View RSS Feed

Memories of the 28th Century

Institutionalized Ignorance

Rating: 2 votes, 5.00 average.
A few days ago I was horrified to read the James Watson, Nobel Laureate for having discovered DNA, is being condemned for having made comments that are alleged to be racist; although there has been no inquiry into the veracity of his comments.

Specifically, Doctor Watson is cited as having said, “There’s a “difference on the average between blacks and whites on IQ tests,” he said. “I would say the difference is ... genetic.” He also said he took no joy in his conclusion. The situation is “awful,” he said, “just like it’s awful for schizophrenics.” He added: “I like black people.”

While in the broad sense of racism being a belief that there are multiple races of humans, Watson’s opinion is demonstrated in many published study of IQ’s by country. This article lists and maps average IQ by country, and it is clear that Sub-Saharan Africa has lower average IQ’s than other regions. https://brainstats.com/average-iq-by-country.html This has been known for decades, and some attempts have been made to explain the difference, but without much success. Watson is not the only one who believes that there is a genetic component to the gap between IQ’s of people of different skin colors or ethnic background. The udel.edu article mentions a persistent 15-point difference between Blacks and Whites in the U.S.A. that cannot be explained by cultural factors. https://www1.udel.edu/educ/gottfreds...sen30years.pdf

It is clear that Watson in regard to a matter that appears to be well within his realm of study. I have not seen anything that suggested that he has never inquired into the matter of whether IQ has a genetic component. If Watson had simply shot from the hip, then there might be reason to criticize him. It appears that the institution where he has been teaching, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on Long Island, grossly over-reacted to his comments by stripping him of his academic titles.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...b0922a21d630c9

As someone who respects science, I am offended by the actions of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on Long Island, especially since no one seems to have shown that Watson's comments were erroneous. If they, or others, want to prove that there is no genetic component in intelligence, then they should do that. I expect that Watson has an excellent idea of how genetic characteristics are inherited, and I think that Watson deserves apologies and compensation.

In the past I have written about falsified laboratory results, and It just occurred to me that the two issues may be related. Maybe some scientists falsified results so they can produce papers that concur with the desires of their institutions. That would be even sadder than that there are falsified lab results at all. Has it become impossible to state positions on academic questions that are other than what the institutions like. That would smack of pre-Enlightenment thought, when the Church had to approve everything before it could be printed.

If someone else in the field of genetics, psychometrics, or whatever had argued that Watson was mistaken, it would be a different matter, but it appears that the facts back up Watson. There may be a lot more to the matter, but Watson clearly has demonstrable facts behind him.

Comments

  1. Ecurb's Avatar
    Oh! The horror! A scientist -- speaking naught but the 'truth"-- gets ostracized by the "politically correct".

    But is it really an outrage (it's an old story -- Watson is 90)?

    First of all, the notion that IQ is a meaningful measure of intelligence for grownups is ridiculous. It was designed to help educate children. Once someone becomes an adult there are better ways to measure intellectual achievement and capacity.

    Second, although there is doubtless a genetic "component" to IQ, and a genetic "component" to race, modern DNA testing has discredited the old notion that the "four races" are a reasonable description of human genetic diversity. Why, then, is Watson using a biologically discredited (although culturally active) notion of "race" to bash black people's IQs?

    Third, when IQ was invented (around 1900), the average IQ was 100. Now it's 107 (I didn't look it up, this is from memory). Did people have worse genes 100 years ago?

    Fourth, Watson once told the Sunday Times that while people may like to think that all people are born with equal intelligence, "those who have to deal with black employees find this not true."

    There is only one conclusion: Watson is a racist, a jerk, and a sad excuse for a human, whatever his scientific accomplishments. So are a great many people who think IQ is important, and use it to elevate themselves at the cost of others. At least Watson accomplished something (although he denigrated the role of others in his discovery of the double helix). He shouldn't have to even mention IQ, except for bigoted and racist purposes.
  2. PeterL's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Ecurb
    Oh! The horror! A scientist -- speaking naught but the 'truth"-- gets ostracized by the "politically correct".

    But is it really an outrage (it's an old story -- Watson is 90)?

