Social James Watson, the "Father" of DNA is stripped of all titles for racism

[IamStryker]

Eh, intelligence is the most important trait that we have. It's literally what sets us apart from every other species. If you can prove that a race is "more intelligent", then that's pretty strong evidence that they are superior. Obviously you can't paint every individual of a race with the same brush and not every single Asian will be smarter than every single Caucasia,/Black/Mexican/etc., but still.

To me it's common sense that races are going to be different in some aspects but I don't see how that's a problem. Today people understand that we are all equal as human beings. Blacks used to be dehumanized and that's why people thought it was ok to have them as slaves. A person can be more intelligent than you and still be a lazy terrible person. I personally don't agree that being more intelligent makes anyone superior so I don't see why having a higher average is a big deal.

 

[IamStryker]

First, as is obvious any time this subject is brought up, the science behind intelligence testing is spotty at best. So making a statement about any race being more intelligent than others isn't firmly scientific.

Second, not everyone has a nuanced thinking the way you do. Intelligence has been used to determine superiority/inferiority between groups since the 19th century. And this has obviously had pretty horrible consequences.

I agree with that I just think as this point in time it's time to move on and not be afraid to discuss scientific data. I think it's going to be pretty obvious if someone like from the alt right for example is trying to use this data with very bad intentions vs. someone just trying to be scientific.

 

[El Panteron]

Intelligence does not even have a commonly accepted definition yet. We can list 6 or 8 or 10 different dimensions of intelligence spanning from spacial co-ordination to music and numbers and linguistic and such and such.
Clearly we don't have any proof of any race that does have "superior average intelligence", if we could define intelligence first then probably that average would change every fucking month.
Even standardized Stanford-Binet tests give different results if the SAME KID takes it during school time or summer.

IT: Watson was garbage, screwed over Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins to take credit for DNA.

 

[ultramanhyata]

The guy is saying black people score less on IQ tests therefore black people arent as intelligent as white people and you're standing up for him. Wtf?

Would you find this rephrasing less problematic:

Because the average IQ score of a person of African descent is lower than the average score of a person of European descent we can conclude that the average black person possesses less of the specific type of intelligence tested for in an IQ test than does the average white person.

Or is that assertion also "over the line" in your opinion?

 

[Captain Davis]

Another reason I don’t trust “polls” or “studies” because if the result doesn’t fit a specific narrative it’s not considered valid.

 

[Voodoo_Child906]

Would you find this rephrasing less problematic:

Because the average IQ score of a person of African descent is lower than the average score of a person of European descent we can conclude that the average black person possesses less of the specific type of intelligence tested for in an IQ test than does the average white person.

Or is that assertion also "over the line" in your opinion?

African and European descent is problematic, are you speaking strictly about phenotype or are you referring to genetics?

 

[Possum Jenkins]

I agree with that I just think as this point in time it's time to move on and not be afraid to discuss scientific data. I think it's going to be pretty obvious if someone like from the alt right for example is trying to use this data with very bad intentions vs. someone just trying to be scientific.

Well, in the case of Watson, it seems he has a long history of being a dick, of racist and sexist remarks, and of downright malicious statements. I mean, this part says it all: He added that he hoped everyone was equal — “but people who have to deal with black employees find this not true.”

He's obviously not trying to be scientific so the shunning is warranted. Serious researchers studying this seem to be few and far between.

 

[trident]

Would you find this rephrasing less problematic:

Because the average IQ score of a person of African descent is lower than the average score of a person of European descent we can conclude that the average black person possesses less of the specific type of intelligence tested for in an IQ test than does the average white person.

Or is that assertion also "over the line" in your opinion?

As I've said before itt using IQ tests as your sole metric for determining the intelligence of an entire race is absurd.

Yeah, so over the line of what's reasonable.

 

[Pessimystic]

IQ tests aren't necessary to determine that a certain group lags significantly in the intelligence department. All you need is the power of observation.
Everything else is hamster wheel bullshit.

 

[Lvnvmma]

There is also this argument to be made:

Right now, the common answer as to why black Americans are underperforming in practically every facet of society as compared to white Americans, Asians, or even Hispanics is because of slavery and that the "man" is keeping them down.

There are more black Americans in prisons because of systemic racism in the justice system.
Black Americans earn less than whites, Hispanics and Asians because of workplace discrimination and 300 years of slavery.

But what if the gap still exists 300 years from now? Asians will still be the top of the 4 in income, Black Americans will still be at the top of incarceration rates, etc... would whites still be the ones to blame?

 

[lifelessheap]

There is also this argument to be made:

Right now, the common answer as to why black Americans are underperforming in practically every facet of society as compared to white Americans, Asians, or even Hispanics is because of slavery and that the "man" is keeping them down.

There are more black Americans in prisons because of systemic racism in the justice system.
Black Americans earn less than whites, Hispanics and Asians because of workplace discrimination and 300 years of slavery.

But what if the gap still exists 300 years from now? Asians will still be the top of the 4 in income, Black Americans will still be at the top of incarceration rates, etc... would whites still be the ones to blame?

It is all about family. Good parents produce better performing children, who then become good parents. When many people in groups do this it produces a good culture.

Who is at fault for urban black families being broken?