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.

[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!