Scientifically, are white people more intelligent than black people?
Fri Jul 3, 2009 2:14 PM
So
I was reading an article I found from 2007 saying that Dr. James
Watson, one of the world’s most respected scientists, Nobel Prize Winner
and DNA Pioneer has claimed that black people are less intelligent than
white people.
Dr Watson said he was “inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa” because “all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours - whereas all the testing says not really.". He said he hoped that everyone was equal, but countered that “people who have to deal with black employees find this not true”.
He says that you should not discriminate on the basis of color, because “there are many people of color who are very talented, but don’t promote them when they haven’t succeeded at the lower level”. He writes that “there is no firm reason to anticipate that the intellectual capacities of peoples geographically separated in their evolution should prove to have evolved identically. Our wanting to reserve equal powers of reason as some universal heritage of humanity will not be enough to make it so”.
He claimed genes responsible for creating differences in human intelligence could be found within a decade.
"
So, if genetically black people are less intelligent than white people how do we explain the white, Asian, Hispanic, etc. people that are less intelligent than everyone?
I think that intelligence is a complex thing. One cannot compare the level of intelligence of another without them having the same level knowledge. There are things that some people are never exposed t so how can they be tested?
I am not even an American but I took the GED test when I got here to have an American proof of education for high school and I passed the first time I took it and I had not even studied for it. The day I took my test, when the instructor asked people how many times they had taken it, some said they were taking the test for the 5th time even. American citizens and that surprised me in such a way that it was the only time I got a little intimidated and thought I wouldn't pass. However I found the test was a piece of cake. I noticed that most people saying they took the test more than once were black [not sure if all American citizens].
I think that I am more intelligent than the average person but I don't think it has anything to do with my ethnicity. I think everyone is capable of doing anything, given the chance. Now, if they are successful or not, doesn't mean they are not intelligent. Some people may succeed as a mathematician but on the other hand, they could never learn a second language. As an English as a second language teacher myself, I have had students that were extremely intelligent and had a very high position on their organization however they could not speak English fluently, even after they have lived in an English speaking country.
As per Wikipedia’s description: “Intelligence is an umbrella term used to describe a property of the mind that encompasses many related abilities, such as the capacities to reason, to plan, to solve problems, to think abstractly, to comprehend ideas, to use language, and to learn. There are several ways to define intelligence. In some cases, intelligence may include traits such as creativity, personality, character, knowledge, or wisdom. However, most psychologists prefer not to include these traits in the definition of intelligence. “
I don’t believe any single human mind would be able to hold all that information alone!
But bottom line, the purpose of this article is to question if people actually believe that black people are really somehow less intelligent than white people, according to Dr Watson's study.
I have wondered sometimes myself if certain types of people and this or that group/type of people were less intelligent.
Dr Watson said he was “inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa” because “all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours - whereas all the testing says not really.". He said he hoped that everyone was equal, but countered that “people who have to deal with black employees find this not true”.
He says that you should not discriminate on the basis of color, because “there are many people of color who are very talented, but don’t promote them when they haven’t succeeded at the lower level”. He writes that “there is no firm reason to anticipate that the intellectual capacities of peoples geographically separated in their evolution should prove to have evolved identically. Our wanting to reserve equal powers of reason as some universal heritage of humanity will not be enough to make it so”.
He claimed genes responsible for creating differences in human intelligence could be found within a decade.
"
So, if genetically black people are less intelligent than white people how do we explain the white, Asian, Hispanic, etc. people that are less intelligent than everyone?
I think that intelligence is a complex thing. One cannot compare the level of intelligence of another without them having the same level knowledge. There are things that some people are never exposed t so how can they be tested?
I am not even an American but I took the GED test when I got here to have an American proof of education for high school and I passed the first time I took it and I had not even studied for it. The day I took my test, when the instructor asked people how many times they had taken it, some said they were taking the test for the 5th time even. American citizens and that surprised me in such a way that it was the only time I got a little intimidated and thought I wouldn't pass. However I found the test was a piece of cake. I noticed that most people saying they took the test more than once were black [not sure if all American citizens].
I think that I am more intelligent than the average person but I don't think it has anything to do with my ethnicity. I think everyone is capable of doing anything, given the chance. Now, if they are successful or not, doesn't mean they are not intelligent. Some people may succeed as a mathematician but on the other hand, they could never learn a second language. As an English as a second language teacher myself, I have had students that were extremely intelligent and had a very high position on their organization however they could not speak English fluently, even after they have lived in an English speaking country.
As per Wikipedia’s description: “Intelligence is an umbrella term used to describe a property of the mind that encompasses many related abilities, such as the capacities to reason, to plan, to solve problems, to think abstractly, to comprehend ideas, to use language, and to learn. There are several ways to define intelligence. In some cases, intelligence may include traits such as creativity, personality, character, knowledge, or wisdom. However, most psychologists prefer not to include these traits in the definition of intelligence. “
I don’t believe any single human mind would be able to hold all that information alone!
But bottom line, the purpose of this article is to question if people actually believe that black people are really somehow less intelligent than white people, according to Dr Watson's study.
I have wondered sometimes myself if certain types of people and this or that group/type of people were less intelligent.