    First of all, the notion that IQ is a meaningful measure of intelligence for grownups is ridiculous. It was designed to help educate children. Once someone becomes an adult there are better ways to measure intellectual achievement and capacity.

    Second, although there is doubtless a genetic "component" to IQ, and a genetic "component" to race, modern DNA testing has discredited the old notion that the "four races" are a reasonable description of human genetic diversity. Why, then, is Watson using a biologically discredited (although culturally active) notion of "race" to bash black people's IQs?

    Third, when IQ was invented (around 1900), the average IQ was 100. Now it's 107 (I didn't look it up, this is from memory). Did people have worse genes 100 years ago?

    Fourth, Watson once told the Sunday Times that while people may like to think that all people are born with equal intelligence, "those who have to deal with black employees find this not true.

    There is only one conclusion: Watson is a racist, a jerk, and a sad excuse for a human, whatever his scientific accomplishments. So are a great many people who think IQ is important, and use it to elevate themselves at the cost of others. At least Watson accomplished something (although he denigrated the role of others in his discovery of the double helix). He shouldn't have to even mention IQ, except for bigoted and racist purposes.
    You mentioned some valid points, but you should have done your research.
    Your first point is pointless.
    Your second point is similarly pointless.
    Your third point is fallacious; the "average IQ" depends on the norms for that test, but the average always is 100.
    Your fourth point is simply a rude opinion about Doctor Watson.
    As a whole, your comment says a lot more about you than it says about Doctor Watson, or anyone or anything else.

    I will confess that I have not found complete information about what Doctor Watson said, and my opinion might change if I had more information, but it appears that Watson stated a hypothesis for which he had incomplete evidence, but that press and the institution for which he works treated it as a completely unsupported opinion, and neglected that while Watson was making statements based on science bout which he knows a great deal, the press and the institution have been shooting from the hip.
  3. Ecurb's Avatar
    Here's some research:

    A Guardian article (from which I garnered Watson's racist comment, and which shows him to be a sexist bigot as well): https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...el-prize-medal

    Here's an article about how IQ scores have improved from one generation to the next (my details may have been wrong, but my argument was correct); https://www.smithsonianmag.com/scien...not-150402883/

    MY first point is designed to suggest that many proponents of IQ as a measure of intelligence are either racist or want to confirm their inflated opinion of their own intelligence.

    My second point is reasonable; Why would anyone but a racist use outdated methods of describing human genetic similarity to denigrate the intelligence of a culturally determined "racial" group? We know, for example, that some of Thomas Jefferson's children with Sally Hemmings "passed" as white. Were they more intelligent than those who didn't? Why should we look at the cultural designation of person's race as a reasonable indicator of genotype?

    You defend Watson's racism (which is clearly both unjustified and rude) because you think he is correct, yet you call me rude for calling Watson a racist, even though I am clearly correct (based on the quote from the Guardian).

    One more thing, it is illogical to call "points" "pointless". Any intelligent person, whatever their IQ, could explain that to you.
  4. PeterL's Avatar
    Thanks for the laugh.
  5. Ecurb's Avatar
    You're welcome.
  6. atqwa's Avatar
    FIBER GLASS WELDING CO. FIBER GLASS FURNISHED FITTINGS FITTING FIBERS FIBER GLASS FIBERS FIBER GLASS CELLS are located in all residential, commercial, industrial and commercial buildings and can not be dispensed with. There is no substitute for water storage when there is a problem with fiberglass tanks whether broken or A crack in the wall or floor The water leaks from the surface and causes great problems for the surfaces and the water ends quickly from the tank Can not be kept by the company of welding tanks Viber Glass provides you dear customer buy a new tank just because of those problems with your tank evil The welding and repair of the fiber glass tanks has the best modern techniques that enable them and make them refueling the tank and returned to what was new and will live for years for the welding and repair of the tanks of fiberglass for welding and repair of fiberglass tanks
    Updated 01-23-2019 at 08:47 AM by PeterL (edited for clarity)
  7. LaLeLu's Avatar
    Don't know about IQ, but I wish I had Toni Morrison's talent.