4 ms·

Not really - blacks from Africa and the Carribean do very well academically. It is only the American blacks that do poorly. They have the same biology and often

by miloshh 17y ago

Not really - blacks from Africa and the Carribean do very well academically. It is only the American blacks that do poorly. They have the same biology and often a better starting line than the immigrants. Why is that?

thras 17y ago
It's a selection effect. Only a select population comes to America for college. Tellingly, the average population there doesn't do very well at all at home. And over here, they only do well comparatively. Compare them to say, Eastern Europeans, and it's a different story. Not many Nobel prizes per capita, I'm afraid.
- mynameishere 17y ago
  That you are looking at people who "emigrated" to Shaker Heights also suggests a selection effect. There's really no easy answer in this case. The problem isn't "why are blacks and whites different" but "why do blacks and whites who have similar outcomes still produce children who have different outcomes?" Three possibilities: 1. The premise is flawed; just being in Shaker Heights doesn't suggest significant uniformity. 2. Regression to the mean. 3. Culture, etc. But that begs the question of difference once again, but re: culture rather than achievements. Unless it's all hollywood's fault.
yardie 17y ago
I believe social factors play the biggest role and not biology. An example would be me. I am the last person in my family from the Caribbean islands. Academically, I am successful, my brother and sister (both US citizens) are wandering in and out of college. Because I was always treated different from them, socially and academically, I grew up with a different mindset. It was drilled into my head that I should feel lucky to be in the US. My siblings don't have that problem, they are part of the US. I notice that these social changes can happen to any group and is not specific to black/asian/hispanic. One of my high school friends, 2nd-generation India-American, is going to be in jail for a long time. He has fully absorbed the gangster culture even though according to most race-based sociological studies he shouldn't be in jail.
billswift 17y ago
IQ is roughly 50% genetic; school success is probably roughly 50% IQ (personal guesstimate). So my rough guess is about ONE-QUARTER of the DIFFERENCE in school success BETWEEN INDIVIDUALS is genetic. Hard work, and consistent work even more, make a big difference in practical success - in school or business. EDIT: I meant the differences between fairly normal levels of school success above - the difference between low achievers and the very best is probably more than 50% influenced by IQ

by miloshh 17y ago

thras 17y ago

It's a selection effect. Only a select population comes to America for college. Tellingly, the average population there doesn't do very well at all at home. And over here, they only do well comparatively. Compare them to say, Eastern Europeans, and it's a different story. Not many Nobel prizes per capita, I'm afraid.

mynameishere 17y ago
That you are looking at people who "emigrated" to Shaker Heights also suggests a selection effect. There's really no easy answer in this case. The problem isn't "why are blacks and whites different" but "why do blacks and whites who have similar outcomes still produce children who have different outcomes?" Three possibilities: 1. The premise is flawed; just being in Shaker Heights doesn't suggest significant uniformity. 2. Regression to the mean. 3. Culture, etc. But that begs the question of difference once again, but re: culture rather than achievements. Unless it's all hollywood's fault.

yardie 17y ago

I believe social factors play the biggest role and not biology. An example would be me. I am the last person in my family from the Caribbean islands. Academically, I am successful, my brother and sister (both US citizens) are wandering in and out of college. Because I was always treated different from them, socially and academically, I grew up with a different mindset. It was drilled into my head that I should feel lucky to be in the US. My siblings don't have that problem, they are part of the US. I notice that these social changes can happen to any group and is not specific to black/asian/hispanic. One of my high school friends, 2nd-generation India-American, is going to be in jail for a long time. He has fully absorbed the gangster culture even though according to most race-based sociological studies he shouldn't be in jail.

billswift 17y ago

IQ is roughly 50% genetic; school success is probably roughly 50% IQ (personal guesstimate). So my rough guess is about ONE-QUARTER of the DIFFERENCE in school success BETWEEN INDIVIDUALS is genetic. Hard work, and consistent work even more, make a big difference in practical success - in school or business. EDIT: I meant the differences between fairly normal levels of school success above - the difference between low achievers and the very best is probably more than 50% influenced by IQ