Re: Race and IQ

[ichudov@algebra.com (Igor Chudov @ home)]

Timothy C. May wrote:
> 
> At 10:31 PM -0600 12/12/96, Igor Chudov @ home wrote:
> 
> >All this "environment" stuff is rather easy to test and control for: take
> >two groups of children -- one from one race, another from another race,
> >who live in essentially the same conditions. Then compare the average IQs
> >and check statistical validity of your samples.
> >
> >There was one study. They took a number of white adopted children and a
> >number of black adopted children, and made sure that they controlled for
> >other conditions such as adopted parents' income, etc.
> >
> >Guess what was the result of IQ tests of children?
> 
> Ah, but the rub is factoring in cultural factors which remain. As an
> example, a black child raised under similar socioeconomic conditions to,
> say, a Jewish or Chinese child will still be to some extent a product of
> his culture.
> 
> (In fact, even a black child raised in a white neighborhood by adoptive
> white parents will still have some a different learning experience than a
> white child raised in the same environment. If not initially, eventually.)
> 
> I'm not saying this to "defend" any particular ethnic or racial group in
> this IQ debate, just to point out that cultural factors are not so easily
> separable in the way Igor describes.
> 
> (For the curious, I am persuaded that there are minimal differences in
> "intelligence" between the several or many races, but that cultural and
> sociological factors strongly affect upbringing, learning, interest in
> doing well in school, ability on standardized tests, success in business
> matters, and so on.)
> 

A good point. I personally think that whatever we find -- whether there
are genetic differences or not -- is not terribly important since one
can make the most money by judging individual people by their merit.

It is an interesting academic question, but for a businessman (absent
anti-discrimination laws) it is not very relevant.

	- Igor.