. Sowell to be a brilliant person and much smarter than most including me; however, his three articles on this are lacking in focus and factual substantiation.

For example recent data on reading includes the following: The National Center For Education Statistics (a federal government entity) published The Nation's Report Card: Reading 2000. This is a nation-wide assessment of fourth graders. They divided reading into basic, proficient and advanced. Essentially, below basic meant the child could not read at the fourth grade level and was, for the most part, illiterate. The findings were that between 29% and 63% of students (sorted on race)could not read at the basic level. This report is on the web for those who wish it. Put NCES 2001-499 in your search engine. One can only imagine the future for those who cannot read in this "age of information." Bill Bennett wrote an excellent editorial in the WSJ on this subject with the remedy --return to phonics in reading.

I gave the above statistics without giving the race which is customary when you don't want to be accused of racism. The White children figure was 29%, the Black figure was 63% and so on and so on. The point is anyone trying to remedy this is going to have a disproportionate number of minorities (the White rate is bad enough?)in their special classes or remedial courses. Will this result in charges of racism? The answer is yes, if history is any guide. See the discussion below about California, I.Q. Tests and Black charges of racism.

There are problems that require understanding. Almost 100 years of data have consistently substantiated that Blacks, on the average, have an I.Q. of 85 (one standard deviation below the norm) compared to European Whites who have, of course, an average I.Q. of 100. Before anyone feels proud of being a European White remember also the following: Asians average I.Q. is 108, Jews average I.Q. is 117 (one standard deviation above the norm) and siblings vary on average by 12 I.Q. points. Incidentally, the overwhelming majority of the population is betwen 85-115 and this population can do 75-85% of all occupations.

The 10 point increase in I.Q. over a generation is called the "Flynn Effect." It occurs in all races in this country and in Europe. At the same time the SAT Scores have declined. What seems to be the case is that the left hand side of the Bell Curve has been improving on the basis of a better diet and medical care. The lowering of the SAT Scores could be the function of a dysfunctional education system or selective mating where women with I.Q.'S 120 plus are not reproducing sufficient to replace their population while women with I.Q.'s less than 80 are reproducing at a rate, and a younger age that increases their segment of the population.

No matter what the protest, no matter what the censure, no matter what the belief these are the facts. Post-modernists and liberals in general are the only ones who dispute this. There is no data inconsistent with the above findings. One can quote from the ancients on their prejudices and one can give anecdotal evidence, but the issues are not simple. I might further add that recent advances in evoked potential studies and reaction times in general give evidence one does not even need a psychological test to determine a person's I.Q.

The example of false charges of racism occurr frequently. Some years ago in California they were giving I.Q. tests for determining placement in remedial and other special educational needs. It so happens that 30% or more who were Black were so placed. A federal judge reviewed this and decided it was racism and ruled no Black person in public education could receive an I.Q. test. This remained without exception until recently when a limited number of Black I.Q. tests were permitted after the parents complained. One thing we need to understand is that when a child has problems or short-comings they may need more resources than the average child.

It is always important to remember Alfred Adler's great dictum: "We are all more alike than we are differant." One of the most recent reviews of inheritance, I.Q. and racial differences was done by a British Psychologist named Brandt: he was fired for documenting the extensive data available. Arthur Jensen, a Professor at Harvard, had to have bodyguards for years for doing the same here. A Pslychologist from Florida, I believe his name was Gladny (deceased) did crime data on the basis of race and he was almost fired as well, but he died at age 61 before they could do it. The people who dispute the statistics do this on Liberal and Marxist convictions that nurture determines everything and there are no individual biological differences that are due to heredity. Others dispute these findings on the basis they don't like them and would prefer we are all equal. We are all equal under the eyes of God and the Constitution, but there are differences between people and groups that are inherited and cannto be changed completely by any amount of education, training or other enviornmental effort.

I am always amazed that many of my smart, successful and well educated friends dispute any evidence of inheritance regarding human abilities. Especially so, when they routinely rely heavily on inheritance in choosing their dogs and horses. Seemingly, the egalitarian desire for us all to be equal in all matters overwhelms any reasoned judgement on their part.

