The science of bigotry: how only dead white males did it all

The Australian ^ | February 04, 2004 | EMMA TOM

[presidio9]

AMERICAN academic Charles Murray is a real trooper. It doesn't matter how many people call him a racist, Nazi-esque brain-weigher.

He keeps churning out books that aren't afraid to call a spade a spade and a nigger a nigger.

Oh, I'm sorry. Did I just say nigger? How scientifically incorrect of me. What I meant to say was "biologically inferior".

This was the thesis of The Bell Curve, which was co-written by Murray in 1994. In it he scientifically "proved" that African Americans were dumber than whites or Asians for genetic reasons.

So what if the IQ testing he used to measure intrinsic intelligence included questions on trigonometry? Knowing about computational geometry is something you're either born with or you aren't. It has absolutely nothing to do with your level of education. In fact the word on the street is that Murray's first words as a little white infant were "cosine ratio".

Back in 1984, meanwhile, the academic shock jock caused a similar outcry with Losing Ground, in which he argued that the US government should abolish social security payments to poor adults because it encouraged intellectually inferior single mothers to reproduce.

Welfare schmelfare. Let them eat crack.

Chuck's new book, catchily entitled Human Accomplishment: The Pursuit of Excellence in the Arts and Sciences, 800BC to 1950, unites his low opinion of women and non-whites into a single mighty raspberry.

In it, he proves – once again completely scientifically – that the only people to have ever achieved anything of significant artistic and scientific worth are dead white males.

While it's a bold (and no doubt unit moving) thesis, critics who have accused Murray of repeatedly parading ugly old prejudices in pseudo-scientific drag will have a field day with this one. Human Accomplishment relies on a geriatric 19th century statistical method known as historiometry, which involves counting words in reference books to see who gets the most mentions.

As a result, 97 per cent of Murray's Top 4002 are male Europeans and North Americans.

What he refuses to acknowledge is that history tends to be written by the victors: as long as deadish white males rule the world, their lives will be over-recorded at the expense of their underlings.

An SBS documentary on the clitoris that screened last Friday night offered a fascinating insight into the political exclusion of the clitoris from medical and scientific manuals right up until 1948 when it was excised from Gray's Anatomy, the surgeon's bible.

Anyone for a textual clitorectomy? Given our combined interest in competitive events and extreme prejudice, it's not surprising people are pitting genders and races against each other in order to make a quick buck.

But even the tackiest reality TV programs offer a level-ish playing field. In Bumfights, for instance, desperate hobos are only filmed fighting other desperate hobos.

Murray, however, doesn't care that some sectors of society might have had trouble curing diseases, inventing polyphonic music or writing Macbeth because they weren't allowed out of their kitchens or their leg-irons.

White men are the winners, he trumpets, followed closely by a cackled "na na na na na naa".

It's telling that his survey stops at 1950 – just before feminism and civil rights gave non-dead, white males more room to flex their scientific and creative muscle.

Also intriguing is the notion that coverage automatically equals accomplishment.

While coverage might mean you are genuinely accomplished, it could also mean you have a good spin merchant, own the publishing company or happen to be Kylie Minogue's bum. As Iraq's gigantic stockpile of WMD shows, column inches are not necessarily the best indicator of substance.

Now, if you will excuse me, I'm off to use historiometry to prove that Charles Murray doesn't exist. I'm only going to use resource material written by Pakistani separatist lesbians, but I will make sure they're all familiar with the sine rule.

[mikeb704]

Appears Mr. Murray really hit a nerve. Facts are such stubborn things.

Michael M. Bates: My Side of the Swamp

[Gefreiter]

Er...what?

[BadAndy]

Murry's book merely confirms the obvious, and that just bugs the he|| out the multicultural nitwits.

[Mears]

Wow,Emma is one angry lady isn't she.

[biblewonk]

Is Jesus considered white?

[Mr. Jeeves]

This columnist lacks the intellectual background to critique Charles Murray's work in any valid way, so instead she caricatures it then demonizes the caricature.

The result is an article that is about a subject of her own invention, rather than anything Murray said.

[presidio9]

I have asked you more than once not to ping me into your little theological nursery-school games. A good Christian honors the request of his fellow man.

[Abcdefg]

I don't know, but Tiger Woods is considered Black.

[WinOne4TheGipper]

I'll admit I have never heard of Charles Murray. Does anyone have a link to a website about him?

[steplock]

I LUV IT when these idiots leave us with their email address!


Sent: Friday, February 06, 2004 3:38 PM
To: etom@bigpond.com
Subject: The science of bigotry: how only dead white males did it all


Well...now that we have your "opinion" ... do YOU offer any facts to discredit "The Bell Curve" or Charles Murray ?

I thought not. Leftists radicals need not worry about the truth when lenin, marx and mao offer all you need.




Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom of Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretence, raised in the United States.

-- Noah Webster

[biblewonk]

And you think I remember you?

[Slings and Arrows]

I think Maureen Dowd is moonlighting under a pen name.

[ClearCase_guy]

Maybe Ann Coulter should write a book about how the Left doesn't really argue anything, and doesn't really rely on facts, but just hurls insults instead. Oh ... that's write ... Ann already wrote that book.

[presidio9]

If you don't, you must be on drugs. We have gone back and forth for hundreds of posts (hint: are you sssstill into ssssnake handling?).


Now begone, and go bug someone with more free time than sense.

[biblewonk]

I just don't remember unimportant things.

[BIGZ]

Afirmative Action in action, I rest my case.

[Fredy]

Is Jesus considered white?

Absolutely NOT. More likely that he was ( is ) dark skin and dark hair. On early ikons from Orthodox Church he is almost black.

[Owl_Eagle]

Emma, I understand that The Bell Curve is a rather long, droll book, packed with unpleasant facts and research that is extremely depressing, so I can understand why you obviously didn't read it.

 

But rather than claim that Murray is a racist, maybe you should just shut your ignorant pie hole.

Owl_Eagle

”Guns Before Butter.”

[RebelBanker]

Excellent post! I wish I could have responded to that drivel as calmly and devastatingly.

My immediate response was more like, "Bulls**t!"

[reelfoot]

Charles Murray BUMP.

[Southack]

Not that you could discern it from the above screed that pretends to masquerade as a news "column," but what Murray did in first the Bell Curve and later in Human Accomplishment was rather clever and decidedly scientific: he proved that factors in your environment affect your intellectual output.

For instance, a society that offers both free will and unoppressive political conditions to its citizens tends to invent more than do societies that are more rigidly controlled. Thus, one fully expects to see the U.S. invent more than North Korea.

But Murray's scientific approach flies in the face of todays politically correct "mutli-cultural" crowd, a crowd that pretends that every culture on this planet is just as advanced and "equal" as every other.

So these politically correct ideologues feel compelled to attack Murray, especially when he does touch on race and other hot-button PC issues. When Murray points out that as a race, Whites have more stupid people than any other, *that* point is overlooked. On the other hand, when Murray points out that as a race, that White people have had more recognized geniuses in the past than any other race, *that* claim gets trumpeted as if it had been said in a vacuum.

However, any non-ideologue who reads Murray's works with an open mind will recognize that Murray is simply stating that White people have a greater *variation* in IQ than any other race. They have more stupid people, yes, but also more geniuses.

And so long as Murray's *data* bears out that point, then what he is saying is far from racist: it's scientific.

That fact, of course, brings up the obvious deficiency in the above-mentioned article for this thread: the author attacks Murray personally, but doesn't refute *any* of Murray's extensive data.

And if Murray's *data* is correct, then his points are on firm intellectual ground.

[presidio9]

This is important:

I think you are disturbed. I have no interest in discussing theology with you. This means a lot to me, so I'd appreciate it if you could kepp that in mind in the future. Thanks.

[shrinkermd]

"This columnist lacks the intellectual background to critique Charles Murray's work in any valid way, so instead she caricatures it then demonizes the caricature. The result is an article that is about a subject of her own invention, rather than anything Murray said

Very true. His bookHuman Accomplishments is a factual, statistical study and not a racist polemic. The Bell Curve by Murray and Herrnstein was the "stealth book" of the 90's. This book reviewed the psychological literature of the last 100 years. Nothing in the book was at variance with the literature. Indeed, 300 prominent academic psychologists wrote a supportive opinion of this book in the WSJ after comments accusing Murray and Herrnstein of racism.

The whole problem with liberals is they want equality of outcome rather than just equality of opportunity. In order to continue their mistaken convictions they must deconstruct actual data with a host of ad hominem attacks. They are beneath intellectual contempt.

[Xenalyte]

Emma's mad because nobody ever discovered her clitoris.

I understand this guy knows where to look.

[NutCrackerBoy]

It doesn't matter how many people call him a racist, Nazi-esque brain-weigher. -Emma Tom

That's correct. Hurling insults will not stop those who seek truth. If Charles Murray is wrong, show why he is wrong thoughtfully.

Charles Murray does a lot right. He delves into what goes into success. Left-wing sociologists tend not to care about that.

[Xenalyte]

I think you are disturbed. I have no interest in discussing theology with you. This means a lot to me, so I'd appreciate it if you could kepp that in mind in the future. Thanks.

Can I still hassle you? Can I? Can I? Huh? Huh? What about now? Does this bug you? What about this? Huh? Huh? Can I? Styrofoam peanuts!

[Cogadh na Sith]

Heck, I can find it blindfolded.

[ArrogantBustard]

Yes.


