His point isn’t actually very good—“worms” isn’t a single category about which you could make many meaningful statements on average either (well, you try coming up with many non-vague true statements that universally apply to platyhelminths, polychaetes, annelids, nematodes...).
Linneaus coined the taxon vermes to hold any non-arthropod invertebrate. Later, cladistics came along and demolished the idea that it was ever a useful biological group.
Whereas “elephants” consists of just a handful of living species in two genera, so we shouldn’t be surprised that they have a lot in common—and even then, if you over-presume on those similarities when making theories, you’ll wind up wrong because you didn’t realize the ways in which they can differ.
worms” isn’t a single category about which you could make many meaningful statements on average
I don’t see what difference this makes. If someone were to observe that “elephants” are generally speaking larger than “worms,” the fact that the two categories are extremely diverse would not preclude you from reasonably asking whether the difference was due to genetics.
The statement that “blacks” have lower IQs than “whites” is both meaningful and true.
I do not think you understand biology (either in the context of the race/IQ discussion or in general) well enough for it to be worth arguing with you further.
I disagree. What I’m doing is to take the exact criticisms made of categories like “blacks” and “whites” and applying them to other biological categories in order to show that there’s a double standard at work.
You’re missing the fact that people are arguing “but the groups are heterogeneous” when they mean “but the different means might be within a standard deviation of each other because single groups have a spread much wider than the difference between them”. That would apply when trying to ascertain whether, say, worms are larger than insects, but NOT when trying to ascertain whether worms are larger than elephants, because the difference between the largest and smallest worms is probably a lot bigger than the difference between the average size of a worm and the average size of an insect. On the other hand, the average size of an elephant is greater than the average size of a worm (any worm) by way more than the biggest worm is bigger than the smallest worm.
Suppose I got together all the worms and all the insects and measured their volume, and found the mean size of a worm and the mean size of an insect. And suppose (I have no idea what the truth is here, but it seems about as plausible as anything else) that I found that on average worms are smaller than insects. Would that be meaningful? I don’t think it would be useful to know.
How big an IQ gap are you saying exists? Are we talking as much as a standard deviation? Then maybe it would be important (if true). But if so, genetics isn’t the only possible explanation. I’d expect upbringing and class to be very important, as well as quality of public schools where they live, perhaps so much so that a genetic difference, if any, could be completely overwhelmed.
but the different means might be within a standard deviation of each other because single groups have a spread much wider than the difference between them
I don’t recall anyone arguing that in this thread, but this argument—to the extent it makes any sense at all—lacks merit.
Let’s take your analogy.
Suppose I got together all the worms and all the insects and measured their volume, and found the mean size of a worm and the mean size of an insect. And suppose (I have no idea what the truth is here, but it seems about as plausible as anything else) that I found that on average worms are smaller than insects. Would that be meaningful?
To make things simple, let’s assume that there are 100 species of worms and 100 species of insects and 1,000,000 individuals from each species. Let’s further assume that there is an animal known as the African Aardvark which eats both worms and insects (and has equal access to all), but eats only individuals greater than a certain size. Now suppose it is observed that the African Aardvark eats 75% insects and 25% worms, and we are presented with two hypotheses to explain this observation: (1) The African Aardvark likes the taste of insects better than that of worms; or (2) the African Aardvark prefers larger individuals to smaller individuals.
In evaluating which of the two hypotheses is correct, is it useful (or meaningful) to know that on average worms are smaller than insects? (And you can assume that the two groups each have a spread much wider than the difference between them.)
But if so, genetics isn’t the only possible explanation.
I’m not sure what this means. To be sure, genetics is not the only reason for the black/white iq gap. At the same time, there is no non-genetic explanation which (1) explains the gap; and (2) is not ridiculous.
To be sure, genetics is not the only reason for the black/white iq gap. At the same time, there is no non-genetic explanation which (1) explains the gap; and (2) is not ridiculous.
I don’t quite understand how you didn’t just contradict yourself.
