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Nobel Prize-Winning American Scientist James Watson Stripped of Honorary Titles

posted by chromas on Sunday January 13 2019, @10:00PM   Printer-friendly
from the race-to-disgrace dept.

takyon writes:

James Watson: Scientist loses titles after claims over race

Nobel Prize-winning American scientist James Watson has been stripped of his honorary titles after repeating comments about race and intelligence.

In a TV programme, the pioneer in DNA studies made a reference to a view that genes cause a difference on average between blacks and whites on IQ tests. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory said the 90-year-old scientist's remarks were "unsubstantiated and reckless". Dr Watson had made similar claims in 2007 and subsequently apologised.

He shared the Nobel in 1962 with Maurice Wilkins and Francis Crick for their 1953 discovery of the DNA's double helix structure.

Dr Watson sold his gold medal in 2014, saying he had been ostracised by the scientific community after his remarks about race. He is currently in a nursing home recovering from a car accident and is said to have "very minimal" awareness of his surroundings.

Previously: Disgraced Scientist is Selling his Nobel Prize

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  • (Score: 2) by crafoo on Monday January 14 2019, @01:38AM (3 children)

    by crafoo (6639) on Monday January 14 2019, @01:38AM (#786199)

    You seem to be unfamiliar with the field of statistics.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 14 2019, @08:51AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 14 2019, @08:51AM (#786365)

    You must be new here.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 14 2019, @10:49PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 14 2019, @10:49PM (#786678)

    I understand the argument just fine, I simply disagree with IQ tests being good measures of genetic intelligence traits and only morons and racists make sweeping judgments about race based on IQ tests. If you can't realize the limits of your own knowledge then best not to join the argument.

    Tell me, what is the point of discussing racial breakdowns of IQ tests? Are you an expert in genetics or psychology / neurology? Rhetorical questions, the only reason non-experts ever discuss this is because they are racist and looking for scientific reasons for their hatred.

    I'm sure you will disagree, but it doesn't matter. Whether you are or not, bringing up the topic of race and IQ will pretty much guarantee that people will think you're racist. Continue forward as you see fit.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 15 2019, @10:05PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 15 2019, @10:05PM (#787074)

      Depends on the type of test.
      The Darwin test is a good start.