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I always wondered what Sowell would say about the "Bell Curve". I never dreamed he knew the authors.
I'm not sure that "RACE" will be as big of an issue in this election as the Left would like...MUD
This single statement explains 99% of American politics.
Dr. Sowell's latest "Race and IQ" column refers to lowering standards in college admissions in order to achieve a "critical mass" of black students so that they will feel comfortable enough in the college environment in order to achieve.
He says that the opposite is true - that anti-achievement peer pressure takes over and the brightest students under achieve.
He sites studies that show that immersing bright students with other bright students is the best way to get the highest achievement out of the best students, regardless of background.
Interesting -- I never knew Janet Reno was from the North Pole.
There is an all-black high school in a run-down area of Philadelphia that consistently fields one of the top high school chess teams in the United States. I'm sure the people in that school stopped making excuses for their students years ago.
Dr. Thomas Sowell has published part three of his series on race and intelligence. A lot of folks are not going to be happy with his conclusions, but as he states in today's part three:
"...it is time for black "leaders" and white "friends" to stop trying to discredit the tests and get on with the job of improving the skills that the tests measure."
Many so-called black "leaders" insist that studies like Dr. Sowell's are counter-productive, simply because it validates positions taken in controversial works like "The Bell Curve."
I have to agree with Dr. Sowell: let's get over it and get on with it.
Parts one and two are still available for you to peruse.
One wonders whether affirmative action, which may once have had some justification, is not doing grave damage by creating a picture of black incompetence through systematic mismatching of people. Without it, there would be fewer blacks in the most prestigious educational institutions (probably 2-3% instead of 6 - 8%), but those would be outstanding performers, fully competitive. Now ask yourself: which situation would more likely lead others to assume an inferiority: a larger number of average poor performers, or a smaller number of competitive performers? Affirmative action's greatest harm may be in created a presumption of inferiority that unfairly stigmatizes people who would be fully competitive without it.
As I recall, the point they had intended to make is implied in the title of the book: that, while there may be small diferences in average IQ (as we measure it), there are always people of all races who are brighter and duller than any given person.
Iow, there is no such thing as a racial superiority or inferiority. There are only differences among indivual people.
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.