Richard Lynn’s The Global Bell Curve—The Explanation That Fits the Facts
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Professor J. Philippe Rushton, VDARE.com, June 16, 2008
Richard Lynn’s new book The Global Bell Curve: Race, IQ and Inequality Worldwide builds on Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray’s The Bell Curve. Its subject: whether the same type of racial hierarchy in IQ and socio-economic status that Herrnstein and Murray documented in the US is present in other parts of the world. Its answer: yes.
In The Bell Curve, Herrnstein and Murray found that the average IQ for African Americans (85) is lower than for Hispanic (89), White (103), East Asian (106), and Jewish Americans (113). In The Global Bell Curve, Lynn shows in detail that similar racial IQ/socio-economic hierarchies are indeed present within Africa, Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, the Caribbean, Latin America, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.
Throughout the world, Europeans and East Asians (Chinese, Japanese and Koreans) average the highest IQs and socio-economic positions. The lowest averages are found among the Aborigines in Australia and in Africans and their descendants. Intermediate positions are occupied by the Amerindians, the South Asians from the Indian sub-continent, the Maori in New Zealand, and by the mixed race peoples in South Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
The same pattern is found on many other social and life history indicators, such as educational levels, earnings, health, accidents, crime, marriage, fertility, and mortality.
Lynn’s new book provides fascinating historical vignettes of all the migrations and mixing of peoples. It also provides clear tables of data, which allow the reader to check the facts for themselves.
For example, in Brazil, it is the Japanese who are the highest-achieving group. They were brought in as indentured labourers to work the plantations after slavery was abolished in 1888. Yet, today, the Japanese outscore Whites on IQ tests, earn more, and are over-represented in university places. Although they are less than one percent of the total population, they comprise 17 percent of the students at the elite University of Sao Paulo.
In Caribbean countries such as Cuba, Trinidad, and Guyana, it was the Chinese and South Asians who were brought in after the end of slavery. Subsequently, they too began to do well, with the Chinese excelling and the South Asians placing intermediate to Whites and Blacks.
In Britain large numbers of Blacks from Africa and the Caribbean, and South Asians from Africa, India, and Pakistan began to enter the country in the 1950s and 1960s. Twenty-two studies find Afro-Caribbeans have a median IQ of 86, which is similar to the African American mean of 85. Twelve studies find the South Asians have a median IQ of 92.
In Africa and Australia too, South Asians average intermediate to Whites and Blacks in IQ scores, educational achievement, and economic success.
At the other end of the IQ distribution, seven studies of Jews in Britain yield a median IQ of 110. In educational achievement, East Asians in Britain also outperform the indigenous Whites.
Similarly in Australia, East Asians (mostly Chinese and Vietnamese) average higher than Whites in IQ, educational achievement, and earnings. Lynn describes pockets of ethnic Chinese elsewhere in the world such as in Mexico, Argentina, and especially Hawaii, where they also do well.
In Canada too, there is an IQ hierarchy: Jews (109), East Asians (101), Whites (100), Amerindians (89), and Blacks (84).
These results are remarkably consistent over time, place, and situation, irrespective of the original status of the people, or the language, history, and political organization of the country concerned.
Racial stratification of what social scientists now call “socio-economic positions” have been extensively documented by sociologists, economists and anthropologists for around half a century.
But Lynn points out that none of these have noted the associated IQ differences. The commonest explanations:
* Discrimination theories hold that Europeans and East Asians maintain their power by politically discriminating against other races.
* Cultural values theories state that Europeans and East Asians socially transmit cultural values such as a strong work ethic and Confucianism (among the Chinese) that promote socio-economic success.
* Human capital theories maintain that Europeans and East Asians retain their high socio-economic position by acquiring better education.
Lynn agrees that these theories are plausible, to some degree, for some countries. But they are often ad hoc, obviously improvised in the face of embarrassing facts, and do not explain the world-wide consistency of these differences.
For example, political discrimination theory does not explain the high socio-economic status of Whites and East Asians throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, where they are often tiny minorities. It is also 50 years or more since the end of colonialism—the political force which was once held to be the decisive discriminating factor.
Similarly,the successes of the Chinese in Southeast Asia can only be superficially explained by their possession of Confucian values, or the successes of the Jews to the motivating effects of their minority status, or the problems of African Americans and Australian Aborigines to their being involuntary minorities.
It is particularly difficult for social scientists to explain how some peoples who have arrived in new countries as impoverished immigrants have nevertheless risen quite rapidly in the socioeconomic hierarchies and within two or three generations joined the elite. How to explain the rapid socioeconomic achievements of the Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans in the US, Canada and Latin America, in Hawaii, in Europe, and in Southeast Asia? How to explain the rapid successes of the Jews in the US, Canada, and Britain?
Furthermore, cultural values theories are often vague, impressionistic and anecdotal. And Human Capital theories fail to explain why some racial groups acquire more education than others.
Separately, in How to explain high Jewish achievement: The role of intelligence and values, an article published in Personality and Individual Differences, by Lynn and Satoshi Kanazawa (PDF), we showed that only IQ had predictive value when pitted against values theories.
Of course, if average IQ differences are the crucial determinant of racial socio-economic hierarchies, this raises the question of what causes them.
In principle, they could be wholly environmentally determined. However, Lynn argues that their consistency across time and circumstance points to genetic factors. And he reviews other data in support including hybridization studies and finds that “mixed-race” populations fall between parental populations. This is true for Aborigines in Australia, Amerindians in Mexico, and Blacks in North America and South Africa. (See also my Personality and Individual Differences article on racial admixture in South Arica Testing the genetic hypothesis of group mean IQ differences in South Africa: Racial admixture and cross-situational consistency, 2008, PDF).
To achieve credibility, a theory must explain the totality of the phenomena. Only one theory does: hereditary differences in average IQ.
J. Philippe Rushton (E-mail him) is a professor of psychology at the University of Western Ontario and the author of Race, Evolution, and Behavior: A Life History Perspective. This article adapted from a book review [Pay archive] that appeared in the July 2008 issue of the Elsevier Science journal Personality and Individual Differences.
(The Global Bell Curve: Race, IQ, and Inequality Worldwide is also available direct from the publisher.)
(Posted on June 18, 2008)
Comments
Another torpedo strikes the good ship ‘Equality’.
