From: radams@seas.smu.edu (Rodney Adams)
Subject: Re: ecsd: Social Terrorist Now Known, Serves His Call . . . in part 1 of N
Summary: The news server is full AGAIN!  Good thing I have this other account.
Reply-To: "Rodney Adams" <RADAMS@BNR.CA>
Organization: SMU School Of Engineering and Applied Science
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 19:02:10 GMT

In article <1992Nov5.141500.21661@tfs.com>, ecsd@tfs.com (Eric C. S. Dynamic) wr
ites:
|>radams@seas.smu.edu (Rodney Adams) writes:
|>: You feel that there ought to be more exactitude.  I do too, but
|>: we must keep in mind what exactly is being measured.  Also, what
|>: would you feel if new tests with exceptionally high accuracy and
|>: precision showed that Blacks and Hispanics were less intelligent
|>: than Whites and Asians?  You assert that this is false; I, based
|>: upon personal observation and current measures, assert that it is
|>: true.  In believing that intelligence is primarily a genetic
|>: characteristic, and is thus something over which we have little
|>: control (I do NOT advocate enforced eugenics!), I do not measure
|>: a person's worth by his or her intelligence.  This is not to say
|>: that I do not find intelligence valuable, but I could never call
|>: one person or race "better" than another based on intelligence.
|>: You, however, seem to accept the premise that those with higher
|>: intelligence have greater worth and deny the inferiority of
|>: certain minorities by denying that they are of lower average
|>: intelligence.
|>
|>Rodney!! Fuck. Do you *really* believe that race influences intelligence??
|>No dood - I don't. I say Cultural Values are making the effects you base your
|>judgements on. Very subtle - how to know? I don't. What I do know is that
|>cultural values are such a deep filter, that we canNOT yet know the truth
|>in these matters.

Yes, I do believe that certain races are, on average, less intelligent than
others, but as you say, I cannot yet KNOW the truth.  Based upon my
personal observations, the scope of which have admittedly focussed upon
a sector of the population of higher-than-average intelligence, I would
conclude that Blacks and Hispanics have either a lower average intelligence
than Whites and Asians or that the former, as has been attributed to women,
have a more narrow distribution of intelligences than the latter.  Given
that current evidence suggests the former conclusion, I choose to believe
that Blacks and Hispanics are indeed less intelligent, on average, than
Whites and Asians.  I am not blind to the effects of cultural environments,
and I do see that they can and do exaggerate the intellectual differences
among the races, but I do not believe that today's culture is enough to
completely account for the differences.

Does this make me racist?  Hardly.  I see enough evil in people of all
races to know better than to take pride for merely belonging to a certain
race.  But I also see much good in some, and so I judge each person on their
individual merits, discounting such things as the color or shape of their
skin.  Race, like intelligence, is something we have from birth and is
nothing that we, as individuals, have done anything to earn.

[...]
|>Humans are the most amazing, adaptable,
|>wonderful creatures - so diverse, yet so consistent - what does the universe
|>think, to have recreated the universe in infinitely many combinations of
|>slices and outlooks and views upon itself? Each of us is an entire world
|>unto ourselves - and our similarities are that each of is exactly that - an
|>entirely unique expression of encountering reality expressed in human form -
|>an entirely unique human experiencing reality in a way not available to the
|>universe through any other means. Each of us is inherently valuable, even
|>though we are all so substitutable for each other. Do you want my religion?
|>Here it is: what God loves about us is our self-knowledge, for knowledge of
|>ourselves is knowledge about IT. Denial of what we are is denial of what the
|>universe created us to be, therefore denial of the universe and the process
|>of life itself.

The following is strictly conjecture, but it does reflect the nature
of my beliefs in this matter.  However, such speculation is far from
my chosen fields, and I would appreciate the input of any anthropologists
or others if my assumptions are incorrect.

Before long-distance travel became feasible, the various races would
have developed in isolation, each having distinct environmental factors
that would different influences upon the races' evolutions.  The human
species is adaptable, so it would seem absurd to believe that all races
were influenced identically and had, on average, identical mental
abilities and characteristics.  Given the random nature of the evolution
of genetic differences, we naturally see a distribution of intelligences
within a race, but each race would tend to adapt to their unique
environments.

For the sake of simplification, let me deal exclusively with the
White European and Black African races and how their separate evolutions
can explain some of the differences we see between Whites and Blacks
in America.  Of the two continents, Africa by far has the harsher
environment, where fighting for survival against the deserts and jungles,
the draughts and floods, would consume the majority of the individuals'
daily activities.  Today, we would consider many of the African peoples
to be primitives because their culture is so different from our own,
so focussed on bare survival.  In such a clime, would the development of
mathematical or verbal intelligences have contributed much to the
betterment of the African societies?  I doubt it, but that does not
imply that Africans underwent mental stagnation.  Rather, I believe
evolution would have encouraged their development of superior bodily-
kinesthetic intelligence, which would assist in hunting and other skills
that were useful in their survival.  Their increased coordination and
bodily control would also find an outlet in their recreational activities,
including the superb rythmic skills evidenced through "music" and dancing.
Chanting and singing would have been added as natural accompaniments,
so I believe their musical intelligences might have benefited as well.
All this can be contrasted to the evolution of the European peoples, where
a more friendly environment allowed time for "intellectual" pursuits.

Are Whites, on average, more intelligent than Blacks?  When I say that I
believe this to be the case, I am using the word "intelligence" in the
more traditional sense which focusses primarily on verbal and mathematical
abilities.  Does this imply overall superiority of one race over another?
Absolutely not!  Each intelligence is only a fraction of what constitutes
a human being, and, being a result of evolution or genetics, a person's
intelligence is nothing that is earned, nothing in which personal pride
should be taken.  What is more important is how one uses the gifts that
one possesses.

Is it wrong for Mensa and other groups to use admission criteria for which
certain races are at a disadvantage?  Mensa does not deny entry on the
basis of race; it brings together individuals who share common
characteristics, i.e., exceptional verbal and/or mathematical intelligence,
regardless of race.  If Blacks are, as has been shown in some studies,
a standard deviation less "intelligent" than Whites, I believe there
should be at least the percentage of Blacks qualified for Mensa as there
is of Whites qualified for ISPE.  Now consider this: are there any exclusive
groups which favor the bodily-kinesthetic intelligence in which Blacks have
an advantage?  Take a look at the composition of a typical professional
basketball team or a professional rap band.  Not only are these groups
primarily Black, but they also pay a lot more for enjoying and utilizing
these natural abilities than are Whites for, say, getting together to
discuss philosophy or physics.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rodney G. Adams
The opinions expressed above are not necessarily those of my employer.
As if you didn't already know that....
"There are two ways to slide easily through life: to believe everything
or to doubt everything; both ways save us from thinking.