Nope -- there's just a lot more of 'em!

...but the Chinese are naturally better at music. I wondered, for many years, why all the music classes in my high school were filled with Chinese that just seemed to pick up music without any effort at all. It turns out not to be genetic, but based in language. Their exposure to a tonal language from birth gives them a serious edge when it comes to identifying musical notes. People who are only exposed to English from birth never gain this ability as sharp as they do.

(discovered on this episode of Radio Lab)

The quote given here is plausible, BUT contains nothing to suggest that Europeans would be genetically smarter than Africans. It could well turn out that Africans have more "smart genes" that Europeans, but the present disadvantage in education is what is causing their alleged current under-performance.

Intelligence (indeed, most personality traits) is almost certainly due to a combination of genetics and environment. Unless we can control for environment, there is no way an intelligence test can shed light on the distribution of "smart" genes.

As for the alleged under-performance by Africans, if there are any tests which show this, I suspect that the tests test for skills of interest to mainstream Eurocentric standards (the synonyms section in particular). I have seen "ghetto" IQ tests, which are similar to regular IQ tests but which use language and situations relevant to urban America. I'd come out as a moron on those tests. I'd like to see Watson take them.

Ultimately, the question of racial genetic intelligence differences is an empirical issue. Once the research has been done, then we can see. Watson claims (in the main article linked in first post) that "... genes responsible for creating differences in human intelligence could be found within a decade".
Go find said genes, FIRST, professor. Then see how they are distributed. Then figure out how important they are relative to environment. THEN you can make announcements like this, if it turns out to be true. Until then, don't shoot your mouth off with insulting comments that are likely to be used by evil bastards to justify all sorts of crimes against humanity.

STFU. the fact that you grew/are growing up in naperville certainly doesn't serve as evidence that you are more intelligent anyone else. it only serves to say that your parents liked the community and chose to live there. grade school kids' test scores in math say nothing whatsoever about intelligence. somewhere along the way you have forgotten that intelligence and education aren't the same thing.

Dude, let it go. Fresh overreacted but LJ did pick him out from nowhere, he was defending himself.

beam me up Scotty, no intelligent life here ;)

Ok. I'll bite. Not that I'm not tired of the ridiculous compulsion to....

snippy~He said he hoped that everyone was equal, but countered that “people who have to deal with black employees find this not true".~snippy

"Hope" has no place in scientific inquiry. And neither does anecdotes about "dealing with black employees".


I'm no scientist, but the last time I looked you need data to support any type of logical thinking.


New equation/New science? x+ arian nation evil scientist= racial predictions of inferiors? There ya go. "Logic." "Science." "Hitler".

Maybe we can find cures for horrible diseases through DNA research instead of trying to figure out whether black people are stupid or not. Seems like it wouldn't be the main priority? But, like I said, I'm no "scientist".

:D

fresh needs to get over his sensitivity to LJ. that is what LJ does, he winds up those that get jumpy about it. if you want to see how he goes after people he really doesn't like, look back at some old threads involving Marich**o.

Old people are peculiar. And people are bigoted. Not news. I'm willing to forgive James Watson for his bigotry because of his contribution to science. Similar to Linus Pauling, who I think had some pretty crazy ideas towards the end of his life.

not from nowhere. he's the dumbest asian i know. what?

I know Fresh needs to start ignoring LJ, this has been brought up before. I just didn't want it to escalate and wind up with another bitch fest with people arguing about how smart someone is when all you know about that person is what he posts on a damn forum.

fair enough. but if someone posts that they are superwicked smart and as evidence they present... "i'm from naperville!" they deserve to be ridiculed.


i mean, you've been to naperville, right?;)

I agree--it's not news. It's more sad than anything. A super-smart guy who's losing it in his old age.

I was thinking about this, and I wonder: Do you think most people become less tolerant as they get older?

I think that old people just lose their inhibitions as they get older. They decide they're tired and they only have a certain amount of time left, and they no longer give a shit what people think. They're more willing to say the things they've been thinking all along.

Plus, each successive generation has been more tolerant than the last, for a long time. They say that my generation is shaping up to be more conservative than our parents (the hippie generation,) but I'm not sure I agree. I think we're more fiscally conservative, but still more socially liberal, which is primarily where issues of tolerance fall.

And ruining the country, ya damn whippersnappers.