Posted by acsnyc at 6:04 PM on June 18
I don’t know how long we can keep living with the lies. As I wrote the other day (http://thenewfaith.org/2008/06/16/diversity-vs-truth/), science is moving in one direction and politics in another. Something will have to give.
Posted by Dmytro Kornilov at 6:46 PM on June 18
The evidence is now so overwhelming that genes largely determine IQ, and that intelligence largely determines income and standard of living, and that parents with high IQs pass that characteristic on to their children, that anyone who denies these things is either an idiot or a liar.
Posted by at 6:46 PM on June 18
*the Maori in New Zealand, and by the mixed race peoples in South Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.*
For those American Renaissance readers unaware of “Maori genetics”, according to some *there are no pure-blood Maori left in New Zealand* - hell, the main “Maori Party” M.P. is herself the daughter of a (white) American serviceman! I suspect that they have slightly less “white blood” than the average “African-American”.
For a better analysis of Maori “intelligence”, the usage of Pacific Islander intelligence would be more accurate.
Posted by Obscuratus at 6:48 PM on June 18
Talk about stating the obvious.. Anyone who’s spent anytime around Blacks can tell
you they’re dumb as a bag of rocks , and less useful
Posted by Cafedeflore at 7:09 PM on June 18
This update is really helpful, and I’m glad to see more work in addition to Murry and Hernstein, but to really have a well rounded report on I.Q. isn’t it necessary to get further into the subject than just averages in order to determine group success and potential for success and to learn reasons as to why a particular race has been so successful in the past? In short, there’s more information needed to determine success or potential for success than just I.Q. averages.
For example, take Indians as a group within the country of India. The national I.Q. average is 81, which is 4 points lower than US blacks, yet the number of high level people they have is much, much greater than blacks, as a percentage of their population, not just in this country, but in their home country of India as well. It could be said that only the higher I.Q. Indians migrate to the US, but that wouldn’t account for the fact that India itself far surpasses blacks in not only professional people, but in every other aspect as well. They have architecture that blacks could not create or construct, and they have intellectual concepts that the vast majority of blacks couldn’t even begin to understand. So is group I.Q. average telling us everything we need to know? I think it’s giving us only part of the picture, although a very important part.
Too, when it comes to getting an overall picture of group intelligence, wouldn’t it be important to consider inventiveness, intellectual curiosity, creativity, determination, etc.?
Also, does a race of people, say group A, who score in a tight grouping, never getting too high or too low, but having a slightly higher I.Q. average than another group, say group B, who has a very large left end of the Bell Curve, but a substantial right end as well, really telling us that group A is more intelligent as a group if their group average is higher? It seems to me the group B would have the required individuals to advance the race considerably more so than group A.
In my humble opinion an accurate analysis of a people can never be known until all pertinent factors are taken into consideration. And right now we don’t have a complete picture.
Posted by Robert Kelly at 7:50 PM on June 18
What our liberal egg head pseudo professors would like for us to believe is that there are no differences between races other than superficial ones that can be explained away by sociologists.
You know, I watched the Boston Celtics - Lakers game quite closely last night and I don’t think that I saw one, just one, Chinese, Korean, or Vietnamese on either side while there was, I would say, and over representation of African - Americans playing for each team?
When was the last time an African - American swimmer won at the Olympics?
One would have to be stuck in the quicksand of profound mental denial not to admit that different races perform in different sports differently. Then just why, pray tell, do we have to constantly be expected to buy into this farce that all races are the same intellectually.
I have some ability for Mathematics. I distinctly recall an advanced linear algebra class which I took in college. There were exactly five students in the class. A Chinese, a Japanese, a Russian Jew, a white transfer student from Denmark (and I might add, she was quite comely too) and I, a white American. The class was taught by a Korean. I have often wondered, as I have pondered the principles of diversity,if I the intellectually slowest student in the class, benefited more from me knowing them or they knowing me. ( In the case of the Danish lass however, there is no doubt in my mind that I was the one who benefited the most!)
MoMo
Posted by MoMo at 7:57 PM on June 18
“To achieve credibility, a theory must explain the totality of the phenomena. Only one theory does: hereditary differences in average IQ.”
The only credible theory that explains all the ‘phenomena’, is the one that observes the majority of people on the Earth behaving as if they believe in the Discrimination theory, alone. And of course, only whites have the power and discriminate. It’s understandable those in the third world would feel this way but it’s the white west that has taken this idea the farthest. At the most base level: White are bad. Non-whites, good.
Posted by at 8:27 PM on June 18
I read their first condemmed book and its information was based mostly on the US Military entry testing for recruits and draftees from the Spanish American War up to the date of their book. The fact that they are professors at Harvard and the book was published at the Harvard Press should speak for itself.
Posted by the Soviet Republic of New Jersey at 9:32 PM on June 18
Really there is only one real objection to such arguments: it’s not fashionable. For that reason alone 99.9% of the sheeple won’t even bother reading this book. They will simply rely on the pseudo-science that they are fed by the MSM. The only way to get the truth out to a significant number of people is if it’s shown on television. I’m not holding my breath for that.
Posted by jewamongyou at 9:49 PM on June 18
It’s true. You can see the same patterns of black failure all around the world including in countries like Canada, France and Britain where there was no historical black presence or system of slavery, segregation or Jim Crow. Blacks sometimes also attribute their failures to not being in charge, but they have had exclusive control of Haiti for 205 years the poorest, most backward country in the Americas. Most sub-Saharan countries have been run by blacks for several decades now. They are all a shambles. Likewise you see the same patterns of east Asian success all around the world. Look at the success of the overseas Japanese communities despite considerable historic discrimination. Look at how well Chinese groups do all around the world. Applying the theory of Occam’s razor, differing levels of intelligence among the races makes sense to explain this.
Posted by at 10:03 PM on June 18
I would like to ask an honest question, and would appreciate anyone’s answer:
IF the IQ of India is around 90, then why are some of the best engineering schools in India?
Students in India, if they cannot get into the India Institute of Technology (I think that is the name) use American schools like Cal Tech and MIT as a fallback.
Or so the story goes.
I do not trust the media, so perhaps this is an outright lie?
Posted by Gardener Ted at 10:39 PM on June 18
“or the successes of the Jews to the motivating effects of their minority status, or the problems of African Americans and Australian Aborigines to their being involuntary minorities.”