[Kay Ludlow]

Actually, one of the points he made in the Bell Curve was the mistake made in the 50's and 60's of relying so heavily on IQ scores (SAT's used to be a close equivalent) for admittance to our elite universitys. He maintains that is the reason we have so many elitists who graduated from these schools and have gone out into the world convinced of their superiority. This Meritocracy has decided that most people are not bright enough to decide for themselves. Murray thinks that IQ should not be the only criteria for admission.

He also believes that by ignoring IQ differences, we are avoiding looking at programs that could make a difference is people's lives. Murray sees a significant "environmental" component to IQ, that we should be addressing with social programs.

His book was trashed by the left without any of them reading it.

[God is good]

Race=Culture

[God is good]

Race and IQ are equally nebulous subjects which have yet to be absolutely and adequately defined or understood. Intelligent patterns and work ethics have more to do with cultural ideal systems (such as religious, social, ethical ideals) than with skin colors or nose sizes. Most of what is called race-related agendas are merely ethical and cultural standards in disguise.

[God is good]

What politics calls "racism" is actually the love or hate for a people based on their ideal system not their genetic code.
So-called "racisim" will never end as long as two people with brains, ideas and the capability of discourse exist in this universe.

[Man of the Right]

I think we have to look at the book's non-verbal message, the apparent sincerity and credibility of the solution it proposes, and its readership.

As I see it, the overt message is that there is an abnormal (in the statistical sense)distribution of cognitive ability in the population; that there is a large body of research regarding cognitive ability and social functioning that has been unavailable to laypersons due to PC; and that the cognitively gifted should work to make it easier for the less gifted to function in society.

This book is not a classic. It was a minor best-seller many years ago. It was addressed to the cognitively gifted, and presumably, purchased by them. It had no impact on society.

Here's the complaint. There's no relationship between IQ -- the relative ability to identify spatial, conceptual, and linguistic relationships -- and other types of abilities, let alone accomplishments, values, and virtue. For this reason, IQ tests are seldom administered today. However, the College Boards, which corelate positively and strongly with IQ, are used by institutions of higher education as the principal admissions tool. At selective institutions, nearly the entire student body has an IQ at the top of the range. Society views access to high education as the principal determinant of future quality of life.

The book asserts that there are statistically significant differences in cognitive ability among identifiable groups. Jews have the highest IQ, followed by Asians, White Gentiles, Latinos, and African-Americans. This outraged African-Americans and the left, who attempted to prevent the book's publication and promotion.

In my opinion, opponents should have respected the authors' right of free speech. On the other hand, I think the anger was justifiable.

Blacks are sensitive to racial stereotyping, for reasons that require no discussion.

Clearly, our virtue, values, and accomplishments in life depend on factors other than our relative ability to identify spatial, conceptual, and linguistic relationships rapidly.

Further, it would be child's play to design a metric to deliver any desired result for the racial and ethnic groups mentioned.

The ability to recognize spatial, conceptual, or linguistic relationships is somewhat innate, but can be developed depending on motivation. So can the ability to memorize the Torah or Chinese characters, to hit an outside jump shot while being double-teamed, or to perform improvizations in salsa.

For better or worse, high IQ is viewed as a condition of birth that merits superior treatment -- foremost by people with high IQs. This is true regardless of virtue, desirable traits and values, good works, accomplishment, or effort.

The world had a strong dose of this point of view in the Hitler era. Almost certainly, Hitler had a very high IQ. Conversely, he has been named the most evil individual in history, directly responsible for the deaths of 90 milion people. He had no discernible merit as a human being, but did possess oratorical, political and organizing skills.

My point of view is that we need fewer people who believe they are empowered to mete out any type of treatment to other people based on a perceived condition of birth, and more people who seek to cultivate virtue, desirable values and traits and to accomplish good works.

The authors assert these values, but in fact appeal to a Darwinian IQ cult. I detest elites and elitists.

[Lizavetta]

I'm not arguing against the Bell Curve authors, but rather against those who would call them racists.

Are you always this rude?