However, if you want a non-ridiculous, non-genetic explanation that explains the gap, try this one: while whites came to America with diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, the biggest group of black Americans today is descended from slaves, and until recently, there was extreme racial segregation. Hence, rather than just assimilating, they as a group have ended up forming a subculture. (If you don’t believe that, look at the world and try again.) Not all African Americans live in ghettos, but a greater percentage of them than of whites do. (Similarly, not all of them are stupid.) Among their subculture, poverty is high, teenage pregnancy is high, single mothers are common and violence is really common. In such an environment, they’re not likely to have highly-educated parents to nurture their intellectual development. Meanwhile, worldwide, large numbers of blacks live in Africa, which is 1. not a good place, and 2. full of primitive peoples, resulting not only in people (the common people) having less access to education, but also to cultural biases skewing IQ test readings.
Test that would distinguish between this theory and genetics: study IQ among African Americans born after the Civil Rights Movement to married couples whose income is above the poverty line and who don’t live in “bad neighborhoods”. If the gap disappears, it’s more likely environmental; if it doesn’t, that may indicate a genetic difference. But taking the raw IQ data doesn’t distinguish between these; it merely rules out the hypothesis that there are neither genetic nor environmental differences. Since there may even be a big enough population now to survey, someone should do it. The only problem I can think of here is that people who rise above poverty are already selected for intelligence (as well as persistence and work ethic).
In evaluating which of the two hypotheses is correct, is it useful (or meaningful) to know that on average worms are smaller than insects? (And you can assume that the two groups each have a spread much wider than the difference between them.)
Ah, now I see. I couldn’t think of a reason why it would matter in everyday life, because it’s more reliable to just ascertain whether or not people are actually intelligent by getting to know them, not using deeply flawed binary heuristics. However, now I see that you’re worried about whether people will end up assuming someone is being racist when they’re not. That’s fair. In the current political climate, it’s a big risk, for everyone. In that case, whether it’s genetic or environmental doesn’t really matter, though.
However, if you want a non-ridiculous, non-genetic explanation that explains the gap, try this one:
Respectfully, that explanation is ridiculous. If you wish to debate it with me further, please read my blog post and respond there.
However, now I see that you’re worried about whether people will end up assuming someone is being racist when they’re not
Some one, or some organization. Anyway, the issue you are addressing is a slightly different one from what I raised. Basically you are making the “who cares” argument. But the reality is that our society cares very much, just like many Europeans in the middle ages cared very much about devotion to Christianity. Publicly pointing out the weaknesses in the Christian position could get you into serious trouble back then, just like pointing out the truth about race and intelligence can evoke a lot of hostility in modern day Western world.
What you are missing is context—the context to understand what you are arguing about, and the limits of your analogy.
Additionally, you are missing the context needed to understand why the larger argument you’re making cannot effectively be made in those terms. I am no longer interested in discussing it with you.
His point isn’t actually very good—“worms” isn’t a single category about which you could make many meaningful statements on average either (well, you try coming up with many non-vague true statements that universally apply to platyhelminths, polychaetes, annelids, nematodes...).
Linneaus coined the taxon vermes to hold any non-arthropod invertebrate. Later, cladistics came along and demolished the idea that it was ever a useful biological group.
Whereas “elephants” consists of just a handful of living species in two genera, so we shouldn’t be surprised that they have a lot in common—and even then, if you over-presume on those similarities when making theories, you’ll wind up wrong because you didn’t realize the ways in which they can differ.
I don’t see what difference this makes. If someone were to observe that “elephants” are generally speaking larger than “worms,” the fact that the two categories are extremely diverse would not preclude you from reasonably asking whether the difference was due to genetics.
The statement that “blacks” have lower IQs than “whites” is both meaningful and true.
I do not think you understand biology (either in the context of the race/IQ discussion or in general) well enough for it to be worth arguing with you further.
I disagree. What I’m doing is to take the exact criticisms made of categories like “blacks” and “whites” and applying them to other biological categories in order to show that there’s a double standard at work.
What exactly am I missing?
You’re missing the fact that people are arguing “but the groups are heterogeneous” when they mean “but the different means might be within a standard deviation of each other because single groups have a spread much wider than the difference between them”. That would apply when trying to ascertain whether, say, worms are larger than insects, but NOT when trying to ascertain whether worms are larger than elephants, because the difference between the largest and smallest worms is probably a lot bigger than the difference between the average size of a worm and the average size of an insect. On the other hand, the average size of an elephant is greater than the average size of a worm (any worm) by way more than the biggest worm is bigger than the smallest worm.