Interesting. I’d like to see how the multi-cults can justify their explanation that both Jewish success and black failure stem from their being minorities.
Posted by at 10:45 PM on June 18
Robert Kelly & Gardener Ted: There are two major peoples in India, the Aryans and the Dravidians, and many smaller peoples. There has inevitably been a lot of race-mixing in the last four thousand years, but the caste system has done a lot to preserve racial differences. Rent the Bollywood movie “Bride and Prejudice” and you’ll see the Indian perspective on race. All the strong, intelligent, romantic characters are White, the fools are played by dark skinned actors. To write of the average Indian IQ is like writing about the average American IQ. Or the average American murder rate.
An average IQ of 90 for India could mean two groups of equal size, one with an average IQ of 75, the other with an average IQ of 105. There are innumerable statistical possibilities, and with a population of around a billion, there are undoubtedly a whole lot of really smart people over there, whatever the “average” might be.
Posted by Schoolteacher at 12:02 AM on June 19
“Jewamongyou” You are entirely correct of course…but I fear it’s worse even than that! I occasionally encounter very intelligent people(personally and online)who are not totally taken with PC-brainwash and the like - and they STILL resist this race/IQ conclusion like an Evangelical does Evolution!! This really is the ultimate taboo in our time - people fear it like the Puritans did the Devil, or simply reisit it out of some warped, overdeveloped intellectualism!
Posted by Hank at 1:02 AM on June 19
Finally some confirmation of what we’ve all noticed forever! The interesting part was how Whites actually came out quite mediocre compared with Jews and East Asians.
This explains a lot of the stupid behavior of White people we see on a daily basis, and overall the rather stupid behavior of “White” nations compared with the shrewd Asians.
Posted by Mick at 2:03 AM on June 19
Anyone who buys and reads the book will be able to write a review for Amazon.com, where the potential audience for comments will be quite large. This will be an appopriate place to mention American Renaissance as a source of related information.
At present the book is listed, but it isn’t available yet for sale.
Posted by Reader-1 at 2:34 AM on June 19
I personally don’t believe in IQ’s as you can’t put a number on intelligence. People are intelligent in different ways. However, some people are definitely more intelligent than others and so are some groups on average. You need not look at average IQ, all you have to do is look at groups as a whole on average and what they achieve and how they act. Yes, blacks as a whole achieve far less then whites or orientals. This does not mean there are no intelligent blacks because I have certainly met some very smart black people as well as some very dumb whites/asians. It just means that on average the number of blacks of low intelligence far outweighs other groups.
Posted by at 6:01 AM on June 19
I can accept genetic explanations for IQ difference (although the differences might not go the way AmRen readers would like them to go!), but they don’t explain the huge difference in average IQ. 40 IQ points is like the difference between a dog and a human (and I think i’m being too kind to humans).
I think people are blinded on this issue. I think they are so blind because we’ve always learned that only whites can be ignorant and racist. Now, whether or not this debate about IQ contributes to this idea, I honestly can’t say for sure.
It is not all genetic. The reason some score lower on IQ tests is as obvious as the IQ scores themselves. People score comparatively lower on the IQ test because of their lifelong attitude towards learning. Those who score lower are simply not as interested in the outside world. Or, put another way, they end up with a lower IQ because of their own lifelong love of ignorant, backward, and racist behavior.
We observe this difference every day on AmRen, we just don’t always accurately assess the cause. I do not, however, want to reform our darker brothers, no, that would be condescending to them. I just want to get the hell away from them.
Posted by LHathaway at 8:46 AM on June 19
It really bothers me that Brimelow allows this stuff on his web site. It is completely irrelevant to immigration reform. Both LEGAL and illegal immigration should be completely shut down to 0 because LEGAL and illegal immigration will radically change the racial composition of the America.
Drag in the IQ stuff and the fundamental issue becomes obscured and sidetracked. I don’t care what Mexican IQ is or the hindu IQ is.I oppose LEGAL and illegal immigration because LEGAL and illegal immigration are bringing about the racial and economic dispossession of Native Born White Americans. This should be stated over and over in a debate.If you think about it there really is no debate. Our preference for a majority Native Born White population is not up for debate/negotiation with the hinduds,sihks,mexicans, pakistanis and nigerians who have migrated to America.
At the present point in time I will not finacially support vdare.com. because it wastes space and time on analysis of IQ scores I also will not inform my fellow Native Born White Americans of vdare.coms existence. Why should I? Why should a Native Born White American who has had with asian legal immigration visit a web site that features almost on daily basis Steve Sailer’s weird fixation on IQ of hindu living in America. Why would some who was robbed of a job by a hindu want to read about this garbage on almost a daily basis.
What vdare.com should be doing is putting a daily laser beam focus on the role that Hindus and Asians in America in bringing about the massive deskilling of the majority Native Born White American population. The hindus through the India policy group own over 140 members of the US congress. Congressman Joseph Crowley from Westchester County is a complete whore for the hindu lobby in America. Why isn’t this covered on vdare.com. Instead we get Steve Sailers weird fixation on the IQ of hindus living in OUR America.
Anyone who raises the race and IQ issue in a public debate on immigration will sidetrack the debate away from the fundamental issue for Native Born White Americans. Post 1965 immigration policy should be categorically opposed because if allowed to continue Native Born White Amerians will be reduced to a racial minority. Any immigration refrom organization/website should not be supported unlesss it makes the racial transformation the fundamental issue in debates and discussion about immgration.
Any one who raises the IQ and race issue in a debate is dong a great diservice to the cause of completely shutting down all non-white immigration.
WE-Native Born White Americans- are running out of time and some people who should know better are playing games. It really disgusts me.
Posted by Jupiter at 8:53 AM on June 19
“Anyone who’s spent anytime around Blacks can tell
you they’re dumb as a bag of rocks , and less useful”
Cafedeflore, we don’t get to choose our parents. Be careful how you characterize people. Races who are born with IQ deficits are more to be pitied, not reviled. If you must revile someone, revile the white liberals who have been the source of all our racial problems because of their insane support for radical egalitarianism and destructive multiculturalism.
Posted by Xenophon at 9:13 AM on June 19
“Students in India, if they cannot get into the India Institute of Technology (I think that is the name) use American schools like Cal Tech and MIT as a fallback.
