"... This is the same Charles Murray who was co-author of the even more controversial 1994 book “The Bell Curve,” which argued not only that I.Q. was geneticall

"... This is the same Charles Murray who was co-author of the even more controversial 1994 book “The Bell Curve,” which argued not only that I.Q. was genetically determined but that it amounted to destiny ..." The sad thing is, this statement is sometimes true (but not as much as Murry would suggest). When I was young, down the street lived a big kid, Kenny was his name. He was never really allowed out like the other kids. But I do remember when I visited his house once he had the largest box of cars I'd ever seen. I remember asking my mum if he could come out to my house some time and possibly bring some toys. Only to be promptly told no. Why? Well he's different and has trouble learning and goes to a special school. But why? Surely he could take a book and learn as much as he wanted? No was the reply... Never. I remember balling my eyes out hearing this as I couldn't understand why he couldn't just pick a book up and learn as I was at school. Of course this didn't stop Kenny playing Basketball for Australia or numerous other achievements. The reason why Murray is wrong is this is an extreme. Not everyone has the intellectual disability that crippled Kenny's ability to learn and therefore if they want to learn new things all the stops should be pulled out if they show the inclination. The ability to learn is a form of emancipation. "... the others are incapable of doing college-level work — and those who do should study a curriculum heavy on the great books, so they can become moral and ethical mandarins and wisely run the country for the rest of us. ..." China has this sort of approach and I'll give you an example of the kind of screwed up problems it can cause. Australia has a large quantity of super fine Merino wool. It's the material that all the best suits are woven from and has some unique properties that make it ideal for high-end garments. But it's expensive. So the Chinese decided that investment was one way to go ~ http://www.abc.net.au/landline/content/2006/s1664831.htm http://www.abc.net.au/landline/content/2006/s1664831.htm So they invested some money in an existing Merino Sheep-Station with the intention of growing the wool then shipping the clipped wool to China thus saving money. From clip to yarn would be all Chinese. But running a farm tested their approach to tackling things - their bias for groups of "elites" who are primarily tertiary educated instructing a greater mass of ill-educated. Running a farm is difficult anywhere. Not having any local expertise or understanding of the local conditions as well as a group of people that could be trained or seek training on the latest techniques but could also put this training into practice turned out to be fatal. The farm failed. The highly educated couldn't translate their theory into practice. The lesser educated couldn't be show how. What was missing was the broad spectrum of skills and intelligence, something what we class as tradesman or technicians. We severely underestimate the quality and expertise of our tradespeople and technicians.