QED

[cyborg]

A reasoned refutation by Stephen Jay Gould.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0393314251/103-6225341-3519825?v=glance

Just being smarter than libs is good enough for me.

[newgeezer]

For some reason, I get the impression writer Emma isn't one to sit silently with her head covered in church.

[biblewonk]

What?

[presidio9]

Depends on what you are willing to do with those peanuts.


Biblewonk is certifiable. I have no patience for him.

[dwd1]

Nice stuff. The only problem with this is that one could have to conclude a few things.... If all the good things are done by white men, then they are all responsible for the bad things too.

Hard to take the good with the bad....

The article is worthy of Aryan Nation Proponents

I wonder how the Chinese will feel about not getting credit for gunpowder, silk, and paper...

I wonder how Egyptians will feel about not getting credit for their contributions to Mathematics and Physics...

Of course, I could see where a misunderstanding about Egyptians could take place... Don't think I have ever seen anyone the likes of Halle Berry portray Cleopatra....

This world we live in is a amalgamation of many people from all parts of the world...

I am sure that Matthew Henson, Charles Drew, and many others may be a little displeased that their contributions are considered insignificant...

I am also sure that the survival and agricultural techniques of the Indians came in handy to the pilgrims...

Bill Pickett would also feel bad as he probably doesn't get mentioned at the rodeos very much....

Day of the rope stuff...

[tiamat]

Xenalyte wrote:

Can I still hassle you? Can I? Can I? Huh? Huh? What about now? Does this bug you? What about this? Huh? Huh? Can I? Styrofoam peanuts!

LOL! You sound like my kid!

[tbird5]

I have both books and they're great. Now my daughter is reading The Bell Curve.

[altura]

But what about Michael Jackson?

[WinOne4TheGipper]

Thank you for that thoughtful synopsis.

[Hegewisch Dupa]

HA-HA!

[altura]

Four words:
Jesse
Jackson
Al
Sharpton

[ArrogantBustard]

You sure you'd want to?

[ZULU]

The author of this book would have better read "Guns, Germs and Steel" before issuing the critique.

The fact of the matte is there are geographic and biological reasons why Europe was able to advance beyond other cultures and these advacnes were not due in any respect to race.

Take a white "tribe" and transplant them into Subsaharan Africa around 2000 B.C., or a black "tribe" and transplant them into western Europe at the same time, and the geography, climiate and biology of the area would result in the black tribe behaving like whites and the white tribe behaving like subsaharan Africans.

Either blacks, whites and orientals are the same species or they are not. That they can and do interbreed to produce viable offspring indicates they are the same species. Ergo, their mental and phsyical capabilities, within societal and historical circumscribed limits are identical.

Are American blacks better athletes than American whites on the average? Yes. Why? The conditions of slavery, the Middle Passage and selection of slaves themselves were factors conducive to the survivla of physically stronger individuals.

Do American Whites on the average, perform better than American blacks on many performance tests? Yes they do. Why? The average American white and the average American black come from different cultural backgrounds. In most white societies, education and learning are valued skills. In many black environments in America they are not, and the average black kid is not exposed to the same educational opportunities as white kids.

Take a young white kid, move him into such an environment, and he'll preform like a black kid from such an environment, and vice-versa.

HOWEVER. these stereotypic behaviors are changing in America - QUICKLY. More blacks are rising through the cirporate and social ladders and these individuals are indistinguishable, in performance from their white colleagues.

An "iintelligence" test is a tricky thing.

[newgeezer]

I just don't remember unimportant things.

The way you can remember obscure lines from movies you haven't seen for decades says a lot about how unimportant this thing is to you. ;O)

[WOSG]

"This columnist lacks the intellectual background to critique Charles Murray's work in any valid way, so instead she caricatures it then demonizes the caricature.
The result is an article that is about a subject of her own invention, rather than anything Murray said."

Dittos, well said.

[presidio9]

Four Words:
Thomas
Sowell
Clarence
Thomas

Technically three words, but you get the idea...

[tbird5]

Yes more blacks are rising through the corporate and social ladders but I don't see the same rise with white athletes. Maybe there should be affirmative action is sports, then you'd see more whites.

[Abcdefg]

But what about Michael Jackson?

I'm not even sure of the gender of that critter.

[WOSG]

Actually the Gould book is *not* a refutation of modern IQ science. He ignores a lot of modern understanding and uses a shabby argument about early discredited attempts to measure intelligence as his cudgel against more modern scientific studies.

This is like discrediting Einstein's theory of relativity because his mentor Ernst Mach had wacky views on reality.

[cyborg]

http://www.audiblox2000.com/dyslexia_dyslexic/dyslexia014.htm

I don't think Binet intended the IQ test to be used in this fashion, much like the makers of RU 486 didn't intend it to be an abortion pill.