Or so the story goes.” - Gardener Ted
Then let the Indians built THEIR Oxbridge/MIT universities, in THEIR OWN LANDS. And we’ll restore a healthy sense of national/racial/cultural competition. Good for ‘all races,’ all around. But not in MY homeland!
“…and they STILL resist this race/IQ conclusion like an Evangelical does Evolution!! This really is the ultimate taboo in our time - people fear it like the Puritans did the Devil, or simply reisit it out of some warped, overdeveloped intellectualism!” - Hank
No preconceived Christophobic predjudice here, is there, Hank?
The Puritans were the BACKBONE that made up New England, which led in the formation of the USA. Those same people, whom, as you state, were possessed of a ‘warped, overdeveloped intellectualism,” (why is such a thing a ‘good’ in pagan societies, and a ‘bad’ in religious societies?) were the sort of yeoman who plowed their own lands, spoke/read at least three languages (English, Latin, and Greek- fluently) and formed the basis for Harvard, Yale, and Princeton!!!
Not a shabby record for a bunch of ‘bigoted Calvinists’, I might add…..
Posted by AlmostMusicPhD at 9:13 AM on June 19
There is no question IQ is the primary factor influencing socio-economic stratification worldwide. I have always argued that wrong-headed social policy, especially in America, has led to the expression in the phenotype of the worst elements of an already deficient black gene pool. Indeed, you couldn’t design a better reverse-eugenics program than that which has been visited upon blacks in this country by means of destructive social policies that reinforce their worst characteristics. Personally, I do not believe the architects of such policies are so blind to these facts – they know exactly what they are doing.
Posted by John at 10:06 AM on June 19
“IF the IQ of India is around 90, then why are some of the best engineering schools in India?
Students in India, if they cannot get into the India Institute of Technology (I think that is the name) use American schools like Cal Tech and MIT as a fallback.
“
Maybe I’m ignorant, maybe it is me who is not aware of the fact, but it is the first time I ever heard there are some of the best engineering schools in India. And also, how do you define “a great engineering school”? Do you mean the quality of the education, or the quality of the student body? Whenever we discuss the quality of schools, we have a separate list for the quality of the education, the quality of the student body, and the life after the university. India has the second highest population on the planet with more than 1 billion people. If there are only a handful of engineering schools, of course those schools are bound to have the best of the best among the young people in India.
Nowadays, in the engineering world and IT world, I notice that it is more and more turning into a battle of “who can create the same thing for a lower price?” instead of “who can create something better(or innovative)?” that’s also one of the major reasons more and more large corporations in North America outsource its customer support from India. It is not particularly because the folks in India provide superior quality, but because they can provide the same quality for a much lower price. (even after putting the cost of international phone calls into consideration) The fact that folks in India can communicate in English also certainly helps. I also notice a similar trend from the white papers published by Microsoft corporation. Their focus started to shift to arguing that their server products can be used at a lower overall operating cost than its competing products, instead of presenting, or proving, that their products are of the superior quality.
I started to regret that I am majoring computer science at Ryerson University. I sometimes see students from non-computer-related majors such as geography to be just as skilled, if not more, in computers than computer science/engineering students, and jobs in this industry are getting scarce and scarce because of the outsoucing, and the payment getting lower and lower. computer science/information technology are the two easiest industries to outsource. And I realized, whatever I want to learn regarding computer science, I can learn on my own in my spare time! I do not have to spend money and years of my life to learn what I have been learning so far.
Posted by Korean guy at 11:10 AM on June 19
I’m glad this book was written and it will certainly help spread the truth somewhat. However, it cannot compare to the barrage of false information we receive from television, films and other media.
Also, most people are just not interested in statistics. A lot of people just don’t understand them. A more convincing approach would be to publish a book that anecdotally demonstrates the failure of policies based on the “we are all equal” theory. Reading about low black IQ in a book doesn’t have nearly the same impact as seeing one black affirmative action hire screw up left and right yet still remain on the pay roll.
Posted by John at 11:11 AM on June 19
“There are innumerable statistical possibilities, and with a population of around a billion, there are undoubtedly a whole lot of really smart people over there, whatever the “average” might be.”
Posted by Schoolteacher at 12:02 AM on June 19
Yes, I agree exactly with what you wrote. In fact that was a premise I raised to explain the difference in I.Q. group averages when one group had a higher average than another, but obviously were not producing the advancements or intellectual quality of people whose group average was lower:
“Also, does a race of people, say group A, who score in a tight grouping, never getting too high or too low, but having a slightly higher I.Q. average than another group, say group B, who has a very large left end of the Bell Curve, but a substantial right end as well, really telling us that group A is more intelligent as a group if their group average is higher? It seems to me group B would have the required individuals to advance the race considerably more so than group A.”
You did expand on another possibility besides the above “grouping” when you wrote: “An average IQ of 90 for India could mean two groups of equal size, one with an average IQ of 75, the other with an average IQ of 105.”
That too would give an inacurate group I.Q. average as to a group’s potential to produce people who can accomplish
outstanding things and people who have the intellect
to master the sciences, engineering, medicine, etc.
As another example, it can’t be denied that whites have advanced humanity far more than any other group, yet with the present I.Q, tests some Asians will score, on average, three points higher than the white average. It’s pretty difficult to argue effectively against success, so why the difference, even as small as it is?
Could it be attributed to “grouping,” because whites don’t seem to have a large number of super-dumb people who score incredibly low. Or are there other factors to the intelligence equation that are not reflected by the present I.Q. tests?
Whether it’s whites or Asians, or blacks and Indians, something just isn’t right with the picture that is being painted right now, especially when comparing races who have I.Q.’s that are just a few points apart.
I have no scientific basis for saying so, but I can’t help thinking that something needs to be factored in, but it isn’t being done.
Posted by Robert Kelly at 11:12 AM on June 19
To Gardener Ted who posted at 10:39 PM on June 18
I would like to ask an honest question, and would appreciate anyone’s answer:
IF the IQ of India is around 90, then why are some of the best engineering schools in India?
Hmmm… so how many engineering breakthroughs have come out of Indian Engineering Schools as opposed to the US? Keep in mind their population is almost 4 times larger than the US.
