Memories of the 28th Century

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.

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.

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.

Thanks for the laugh.

You're welcome.

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Don't know about IQ, but I wish I had Toni Morrison's talent.