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from the maybe-they-only-surveyed-the-nimnobs dept.
Why can we talk about PISA results, comparing the performance of students in school, but we are not allowed to talk about differences in IQ? Bring this subject up, and you are immediately accused of racism. And yet. And yet, if there are substantial differences in intellectual capability, might this not explain some of the world's problems?
An update of a massive "study of studies" is underway; this article summarizes the work to date, and provides links to the work in progress. A quick summary of the answers to the questions no one dares ask:
- Eastern Asia (Japan, China): IQ around 105
- Europe/North America: IQ around 98
- Middle East: IQ around 85
- Africa: IQ around 70
In the first instance, it doesn't even matter why there are differences. They may be genetic, or disease related, or nutrition related, or something else. If these differences are real (and the evidence is pretty strong that they are), then we need to deal with them. Imagine if the low IQs in Africa turn out to be fixable - what would the impact be, if we could raise the IQ of an entire continent by 30 points?!
Sticking our collective heads in the sand, because the topic is not PC, is not going to solve any problems.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 02 2017, @10:32PM
1. True.
2. Also true.
3. Do you have a reference for a gene or specific set of genes that determine "race"? Scientists don't even have a decent list of genes that account for height, which is a relatively simple trait with strong heritability.
4. Yes, there are differences among groups that people typically classify as "race", but quality data attempting to explain the evolutionary origin of these differences is severely lacking (an exception is the sickle-cell trait).
5. First, a supernatural being is not a plausible mechanism and what you describe would not be "incontrovertible proof" of the existence of one. Statistically significant difference in mental abilities of different groups will depend on the composition of the groups, the variance in the data, and the type of assessment.
6. Nobel prizes or Fields medals aren't awarded after an assessment of mental abilities.
7. I don't know about "worse", but it wouldn't be surprising.
8. Depends on how you admit it (e.g. running a disingenuous campaign "informing" people of their inferiority).
9. Probably true ("5" is a little weird and you don't specify the common causes).
10. Not necessarily. It depends on how you determine public policy and what you value (e.g. is it acceptable to discriminate, segregation, extra aid, etc.).