However there are some very bright Indians, some of whom have are professors or students at high level US Engineering schools. You may find this article by Steve Sailer enlightening:
http://blog.vdare.com/archives/2008/06/13/indias-average-iq-in-2100/
Posted by Stillwarm at 11:27 AM on June 19
One of the reasons I suspect Indian engineering schools are good, Gardener Ted, is that they can afford to be picky about the students they take. If they’re taking students two standard deviations above the 90-point IQ average in India, that’s still a lot of people, since India has a huge population - estimated at 1.1 billion in 2008, according to Wikipedia, and counted at 1.0 billion in their 2001 census.
I also got the impression from a pair of old coworkers, both H-1bs from India, that high school education there has not been dumbed-down the way it has been in the US. Perhaps they realize that the purpose of schools is educating students, rather than building their “self-esteem”.
Posted by Michael C. Scott at 12:46 PM on June 19
Yawn. So what else is new. Lynn wrote a paper some 30 years ago in which he makes the same claims. The paper is titled “Ethnic and Racial Differences in Intelligence: International Comparisons”(1978).
OK, so IQ tests measure IQ of which a a large component derives from the environment. This has been amply demonstrated by the empirically validated Flynn effect. IQ scores have been increasing 0.3 points every year for the last 50 years—because the cultural environment has been changing. Thus an individual who scored 100 about 100 years ago would now score about 70 on a nonverbal IQ test today. So IQs just measure IQ. That’s all.
Posted by OCCAM at 2:08 PM on June 19
“It is not all genetic. The reason some score lower on IQ tests is as obvious as the IQ scores themselves. People score comparatively lower on the IQ test because of their lifelong attitude towards learning. Those who score lower are simply not as interested in the outside world. Or, put another way, they end up with a lower IQ because of their own lifelong love of ignorant, backward, and racist behavior.”
Good genetics necessary, but not sufficient. Will power without the genetic potential will fail. Analogy- car engine. It’z not crankshaft alone, what about the pistons, rods, cam, valves, ignition and fuel? Answer- ALL are needed, a bad crank cannot be, ahem, “balanced” by forged pistons or Iskenderian camshaft. All the parts must be first rate. Chain as strong as weakest link. It is “all” IQ combined with ALL the other ingedients, like free will.
“Any one who raises the IQ and race issue in a debate is dong a great diservice to the cause of completely shutting down all non-white immigration.”
The central issue is the right to choose one’s associates. Does the state make decisions about “my” life, or do I? Do I have the right to join with others, form communities by contract, fence off such areas, and EXCLUDE OTHERS FOR ANY REASON, INCLUDING RACE/IQ, OR FOR NO REASON???
btw Even if all immigration were stopped, the evil/psychotic Leviathan (Fedgov) would remain, ruining everything in its path.
By Chris Chatham (Boulder, CO) - See all my reviews
Arthur Jensen is a controversial figure in psychology, due in large part to claims about racial differences in intelligence. In his newest book, “Clocking the Mind,” Jensen turns his attention to a more focused, yet still controversial topic: how is it that extraordinarily simple measures of reaction time can correlate so highly with intelligence?
To understand the importance of this question, consider the following. First, as Jensen notes, almost all reliable measures of cognitive performance are correlated. Across a large number of such tests, a single number - termed g, for “general intelligence” - can account for a large portion of individual differences on each task. Because no single test is “process pure,” the correlations between g and scores on any given test are typically rather small; high correlations emerge from these measures only when they are considered in aggregate, with the following exception.
Despite the fact that g is commonly assessed with tests of vocabulary, memory for associations, reasoning ability on the Raven’s Progressive Matrices (where subjects must discover a visual pattern within a matrix of stimuli, and select what the next pattern in the sequence would look like), and a wide variety of other very abstract and untimed tests, it appears that the variance they share can be reliably and accurately indexed by reaction time on a task where subjects must merely press a lighted button. The correlations between such simple tasks and g is around .62, which is higher than the correlation between many subscales of IQ tests and the g factor to which they contribute.
If you are skeptical of these results, you are not alone. Jensen notes a deep-seated bias against the idea that such simple measures could reveal important traits of the cognitive system, and reviews several historical reasons for this bias. However, in just over 200 pages, Jensen creates a persuasive argument for the RT-IQ correlation based on dozens of factor analyses, and both developmental and genetic work. In the process, he covers issues related to statistical methodology, procedural variations on simple RT tasks, and correlations between simple RT and Sternberg memory scanning, working memory, short-term memory, long term memory, and a variety of other cognitive constructs.
In the end, it appears that simple RT and g may be very closely related, if not indexing the same thing. Jensen advocates the “bottom-up” interpretation of the RT-IQ correlation, suggesting that individual differences in processing speed allow those individuals to think faster, accumulate more information per unit time, and provide other advantages that subsequently translate into g. Jensen notes that the “top-down” interpretation - for example, that increased IQ leads to better strategy-use, and for that reason result in lower RTs on simple tasks - is plausible but relatively uninteresting for those interested in mechanistic rather than merely descriptive accounts of intelligence. Whether or not you agree with Jensen’s “neural oscillation” hypothesis of the RT-IQ correlation, these facts beg for a mechanistic explanation.
Jensen’s writing is clear and concise, and every chapter is densely packed with information. The historical treatment of chronometry is perhaps most enjoyable, filled with personal anecdotes and unique insight into the politics of 20th century psychology and psychometrics. My only complaint is the index seems sparse for a book so rich in detail.
“Clocking the Mind” is not a popular science book; it is a scholarly work directed towards professionals and graduate students. Yet, anyone with a scientific interest in individual differences, intelligence, or executive functions will find much to consider here. After all, if Jensen is right, relatively simple and extremely reliable measures of reaction time might be a good replacement for some of the “fancy tasks” cognitive scientists have spent decades refining.
http://www.amazon.com/Clocking-Mind-Chronometry-Individual-Differences/dp/0080449395
Posted by spy v. spy at 3:25 PM on June 19
The book seems like another important contribution from Lynn. My question though, how does it differ from his earlier works “IQ and the Wealth of Nations” or “IQ and Global Inequality”? This seems like the third in a similar vein.
Posted by Bob at 3:30 PM on June 19
Anonymous at 10:45 PM wrote:
“Interesting. I’d like to see how the multi-cults can justify their explanation that both Jewish success and black failure stem from their being minorities.”
