People who are uneducated or intellectually sloppy are often unable to conceptualize the fact of a statistical difference between (or among) populations. If I cite a study that finds that Asian Americans, on average, have IQ's that are, say, fifteen points higher than "white" Americans and 30 points higher than African Americans, that is not an insult or an accolade to any particular individual. It is not a rebuttal - or even relevant - to say truthfully that, "I know a Black guy with a 140 IQ." Or I know a Korean guy who is an idiot. I am referring to AVERAGES.
I link a study here that finds that the average "white" IQ in the U.S. at the time of the study was 101.4, and for Black Americans it was 86.9. For people familiar with statistics, that is a full Standard Deviation difference. Quite significant.
(See chart on page 177).
Again, these are AVERAGES. As for any individual in these groups, or a comparison of two individuals in the groups, that relationship could easily be reversed. One could easily find a Black woman who is much more intelligent than a particular white guy, or even an Asian. But that would not be the norm.
These averages cannot be ignored or wished away. The political Left these days is absolutely obsessed with the quest for "equality." They point out every conceivable manifestation of inequality between Blacks and everybody else, as though that inequality, by itself, were an indictment of American society itself. But this is preposterous.
If I have ANY two groups that are separated by a full standard deviation in measured intelligence, how in the world would they - on average - end up being "equal" in wealth, education, earnings, or success - no matter how you measure it? It cannot happen.
Consider something tangible, for example. Imagine that in order to obtain a PhD in Electrical Engineering, it is, for all practical purposes, necessary to have an IQ of at least 130. If you are not that intelligent, you just can't grasp the technical aspects of the field.
Now consider how the average IQ of different groups enters into it. For Asians and Ashkenazi jews, who have an average IQ of 115, thirty-two percent of those populations have the intelligence to achieve that degree (whether they have the aptitude or desire is another matter). For white Americans, only 5% have that level of intelligence, as it is two standard deviations above the white mean. For African Americans, it is three standard deviations above their mean IQ, so only about three-tenths of one percent (one in 300) Blacks have the intelligence required to achieve that degree.
So why in the world would you expect to see, say, 13% (the percentage of Blacks in the general population) of EE PhD's being Black? If that were true it would be so suspicious as to warrant a congressional investigation.
And the same principle holds true for other career fields requiring superior intelligence. You will NEVER see Blacks proportionately represented as doctors, lawyers, CPA's, Architects, or high-level STEM achievers. You will see Black INDIVIDUALS who excel in those fields and hooray for that. But proportional representation in fields requiring high intelligence? Ain't happening.
And if every racist person, every racist thought, and every racist concept were somehow magically excised from American society, that would still not solve the "problem" of "inequality" in income, wealth, education, or achievement. The best "we" can hope for is to remove all obstacles to Black achievement, to encourage and facilitate the full exploitation of every Black person's capabilities through education, training, tutoring, mentoring, and encouragement, just as we SHOULD be doing with everybody, regardless of race, ethnicity, or gender.
Racism is NOT the reason for Black "inequality." It may be a factor, but genetics and culture have it beat by far.
I link a study here that finds that the average "white" IQ in the U.S. at the time of the study was 101.4, and for Black Americans it was 86.9. For people familiar with statistics, that is a full Standard Deviation difference. Quite significant.
Handbook of Intelligence
Not since the landmark publication of Handbook of Human Intelligence in 1982 has the field of intelligence been more alive than it is today. Spurred by the new developments in this rapidly expanding field, Dr Sternberg has brought together a stellar list of contributors to provide a...
books.google.com
Again, these are AVERAGES. As for any individual in these groups, or a comparison of two individuals in the groups, that relationship could easily be reversed. One could easily find a Black woman who is much more intelligent than a particular white guy, or even an Asian. But that would not be the norm.
These averages cannot be ignored or wished away. The political Left these days is absolutely obsessed with the quest for "equality." They point out every conceivable manifestation of inequality between Blacks and everybody else, as though that inequality, by itself, were an indictment of American society itself. But this is preposterous.
If I have ANY two groups that are separated by a full standard deviation in measured intelligence, how in the world would they - on average - end up being "equal" in wealth, education, earnings, or success - no matter how you measure it? It cannot happen.
Consider something tangible, for example. Imagine that in order to obtain a PhD in Electrical Engineering, it is, for all practical purposes, necessary to have an IQ of at least 130. If you are not that intelligent, you just can't grasp the technical aspects of the field.
Now consider how the average IQ of different groups enters into it. For Asians and Ashkenazi jews, who have an average IQ of 115, thirty-two percent of those populations have the intelligence to achieve that degree (whether they have the aptitude or desire is another matter). For white Americans, only 5% have that level of intelligence, as it is two standard deviations above the white mean. For African Americans, it is three standard deviations above their mean IQ, so only about three-tenths of one percent (one in 300) Blacks have the intelligence required to achieve that degree.
So why in the world would you expect to see, say, 13% (the percentage of Blacks in the general population) of EE PhD's being Black? If that were true it would be so suspicious as to warrant a congressional investigation.
And the same principle holds true for other career fields requiring superior intelligence. You will NEVER see Blacks proportionately represented as doctors, lawyers, CPA's, Architects, or high-level STEM achievers. You will see Black INDIVIDUALS who excel in those fields and hooray for that. But proportional representation in fields requiring high intelligence? Ain't happening.
And if every racist person, every racist thought, and every racist concept were somehow magically excised from American society, that would still not solve the "problem" of "inequality" in income, wealth, education, or achievement. The best "we" can hope for is to remove all obstacles to Black achievement, to encourage and facilitate the full exploitation of every Black person's capabilities through education, training, tutoring, mentoring, and encouragement, just as we SHOULD be doing with everybody, regardless of race, ethnicity, or gender.
Racism is NOT the reason for Black "inequality." It may be a factor, but genetics and culture have it beat by far.
