Is IQ related to Race?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/07/opinion/07kristof.html
In a recent article, Rising Above I.Q. (NYT, June 7, 2009), NICHOLAS KRISTOF mentioned something that many of us knew for quite some time: there is no genetic contribution to the black-white difference on I.Q. Drawing upon research findings from psychologist Prof. Richard Nisbett’s book - “Intelligence and How to Get It”, he says that there also seems to be no genetic difference in intelligence between whites and Asians. It is education and the drive to succeed which are most important factors that translate into success. This finding may come as a surprise to those who had believed otherwise. One may recall that following Gobineau’s theory of racial superiority of Whites, it was all too natural for Europeans to believe that they were superior human beings with God-given mission to civilize others. Much later, during Hitler era, we would see the worst form of application of that theory in Nazism where only Germans were considered superior to all other races.
In this study, Dr. Nisbett studied three groups of people – Jews, Chinese-Americans and West Indian Blacks and found these groups to outperform others. For example, Jews have received about one-third of all Nobel Prizes in science received by Americans. One survey found that a quarter of Jewish adults in the United States have earned a graduate degree, compared with 6 percent of the population as a whole. Asian-Americans, esp. the Chinese-Americans have earned better grades than other students. West Indian bl acks with roots are in the Caribbean are one-third more likely to graduate from college than African-Americans as a whole, and their median household income is almost one-third higher. Nisbett says that the evidence is overwhelming that what is distinctive about these three groups is not innate advantage but rather a tendency to get the most out of the firepower they have. Well, I have slight disagreement here, since Jews do have some innate advantage over others. A common thread among these three groups may be an emphasis on diligence or education, perhaps linked in part to an immigrant drive.
As we know quite well, a country that has allowed immigration has always prospered better than those countries that did not. American success story owes it to its immigrant community who had energized the country through their hard work, and drive to succeed. Even if they were not all highly educated, they made sure that their children studied hard and worked harder than others to succeed. Immigrants are also a small minority and as such their smallness in number in the society has put an extra burden to succeed in their adopted homes.
Jews always have been minorities in the countries they lived (outside the Zionist state). They have also known from their bitter experience that they could lose everything they possessed except their intellect, and as such, they have inculcated the importance of education within their own family. No wonder that they are more educated and have been controlling top positions in both academic and corporate world.
Unfortunately, what the study does not say is that success, like failure, has ripple effects in the society it originates. Thus, one’s success story in the community can encourage others to follow his/her footsteps to better their lives. And as long as there is no discrimination, such successes can boost the morale of others to succeed. But when a person is denied success in spite of all the right characteristics, such can adversely demoralize others that are close to that person. And the sad fact of our life is discrimination happens too often. I know many such examples where persons with less education, less skill, less experience, and less qualification have been chosen over more talented, educated, qualified, better candidate. Jews in pre-Hitler era in Germany have been a ccused of such discriminatory practices. They started monopolizing the entire system wherever they had been able to grab some important positions. They denied entry of Germans into many coveted positions. Today, most of the top positions in many important institutions in the western world, esp. the USA, government /public and private, are held by Jews. Jews succeed because they have many success stories that they can still relate to, something that others can’t claim as much. Rumors are ripe that once they had held those positions, they ensured that the next in line would also come from their group. How long can they sustain such a process is questionable!
Success of a community thus can translate into a belief that it is more deserving of those high positions than someone coming from outside its racial, ethnic group. Thus, discrimination of others becomes part of success story of a particular group.
It is undeniable that most Black Americans come from broken families, they don’t have father figures in their families; most children are raised by single mothers. Then for centuries they saw how they were discriminated and badly treated. None of these factors hel ped to encourage a young Afro-American to understand the wisdom behind education and hard work. That is it is not difficult to understand why they are behind West Indians whose success have been identified to be: the classic diligence and hard work associated with immigrants, and intact families. [Digression: I am somewhat intrigued to see General Colin Powell’s name. Yes, he is from Caribbean parents who settled in the USA. However, he was a C-average undergraduate student in Geology at City College of New York. The reason behind his success is hard work plus Republican leaning, a rarity amongst Blacks in America. Thus, the Republican governments, keen on getting support from the Blacks, who are traditionally Democrats, found a natural ally in Powell, who during Reagan and Bush Sr. Administrations was promoted to become a 4-star general, superseding many qualified White Americans. The rest is history.]
In spite of the reality that discrimination is quite common in our world, and that education and hard work may not always translate into success, there is no denying that Professor Nisbett is right in that “Intelligence and academic achievement are very much under people’s control.” Let’s motivate our children to excel in these two sectors without worrying too much about material success. That would hopefully be the beginning of our drive to regain our lost heritage. That will be enough for now.
