I am not surprised about the connection between the researchers and the racists. My erstwhile partner is/was a great admirer of that type of research. He and I argued about it at least weekly. I would always take the "so what" position.
Me: "Let's assume for the sake of the argument that IQ tests, and ability tests, really can rank groups of people, by race, by culture, by sex, by color, whatever. That doesn't tell you anything about the abilities of any given individual within that group. So what?"
He: "If, say, black people scored lower as a group on IQ tests, maybe the government should a) stop spending money on trying to give them college educations; b) concentrate on educating them for blue collar jobs; c) forget about affirmative action, it's a waste of time and money."
Me: "Well, then, what if Asian people score higher than white people on IQ tests or ability tests. Should the government then do what you suggest - stop wasting money educating white people and concentrate on educating Asians?"
He never would answer questions like that. |
