James Watson exhibits signs of Alzheimer's

[ellid]

No joke. I really hope that these remarks insisting that blacks are less intelligent than whites are proof that his mind is going. The alternative is too vile to contemplate.

Comments

[bethbethbeth.livejournal.com]

Did you see the Science Museum cancelled his (sold-out) talk in response?

[ellid.livejournal.com]

Good. That sort of talk has no place in civilized discourse.

[baronessmartha.livejournal.com]

is he related to Marge Shot?

[tree_and_leaf]

Alas, I get the feeling it's quite in character. Poor Franklin...

[anitaray.livejournal.com]

See, the claim that intelligence may have developed in different ways in different races is perfectly legitimate as a hypothesis - but you have to have evidence before you go about spouting it. And just so you know, "ask anybody who employs black people" is NOT evidence. Senile bastard. Used to be my hero when I was in grade school and I didn't know the man, only his work.

[prince-hring.livejournal.com]

Some years ago, a scientist in Canada devised a series of tests to measure the different types, the spectrum, of intelligence (math, physical relationship, causation, verbal, conceptual, etc.) across different races. He designed the testing to try to eliminate (or compensate for) circumstantial and/or cultural and/or language differences. (For example, Asians, Europeans, Africans, etc. who all grew up in essentially identical circumstances.)

His results suggested and supported the existence of both strong points and weak points across this intelligence spectrum for each of the racial types examined, and that these spectral profiles were different from race to race.

Instead of attempting to duplicate or repudiate his results, the scientific community roared in rage at the very concept of his having asked the question. Dr David Suzuki (former host of such programs as "Quirks and Quarks" and "The Nature of Things") spoke out so venomously against this study that it made everyone afraid to even suggest attempting to duplicate or repudiate.

We are not yet ready, as a people, to ask some of the sticky questions. Before we can hope to benefit from the understanding of difference, we need to kick the habit of looking at two things that are different and declaring one to be "superior" and the other "inferior". Different is just that: different.

Until that happens, cataloging the differences that are associated with populations that evolved in geographic isolation from one another will only increase the incidence of judgmental behaviors... even if the self-knowledge so gained may help individuals to cope in an environment that seems to demand stringent homogeneity in all aspects of learning and accomplishment.

Heck, it was only recently that the scientific community accepted that there were differences between the brains of males and females!

[anitaray.livejournal.com]

I doubt it was only recently that the scientific community began to accept brain differences between males and females - unless you mean reaccepted. :D

You're right about our community at large making huge fusses every time something like this is even discussed, though. I hold out hope that truth and the spirit of honest enquiry will win out in our lifetime.

I think it will remain a problem until we continue to base the principle of equal rights on the supposed homogeneity of the human race ("they are just like me, therefore they deserve the same as me"). If we could only learn to coexist without having to cling to such bogus notions...

But now I am just getting maudlin.

[persevero.livejournal.com]

It is 25 years since Stephen Jay Gould, in his superb book 'The Mismeasure of Man' highlighted the fatal flaws in intelligence testing that are often cited as evidence for such unpleasant propositions. As far as I know, there has been no credible scientific evidence since to suggest that Stephen was wrong.

[anitaray.livejournal.com]

prince_hringabove pointed out something important, though: even if socioeconomic and "nurture" factors were controlled for, an experiment that showed definite differences between races ito intelligence (however defined) would be decried as a racist undertaking to begin with.

[persevero.livejournal.com]

True enough, I suspect. And though I would regard it as a rather futile area of scientific endeavour, I accept that there are plenty of areas of research that are only interesting and valuable to a handful of people. More important considerations are that a) there is probably only a small area of mismatch between the bell-curves, and b) most importantly of all, biology is not destiny.

Knowledge is neither good nor evil, but takes its character from how it is used.

[kamion.livejournal.com]

mmm. is this not the same Watson from Watson & Crick, who largely took credit for the work of his female research compagnion and forgot to mention her in the publications?

Or was she JUST an assistant?

[a-c-fiorucci.livejournal.com]

If you mean Rosalind Franklin, who experimentally determined the structure of DNA, and whose colleage shared her data (without her knowledge or permission) with Watson and Crick at another facility which gave them a valuable clue in solving another part of the structure, yes.

(Sorry, that was a dreadful run on sentence.)