Endnote: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Powell
In a recent article, Rising Above I.Q. (NYT, June 7, 2009), NICHOLAS KRISTOF mentioned something that many of us knew for quite some time: there is no genetic contribution to the black-white difference on I.Q. Drawing upon research findings from psychologist Prof. Richard Nisbett’s book - “Intelligence and How to Get It”, he says that there also seems to be no genetic difference in intelligence between whites and Asians. It is education and the drive to succeed which are most important factors that translate into success. This finding may come as a surprise to those who had believed otherwise. One may recall that following Gobineau’s theory of racial superiority of Whites, it was all too natural for Europeans to believe that they were superior human beings with God-given mission to civilize others. Much later, during Hitler era, we would see the worst form of application of that theory in Nazism where only Germans were considered superior to all other races.
In this study, Dr. Nisbett studied three groups of people – Jews, Chinese-Americans and West Indian Blacks and found these groups to outperform others. For example, Jews have received about one-third of all Nobel Prizes in science received by Americans. One survey found that a quarter of Jewish adults in the United States have earned a graduate degree, compared with 6 percent of the population as a whole. Asian-Americans, esp. the Chinese-Americans have earned better grades than other students. West Indian bl acks with roots are in the Caribbean are one-third more likely to graduate from college than African-Americans as a whole, and their median household income is almost one-third higher. Nisbett says that the evidence is overwhelming that what is distinctive about these three groups is not innate advantage but rather a tendency to get the most out of the firepower they have. Well, I have slight disagreement here, since Jews do have some innate advantage over others. A common thread among these three groups may be an emphasis on diligence or education, perhaps linked in part to an immigrant drive.
As we know quite well, a country that has allowed immigration has always prospered better than those countries that did not. American success story owes it to its immigrant community who had energized the country through their hard work, and drive to succeed. Even if they were not all highly educated, they made sure that their children studied hard and worked harder than others to succeed. Immigrants are also a small minority and as such their smallness in number in the society has put an extra burden to succeed in their adopted homes.
Jews always have been minorities in the countries they lived (outside the Zionist state). They have also known from their bitter experience that they could lose everything they possessed except their intellect, and as such, they have inculcated the importance of education within their own family. No wonder that they are more educated and have been controlling top positions in both academic and corporate world.
Unfortunately, what the study does not say is that success, like failure, has ripple effects in the society it originates. Thus, one’s success story in the community can encourage others to follow his/her footsteps to better their lives. And as long as there is no discrimination, such successes can boost the morale of others to succeed. But when a person is denied success in spite of all the right characteristics, such can adversely demoralize others that are close to that person. And the sad fact of our life is discrimination happens too often. I know many such examples where persons with less education, less skill, less experience, and less qualification have been chosen over more talented, educated, qualified, better candidate. Jews in pre-Hitler era in Germany have been a ccused of such discriminatory practices. They started monopolizing the entire system wherever they had been able to grab some important positions. They denied entry of Germans into many coveted positions. Today, most of the top positions in many important institutions in the western world, esp. the USA, government /public and private, are held by Jews. Jews succeed because they have many success stories that they can still relate to, something that others can’t claim as much. Rumors are ripe that once they had held those positions, they ensured that the next in line would also come from their group. How long can they sustain such a process is questionable!
Success of a community thus can translate into a belief that it is more deserving of those high positions than someone coming from outside its racial, ethnic group. Thus, discrimination of others becomes part of success story of a particular group.
It is undeniable that most Black Americans come from broken families, they don’t have father figures in their families; most children are raised by single mothers. Then for centuries they saw how they were discriminated and badly treated. None of these factors hel ped to encourage a young Afro-American to understand the wisdom behind education and hard work. That is it is not difficult to understand why they are behind West Indians whose success have been identified to be: the classic diligence and hard work associated with immigrants, and intact families. [Digression: I am somewhat intrigued to see General Colin Powell’s name. Yes, he is from Caribbean parents who settled in the USA. However, he was a C-average undergraduate student in Geology at City College of New York. The reason behind his success is hard work plus Republican leaning, a rarity amongst Blacks in America. Thus, the Republican governments, keen on getting support from the Blacks, who are traditionally Democrats, found a natural ally in Powell, who during Reagan and Bush Sr. Administrations was promoted to become a 4-star general, superseding many qualified White Americans. The rest is history.]
In spite of the reality that discrimination is quite common in our world, and that education and hard work may not always translate into success, there is no denying that Professor Nisbett is right in that “Intelligence and academic achievement are very much under people’s control.” Let’s motivate our children to excel in these two sectors without worrying too much about material success. That would hopefully be the beginning of our drive to regain our lost heritage. That will be enough for now.
Endnote: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Powell
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