While growing up I noticed the huge difference between Jews and blacks - even though both had been oppressed minorities. My Jewish family explained it to me this way: “those black kids don’t have supportive parents who read to them and have a tradition of learning”. …which rather begs the question.
Posted by jewamongyou at 3:50 PM on June 19
“Finally some confirmation of what we’ve all noticed forever! “The interesting part was how Whites actually came out quite mediocre compared with Jews and East Asians.
This explains a lot of the stupid behavior of White people we see on a daily basis, and overall the rather stupid behavior of “White” nations compared with the shrewd Asians.”
Posted by Mick at 2:03 AM on June 19
First of all, Lad, the gap between whites and SOME Asians is only three points, hardly a significant amount, if you want to believe the way I.Q. scores are scored nowadays. Up till fairly recently, white average group scoring was a couple of points above that of these same Asians. As it stands now, let’s look into the matter a bit further to determine what these three points amount to. For example, why have whites excelled so much more greatly than everybody on the planet? Even a white hater like you couldn’t deny that which is visible to anybody that has eyes to see.
Too, have you taken into consideration that Jews are white? I mean, they’re Caucasoids unidentifiable in most cases from Europeans, and there’s a reason for that: There’s been centuries of interbreeding between Europeans and Jews, and Ashkanazi Jews, if you want to believe one theory, are white Europeans themselves to begin with. But, in any event, I challenge you to show the difference between Jews and Europeans. Jews are an ethnic group within the white race, just as Scots, Italians, Germans, etc. are.
That East Asians have better study habits than any other group can’t be denied, however, and it will be an important factor in comparing races in the near future. The US multicultural hordes are degenerating badly. AA and dumbing down the curriculum so blacks don’t look so bad is hurting all the rest of us in the US, and will continue to be a factor in the near future and beyond.
But, in case you’re venting anti-white black hatred of whites, let me tell you that what whites score or don’t score has no bearing whatsoever on the fact that blacks comprise the least intelligent people on this planet, and their forced inclusion on the rest of the races is criminal, and the elites responsible for it should be prosecuted as criminals against humanity.
Posted by q at 3:51 PM on June 19
Mr. Calvin supporter, to argue that evolution is not almost universally opposed in “protestantism” is laughable at best and delusional at worst. They are the single biggest detriment to this theory having far more mainstream acceptance.
As a former “protestant” I find this humorous. I am now a Catholic convert were science isn’t universally dispised to the point where I cannot reconcile my faith with it and send my children into the world as modern flat earthers.
Posted by at 3:55 PM on June 19
While I don’t argue with the statistics that Asians and others might have higher IQ’s than Whites, I still don’t think that means we should welcome them into our society. Besides intelligence, Whites clearly have other intangible qualities that make their societies better than those of other races. An all-White society is better for Whites than one mixed with Asians or any other race with equal IQ levels. It simply is a better society and a better place to live. They come to our countries for individual economic and social opportunities, we don’t got to theirs.
Posted by Victor Gerhard at 4:05 PM on June 19
Gardner Ted:: Steve Sailer has an extensive discussion of this at his blog - but in brief, “India” includes a number of different ethnicities and sub groups - more or less out of one billion people you will find some high iqs, but they are also clustered around subgroups like the Parsi. there is ‘affirmative action’ for lower caste (dalit) indians.
Posted by at 4:51 PM on June 19
So is group I.Q. average telling us everything we need to know? I think it’s giving us only part of the picture, although a very important part.
I heartily concur. “Race realism” is rife with IQ reductionists/fetishists, who think IQ is the only salient difference between human groups. They should broaden their perspectives, and look at emerging behavioral (and behavioral genetics) data (impulsiveness, conscientiousness, time horizons, aggression, agreeableness, etc.). There’s much more going on vis-a-vis behavior and race than IQ.
That said, you should be comparing Indians to Africans, not Indians to blacks in America. Also consider that India is about as atypical as it gets vis-a-vis demographics, and makes a very poor example for your point.
Posted by Svigor at 5:51 PM on June 19
I would like to ask an honest question, and would appreciate anyone’s answer:
IF the IQ of India is around 90, then why are some of the best engineering schools in India?
Hi Ted.
Are some of the best engineering schools in India? If so, I suppose that’s because India has enough bright citizens to produce and maintain them. (Also, I reject the premise of your question)
Students in India, if they cannot get into the India Institute of Technology (I think that is the name) use American schools like Cal Tech and MIT as a fallback.
Or so the story goes.
So, students in the west are flooding these universities with applications then?
I do not trust the media, so perhaps this is an outright lie?
Probably a half-truth, that’s the mass media’s specialty.
Posted by Svigor at 6:02 PM on June 19
“or the successes of the Jews to the motivating effects of their minority status, or the problems of African Americans and Australian Aborigines to their being involuntary minorities.”
Interesting. I’d like to see how the multi-cults can justify their explanation that both Jewish success and black failure stem from their being minorities.
Like so:
Racism is not racism is not racism.
They can just point to white racism, or different cultures, or whatever. The fact that some minorities under-perform relative to whites, while others over-perform, isn’t even a speed bump to a liberal.
Posted by Svigor at 6:08 PM on June 19
As far as Jupiter’s comments, I think we have to accept the fact that the whites in the U.S. are on their way to becoming a minority, and this is likely inevitable. What may happen, however, when enough whites wake up to realize they are now a minority within their own country, especially when the younger generations alone are considered, is that whites may start playing “hard ball” like all the other minorities. Maybe then we can start the counter-revolution.
Posted by Paul Jones at 8:10 PM on June 19
“…Music PhD” You clearly protest too much! You misread the part about intellectuals, which was directed at the internet-types I mentioned earlier in my post, not Puritans, other Christians or anyone of that ilk. Nothing in that post was intended to be a religious insult - Puritans fearing ‘Ol Scratch isn’t exactly a secret I was quite certain.
“Christophobic?” Surely you jest - and we think “liberals” are oversensitive!? Calm down man…
Posted by Hank at 8:55 PM on June 19
After reading and rereading with delight The Bell Curve I often had the opportunity to bring up the topic with my students(medical residents); the various encounters were of course different, with those who had studied social sciences the most difficult to convince—they would always begin by questioning the concept of “intelligence”, to which I would always respond, read chapter one. They would, of course, never read chapter one.
