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IQ tests were invented to justify a belief that white people were superior - literally by eugenicists. How is it "white privilege" to say we should reject a te

IQ tests were invented to justify a belief that white people were superior - literally by eugenicists. How is it "white privilege" to say we should reject a test design that was designed to support white supremacy?

Proziam 6y ago
Rockets were designed to kill people, now they take us to space. A test is just a tool. How you use the tool is what matters most. In the context of medical research specifically, different groups experience different health issues at different rates. It's important to understand these differences so that we can help the groups in question, or to gain further understanding into what causes the issue as we search for a universal improvement.
SomeoneFromCA 6y ago
I took it several times, and have not seen anything racist in them, being non-white myself.Just geometric and word puzzles. In any case, brushing off a test, just because you do not like the results and its origins, without actually researching why the scores are lower, is actually disrespectful to those who indeed scored lower.
- elsherbini 6y ago
  Did you know it's illegal in the state of California to administer an IQ test to a black child? [1] This is a fantastic episode from radiolab about the history of IQ tests in the US and goes into how a test can be racist even without seeming so. [1] https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/articles/g-miseducation-larry-p https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/articles/g-mis...
  - SomeoneFromCA 6y ago
    No I did not. Nor I believe that properly constructed test, with all explicit cultural references removed can be racist. Asians, straight from Korea or China, with some basic knowledge of English are able to reach normal or above normal results on IQ tests.
tdsamardzhiev 6y ago
IQ tests were invented to identify children with learning disabilities. People have been (mis)using them in various ways ever since. Some would indeed try to use IQ tests to validate their prejudices and proclaim that "science says dark-skinned people are not as smart as asians". Um, no. Science says we should stay humble and ask questions.

Proziam 6y ago

Rockets were designed to kill people, now they take us to space. A test is just a tool. How you use the tool is what matters most. In the context of medical research specifically, different groups experience different health issues at different rates. It's important to understand these differences so that we can help the groups in question, or to gain further understanding into what causes the issue as we search for a universal improvement.

SomeoneFromCA 6y ago

I took it several times, and have not seen anything racist in them, being non-white myself.Just geometric and word puzzles. In any case, brushing off a test, just because you do not like the results and its origins, without actually researching why the scores are lower, is actually disrespectful to those who indeed scored lower.

elsherbini 6y ago
Did you know it's illegal in the state of California to administer an IQ test to a black child? [1] This is a fantastic episode from radiolab about the history of IQ tests in the US and goes into how a test can be racist even without seeming so. [1] https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/articles/g-miseducation-larry-p https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/articles/g-mis...
- SomeoneFromCA 6y ago
  No I did not. Nor I believe that properly constructed test, with all explicit cultural references removed can be racist. Asians, straight from Korea or China, with some basic knowledge of English are able to reach normal or above normal results on IQ tests.

tdsamardzhiev 6y ago

IQ tests were invented to identify children with learning disabilities. People have been (mis)using them in various ways ever since. Some would indeed try to use IQ tests to validate their prejudices and proclaim that "science says dark-skinned people are not as smart as asians". Um, no. Science says we should stay humble and ask questions.