Nobel Prize scientist - Black people are dumb

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Yeah, what most people don't know is that intelligence tests are not generalizable across cultures, what they might know is that the term intelligence is hotly debated, and is not strictly defined - so when a renowned scientist goes out and says something like this, then its pure junk - nothing else.

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When the outcome of such findings will be that people ask if 'black are dumber' then yes, they should bloody well keep their mouths shut - because that is hardly what they are saying.

And I very much doubt the findings are solid enough to warrant giving them in simplified form in a newspaper interview - so if you ask me he killed his own academic career and reputation, and justly so.


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What findings? He didn't do his own study -- he simply noted his own opinion on what he found convincing, based on work other people had done. Welcome to the wonderful world of thought crime.

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I guess it was the findings of those other people he used then - like people do 99% of the time in academics, I fail to see the significance of the question? [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

[ChrisV]

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Yeah, what most people don't know is that intelligence tests are not generalizable across cultures, what they might know is that the term intelligence is hotly debated, and is not strictly defined - so when a renowned scientist goes out and says something like this, then its pure junk - nothing else.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General...ligence_factor

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I guess it was the findings of those other people he used then - like people do 99% of the time in academics, I fail to see the significance of the question? [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

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The simplicity of the situation is that some professor finds some body of work convincing. If someone asks him about that issue, it looks to me like you're saying he shouldn't be allowed to tell the truth.

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Yeah, what most people don't know is that intelligence tests are not generalizable across cultures, what they might know is that the term intelligence is hotly debated, and is not strictly defined - so when a renowned scientist goes out and says something like this, then its pure junk - nothing else.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General...ligence_factor

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Yes, the general intelligence factor which you linked to with that article is indeed hotly debated and many claim it is plain out false, whereas others say it is simply irrelevant.

[tame_deuces]

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I guess it was the findings of those other people he used then - like people do 99% of the time in academics, I fail to see the significance of the question? [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

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The simplicity of the situation is that some professor finds some body of work convincing. If someone asks him about that issue, it looks to me like you're saying he shouldn't be allowed to tell the truth.

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First of all, his opinion here is not truth - there is no solid enough finding to claim this is truth. First you would have to a generalizable intelligence test, then you would have to have a strict definition of intelligence and then you would have to academic agreement on that term.

So what he stated was his opinion - and knowing he is an authority on the subject he should know what may fall, I don't deny him to the right to say what he feels like but neither do I feel any remorse that he pays the price.

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First of all, his opinion here is not truth - there is no solid enough finding to claim this is truth. First you would have to a generalizable intelligence test, then you would have to have a strict definition of intelligence and then you would have to academic agreement on that term.

So what he stated was his opinion - and knowing he is an authority on the subject he should know what may fall, I don't deny him to the right to say what he feels like but neither do I feel any remorse that he pays the price.

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We're all grown-ups here. We all know that opinion isn't truth. But opinion IS something, and if asked about it, are scientists to be punished for telling the simple truth? (unless, of course, it's the correct, PC opinion, which is always welcome)

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No he shouldn't be punished, but he certainly has to take the consequences of his statements.

If academic circles doesn't want to have him lecture, then this is because simplified statements of burning issues in newspapers is not a good academic way to go about things, believe it or not. There are plenty academics who disagree with what he says, plenty of academics who believe newspaper is not a fit arena for scientific debate and plenty of academics who believe one has to be extremely cautious with public statements on this issue for good reasons. Yes, this will rightfully damage his academic reputation.

As for what the public thinks, their verdict is just something you have to accept when you go public.

[ChrisV]

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Yes, the general intelligence factor which you linked to with that article is indeed hotly debated and many claim it is plain out false, whereas others say it is simply irrelevant.

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Presumably you will be able to point me to some arguments from these "many" or "others". Arguments specifically dealing with reasonably up-to-date g theory - for instance, Jensen's 1998 article on g.