Those few I convinced had already at some level understood what was being described.
My conclusion was that such wonderful studies could only convince those with open minds and there number was very small. I myself had a grand time giving expositions of the central concepts in the Bell Curve which I regard as wonderfully insightful and clear as I had a captive audience(I evaluated the residents—on medical knowledge, of course, but they still had to listen to my discourses).
The issues of the correlation between IQ and intelligence, the large genetic component of IQ and the racial differences in mean IQ have been settled science for decades now. The fact that anyone could seriously question them is a tribute to the success of the propaganda of our reigning elites.
Posted by at 9:18 PM on June 19
I hope everyone pays special notice to the small margin between white and East Asian IQ. (It seems that the numbers generally quoted here on Amren and elsewhere inflate this difference—e.g. whites 100 and East Asians 105/106, as opposed to the figures here for the USA and Canada.) I’ve noticed that there seems to be far too much Asian-IQ-fetishism at American Renaissance for my tastes, and people here all-too readily disregard the East Asians’ robust behavioral disadvantages (e.g. timidity, poor social skills, aversion to risk…monotonous physical characteristics…etc.—not to mention their verbal-IQ deficiency). Don’t get me wrong, I don’t dislike the East Asians, but I think too many people here would fit in better with Jared Taylor’s hypothetical “yellow supremacists”: they can sit around all day and praise the East Asians for intelligence, civility/lack of criminality, etc., but they forget that part of why Europeans have done so much is because of our guts, will, courage, spirit, and individualism working in concert with our intelligence (which occasionaly means more criminality, disobedience, experimenting with stupid ideas, etc.). Anyway, personally I think the trade-offs are well-worth it. That aside, good luck with your organization, and God bless.
Posted by A Proud English American at 9:31 PM on June 19
The modern liberal anthropologists and social scientists have attacked the IQ test at every turn claiming test bias, faulty assumptions, and scientific racism though at no point ever scientifically refute intelligence tests.
Posted by Unemployed WASP at 10:36 PM on June 19
“Also consider that India is about as atypical as it gets vis-a-vis demographics, and makes a very poor example for your point.”
Posted by Svigor at 5:51 PM on June 19
Well, I agree with what you wrote with the above exception. I chose India as an example, because of its demographics to illustrate the variation that might occur in a nation, which group or national average I.Q. scores will not reflect. And I included US blacks because they are considered an upgraded version of Africans, and their group I.Q. average was higher than India, which is 81, according to Lynn in his book, “I.Q. and Wealth of Nations.”
My purpose was to highlight the differences between the two groups, hopefully indicating that group average I.Q. scores can be misleading, because they don’t consider enough information to get a complete picture.
Posted by Robert Kelly at 10:41 PM on June 19
My prediction, for what it’s worth, is that in the near future, Richard Lynn’s The Global Bell Curve and all the other books and articles and research papers that address the question of racial disparities will be criminalized/censored as hate speech. That’s how the liberal elite will handle the problem of the inconvenient news they bring.
Soon the mere positing of hierarchy will be outlawed. The law will be: All Are Equal. A law that MUST be obeyed.
Posted by ricpic at 10:44 PM on June 19
I think in the past European Americans used to be courageous and adventurous and proud of their culture, but something has happened to us. So many posters talk about the day when whites finally “wake up” and things change for the better, but I really don’t see that happening. There will always be a small percentage of us who are renegades and who don’t go along with popular culture and brainwashing, but the vast majority of whites just want to fit in, to be able to live peaceful lives with occasional vacations, to make comfortable livings so they can shop at the mall every weekend, etc.
Why are we so weak? Is it something in the water? I know there are birth control hormones in our public drinking supply and maybe they have turned us into wusses. Or is it because we spend so much time behind desks or in cars that we have lost our muscle and even the desire to have muscle? Why are we, and I’m speaking of the vast majority of white Americans, so timid? We are giving our country to the alien. Because we are terrified of being called RACIST, we are willing to squander our safety as a race and the future of our country.
Do you want your grandchildren to be at the mercy of the non-white majority? Hopefully they will be treated fairly but there is no guarantee.
We are not a country of brave, free, independent thinking people anymore. Historians will report Americans handed over their land to aliens for no good reason at all.
Posted by at 1:25 AM on June 20
“My prediction, for what it’s worth, is that in the near future, Richard Lynn’s The Global Bell Curve and all the other books and articles and research papers that address the question of racial disparities will be criminalized/censored as hate speech. That’s how the liberal elite will handle the problem of the inconvenient news they bring.” ricpic
They already censor this sort of thing in Canada and Europe so that it isn’t much of a stretch to see this in America’s future as well— particularly under an Obama presidency and a Democratic Congress. Will the First Amendment protect us? I could only give even money on that bet.
Posted by Sardonicus at 5:01 PM on June 20
If the IQ of India is 81, then how does that fit with the fact that India’s economy has the second fastest growth rate, around 8%, for the last five years ? And why is China, with a mean IQ of 105, only at a per capita GDP of around $1,500 / year compared to India at around $980 / year ? One would have expected China to be around the same per capita GDP as Japan, $36,000 / year. And if Chinese are as smart as some believe, why is China the intellectual property theft hot spot ? Why are Chinese spies trying to get US military secrets ? If they’re so smart they should come up with these things on their own, or at the very least, reverse engineer without resorting to spying.
This fixation with IQ just doesn’t fit with some of the facts.
Posted by at 7:41 PM on June 20
Never before in history have so many unintelligent, uninspired, uncurious, uncreative, unaccomplished, uncourageous, un-adaptive peoples demanded to be treated as the equals of those who have those traits. The superiority of the Euro-Mediterranean & East Asian cultures is such that only a radical bending of the grading curve, such as affirmative action, will allow peoples of sub-cultures to convince themselves that they are mental equals.
They will be greatly aided by modern interpretations of the Judeo-Protestant-Christian religions that advocate reaching purity through humbleness not leadership. Requiring peoples of sub-cultures to assimilate & elevate themselves is considered a moral flaw that is only forgiven through subjugation & reverse assimilation. That is the corner into which our bleeding heart thinking has painted us.