Suppose I got together all the worms and all the insects and measured their volume, and found the mean size of a worm and the mean size of an insect. And suppose (I have no idea what the truth is here, but it seems about as plausible as anything else) that I found that on average worms are smaller than insects. Would that be meaningful? I don’t think it would be useful to know.
How big an IQ gap are you saying exists? Are we talking as much as a standard deviation? Then maybe it would be important (if true). But if so, genetics isn’t the only possible explanation. I’d expect upbringing and class to be very important, as well as quality of public schools where they live, perhaps so much so that a genetic difference, if any, could be completely overwhelmed.
I don’t recall anyone arguing that in this thread, but this argument—to the extent it makes any sense at all—lacks merit.
Let’s take your analogy.
To make things simple, let’s assume that there are 100 species of worms and 100 species of insects and 1,000,000 individuals from each species. Let’s further assume that there is an animal known as the African Aardvark which eats both worms and insects (and has equal access to all), but eats only individuals greater than a certain size. Now suppose it is observed that the African Aardvark eats 75% insects and 25% worms, and we are presented with two hypotheses to explain this observation: (1) The African Aardvark likes the taste of insects better than that of worms; or (2) the African Aardvark prefers larger individuals to smaller individuals.
In evaluating which of the two hypotheses is correct, is it useful (or meaningful) to know that on average worms are smaller than insects? (And you can assume that the two groups each have a spread much wider than the difference between them.)
I’m not sure what this means. To be sure, genetics is not the only reason for the black/white iq gap. At the same time, there is no non-genetic explanation which (1) explains the gap; and (2) is not ridiculous.
I don’t quite understand how you didn’t just contradict yourself.
However, if you want a non-ridiculous, non-genetic explanation that explains the gap, try this one: while whites came to America with diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, the biggest group of black Americans today is descended from slaves, and until recently, there was extreme racial segregation. Hence, rather than just assimilating, they as a group have ended up forming a subculture. (If you don’t believe that, look at the world and try again.) Not all African Americans live in ghettos, but a greater percentage of them than of whites do. (Similarly, not all of them are stupid.) Among their subculture, poverty is high, teenage pregnancy is high, single mothers are common and violence is really common. In such an environment, they’re not likely to have highly-educated parents to nurture their intellectual development. Meanwhile, worldwide, large numbers of blacks live in Africa, which is 1. not a good place, and 2. full of primitive peoples, resulting not only in people (the common people) having less access to education, but also to cultural biases skewing IQ test readings.
Test that would distinguish between this theory and genetics: study IQ among African Americans born after the Civil Rights Movement to married couples whose income is above the poverty line and who don’t live in “bad neighborhoods”. If the gap disappears, it’s more likely environmental; if it doesn’t, that may indicate a genetic difference. But taking the raw IQ data doesn’t distinguish between these; it merely rules out the hypothesis that there are neither genetic nor environmental differences. Since there may even be a big enough population now to survey, someone should do it. The only problem I can think of here is that people who rise above poverty are already selected for intelligence (as well as persistence and work ethic).
Ah, now I see. I couldn’t think of a reason why it would matter in everyday life, because it’s more reliable to just ascertain whether or not people are actually intelligent by getting to know them, not using deeply flawed binary heuristics. However, now I see that you’re worried about whether people will end up assuming someone is being racist when they’re not. That’s fair. In the current political climate, it’s a big risk, for everyone. In that case, whether it’s genetic or environmental doesn’t really matter, though.
Respectfully, that explanation is ridiculous. If you wish to debate it with me further, please read my blog post and respond there.
Some one, or some organization. Anyway, the issue you are addressing is a slightly different one from what I raised. Basically you are making the “who cares” argument. But the reality is that our society cares very much, just like many Europeans in the middle ages cared very much about devotion to Christianity. Publicly pointing out the weaknesses in the Christian position could get you into serious trouble back then, just like pointing out the truth about race and intelligence can evoke a lot of hostility in modern day Western world.
What blog post?
http://fortaleza84.wordpress.com/2010/03/16/the-race-and-iq-question/
What you are missing is context—the context to understand what you are arguing about, and the limits of your analogy.
Additionally, you are missing the context needed to understand why the larger argument you’re making cannot effectively be made in those terms. I am no longer interested in discussing it with you.
Exactly what context? The history of subjugation and oppression on the basis of race?