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You should probably learn about Richard Lynn if you want to be an advocate for IQ. It is healthy—although not strictly necessary—to know the history of the cons

You should probably learn about Richard Lynn if you want to be an advocate for IQ. It is healthy—although not strictly necessary—to know the history of the construct you are pushing, particularly if said construct comes with dubious policy proposals. No, Richard Lynn is truly a disgrace. He has been found manipulating research data, cherry-picking, and purposefully misinterpreting results in a way to favor his political agenda. This has resulted in him being stripped of his emeritus professor title. His racist and eugenicists talking points have also landed him on a Southern Poverty Law Center list of known white nationalists. A true disgrace if there ever was one. Also note that Richard Lynn has been cited many times by supporters of IQ (including multiple times in The Bell Curve). I know this us guilt by association, but when it comes these kind of people, I for one am willing to judge associates along with main offenders. Perhaps this is religion to me, and perhaps I’m arguing in bad faith, if that’s what it takes to argue against racist believes, than so be it. It is worth it. But consider this. Perhaps I’m not just a dogmatic anti-racist, but also informed by a university education in psychology, and by the scientific literature in the field of psychology. Even fellow anti-racist Albert Einstein always admitted his dogma about his believes in the universe, and he was not wrong about any of it (with few exceptions; notably that quantum entanglement could be explained with localized hidden variables).

sfblah 4y ago
Reading about the latest racist is sort of boring. It's like reading about how MLK was a philanderer and a plagiarist or how Michael Jackson may or may not have been a pedophile. It's beside the point. I'd rather focus on people's useful contributions. Well, except for Elizabeth Holmes. I make an exception there. I actually appreciate your candor. I believe strongly in equality of opportunity. I do not believe accepting falsehoods as fact or drowning those seeking truth in frivolous arguments is likely to get us there. I do actually think it is possible to have a world where we accept that IQ is genetically heritable and yet people treat each other kindly. I am convinced that a refusal to accept IQ as a genetic trait is the cornerstone of the belief system underlying claims of systemic racism and the like. In fact, if I believed IQ were largely environmental, I would immediately join in that chorus. The problem is, IQ is genetic, and what society is actually doing is demonizing large groups of people in a fashion that resembles the Salem Witch Trials for being "racists" when in fact most situations can be explained in a far more pedestrian way by simply acknowledging that some people just aren't all that smart. None of this is to say that zero racists exist in the world. Of course they do, and they should be vigorously combatted. But to suggest that racism is a founding principle of western culture or that it is the basic reason for differential outcomes between groups just isn't true. Not in 2023.

sfblah 4y ago

Reading about the latest racist is sort of boring. It's like reading about how MLK was a philanderer and a plagiarist or how Michael Jackson may or may not have been a pedophile. It's beside the point. I'd rather focus on people's useful contributions. Well, except for Elizabeth Holmes. I make an exception there. I actually appreciate your candor. I believe strongly in equality of opportunity. I do not believe accepting falsehoods as fact or drowning those seeking truth in frivolous arguments is likely to get us there. I do actually think it is possible to have a world where we accept that IQ is genetically heritable and yet people treat each other kindly. I am convinced that a refusal to accept IQ as a genetic trait is the cornerstone of the belief system underlying claims of systemic racism and the like. In fact, if I believed IQ were largely environmental, I would immediately join in that chorus. The problem is, IQ is genetic, and what society is actually doing is demonizing large groups of people in a fashion that resembles the Salem Witch Trials for being "racists" when in fact most situations can be explained in a far more pedestrian way by simply acknowledging that some people just aren't all that smart. None of this is to say that zero racists exist in the world. Of course they do, and they should be vigorously combatted. But to suggest that racism is a founding principle of western culture or that it is the basic reason for differential outcomes between groups just isn't true. Not in 2023.