Posted by Max Brand at 11:16 PM on June 20
Yes, this IS all the result of Liberals, the NeoMarxists, the Real Enemy, having gained control of the educational system decades ago. Once any group gains control of the educational system, they own the future…they own the country.
People’s incredible irrationality and stupidity IS from mass indoctrination. Psychological Warfare and Propaganda. Whoever controls the flow of information WINS. PERIOD.
And Yes, there IS something in the water. Testosterone levels are recorded to be much lower than 50 years ago. Pollution, hormones in the milk…what? The result is the same. Men have stopped having an instinct to defend their terrority, our nation and it’s culture. This IS the end of America because people have ceased to believe IN American. A nation is only a concept.
Predictions:
Barack Obama wins by a landslide. The Media is ecstatic and covers him like a Prince. Soon, however, that silver tongue is used to let out his REAL agenda; radical Liberal Marxism.
Hate crimes laws will be passed, as in Europe. Amren will be shut down, it’s founders arrested for spreading hate. Guns will be confiscated. Civil War Two may begin. The majority of the population will go along with it because they ARE brainwashed and the media will swing behind his every move.
Posted by Paul at 1:56 AM on June 21
If the IQ of India is 81, then how does that fit with the fact that India’s economy has the second fastest growth rate, around 8%, for the last five years ? And why is China, with a mean IQ of 105, only at a per capita GDP of around $1,500 / year compared to India at around $980 / year ? One would have expected China to be around the same per capita GDP as Japan, $36,000 / year. And if Chinese are as smart as some believe, why is China the intellectual property theft hot spot ? Why are Chinese spies trying to get US military secrets ? If they’re so smart they should come up with these things on their own, or at the very least, reverse engineer without resorting to spying.
This fixation with IQ just doesn’t fit with some of the facts.
Any economic growth being seen in China and India is mostly, if not thoroughly, caused by its cheap labour. (labour is the Canadian spelling! influenced by its French heritage) Whenever anyone in Canada sees a nice product, and it reads “Made in China” or “Made in India” somewhere on the product, we suspect there is a possibility that we are being ripped off. We are paying about three to four times higher than the production cost.
Posted by Korean guy at 6:44 PM on June 21
Okay, looking at all the comments above claiming that India has an average IQ of 90, I am assuming there are a lot of new people involved in this discussion who haven’t read any of this author’s previous books. Allow me to set the record straight. The average IQ of India is 81, not 90. As the article makes very clear, 90 is typically the average IQ of Indians who immigrate, just as 85 is the average IQ of blacks who live in Western countries, although the average IQ of Africa is in the 70s. Please understand that the more intelligent people immigrate.
And I have never heard anything about India’s universities being superior. Every time I look at a global ranking of universities, the top 20 to 50 universities in the world are Western. And in regards to the highschools in India supposedly being “good”, please understand that when your mother tells you that kids in other countries do better than American kids, she is mostly talking about European and Japanese (and Korean) kids.
And there was some poster above who made a ridiculous comment about how whites have “mediocre” IQs compared to East Asians and Jews. Ummm, not quite. The difference between us and them really isn’t that great. It is the South Asians, American Indians, Middle Easterners etc… who have “mediocre” IQs. Try your white bashing on another website, not on here.
Someone else was trying to figure out why India and China have the IQs they do when their economies are growing the way they are. Please understand that economics has to do with many variables. These two countries are learners, so of course they are growing at a faster rate than the Western countries. This doesn’t say much about the people who live in those countries. Although with China it makes sense since, that country has a high IQed people.
Someone else asked about why the Chinese copy from us if they are smarter. I seriously don’t think IQ explains everything. The Asians are obviously lacking in creativity. It can’t possibly just be some sort of accident that white people have created 90% of all scientific achievements.
Posted by Courtney at 9:50 PM on June 21
Another point I would like to make is please stop with the pessimism on here. There are many signs of hope for our people. In Europe we are actually starting to see results because they don’t have this stupid two party system over there like we do. Over here most of the success is happening underground on the internet. Many sites within this movement continue to get close to a hundred or more converts every day.
Posted by Courtney at 10:35 PM on June 21
If the IQ of India is 81, then how does that fit with the fact that India’s economy has the second fastest growth rate, around 8%, for the last five years ?
This is an odd question. Are you suggesting that India’s mean IQ somehow refutes India’s growth rate?
And why is China, with a mean IQ of 105, only at a per capita GDP of around $1,500 / year compared to India at around $980 / year ?
What are we, the answer men? You tell us!
One would have expected China to be around the same per capita GDP as Japan, $36,000 / year.
Says who? Living under communism is a good place to look for answers. I’m not an IQ fetishist so maybe someone else can tell you the IQ fetishist take on the matter. As for a nature/nurture position, I think it’s pretty obvious that nurture probably has a lot to do with the disparities.
Not…rocket…science.
Take a mouse and a bear as an example. Under optimal conditions, the bear will turn out bigger than the mouse, right? Now take the momma bear out back and shoot her in the head with an 8 gauge slug early in gestation. Is the embryo in her womb likely to outgrow the mouse, if the latter comes to term and is born healthy?
FFS, this isn’t complicated. I mean sure, the particulars can be very hard (even practically impossible) to disentangle because nature and nurture form a continuum (and experimenting on humans is extremely limited in scope), but it doesn’t rise to the level of justifying dumping in a thread, with this goofy look on your face, implying that the influence of nurture obviates the influence of nature.
And if Chinese are as smart as some believe, why is China the intellectual property theft hot spot ?
What kind of stupid question is that? Uhm, because the Chinese like it that way? If laws against theft aren’t being enforced, what’s stupid about flouting them?
Why are Chinese spies trying to get US military secrets ?
Uhm, because Americans are weak and spineless, and helpless against ethnic corruption?
If they’re so smart they should come up with these things on their own, or at the very least, reverse engineer without resorting to spying.
How do you reverse engineer something you can’t buy? Espionage isn’t a sign of stupidity, any more than insisting on going DIY for everything is a sign of brilliance.
This fixation with IQ just doesn’t fit with some of the facts.
If you’re railing against IQ fetishism, I agree, but it sounds to me like you’re railing against nature in the nature-nurture continuum. In my opinion the two positions make roughly the same amount of sense (not much). You might want to make yourself more clear, to distance yourself from both camps of idiots.
Posted by Svigor at 4:41 PM on June 22