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Race 'Science'

JAStewart

Graduate Poster
Joined
Nov 5, 2006
Messages
1,521
We all know this is bunk, a frankly awful, but

I'm writing an essay about racism and its links to fascism for my politics class. In this essay I also have to discuss the different definitions of Racism, one of which is 'scientific' racism. I have false 'research' by racists, but what I was needing was this...

I remember there was a report out that said races were 99% similar (white and black) and I want to use this to contradict the 'scientific'-racists' claim.

Does anyone know where I could find this? I've tried google but to no avail.

Cheers.
 
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If you want to look up the racist ideas which were prevalent around the world for the first half of the twentieth century and were considered "scientific" by most people, try googling "eugenics".
 
Yeah I've already written at length about the Nazi's eugenics policy. thanks for the link kev, i'll be sure to read.
 
I don't remember what he was referencing but I recall reading in Stephen Jay Gould's The Full House (I think) that if the entire human race died off except for one small community of Aborigines, we would still have something like 85% of our genetic diversity.

This is just from memory, so don't rely on it. Sorry I couldn't be more specific.
 
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For modern racism try the Bell Curve

This paper too:


doi:10.1016/j.intell.2007.07.004

Black–White differences on IQ and grades: The mediating role of elementary cognitive tasks

Bryan J. Pestaa, Corresponding Author Contact Information, E-mail The Corresponding Author and Peter J. Poznanskib, 1, E-mail The Corresponding Author
aDepartment of Management, BU 439, Cleveland State University, 2121 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44114, United States
bDepartment of Accounting, BU 529, Cleveland State University, 2121 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44115, United States
Received 4 June 2007; revised 21 July 2007; accepted 21 July 2007. Available online 23 August 2007.

Abstract

The relationship between IQ scores and elementary cognitive task (ECT) performance is well established, with variance on each largely reflecting the general factor of intelligence, or g. Also ubiquitous are Black–White mean differences on IQ and measures of academic success, like grade point average (GPA). Given C. Spearman's (Spearman, C. (1927). The Abilities of Man. New York: Macmillan) hypothesis that group differences vary directly with a test's g loading, we explored whether ECT performance could mediate Black–White IQ and GPA differences. Undergraduates (139 White and 40 Black) completed the Wonderlic Personnel Test, followed by inspection time and choice reaction time ECTs. Despite restriction of range, ECT performance completely mediated Black–White differences on IQ (d = .45). Group differences on GPA (d = .73), however, were larger and ECT performance did not mediate them. We discuss findings in light of Spearman's hypothesis.
 
We all know this is bunk, a frankly awful, but

I'm writing an essay about racism and its links to fascism for my politics class. In this essay I also have to discuss the different definitions of Racism, one of which is 'scientific' racism. I have false 'research' by racists, but what I was needing was this...

I remember there was a report out that said races were 99% similar (white and black) and I want to use this to contradict the 'scientific'-racists' claim.

Does anyone know where I could find this? I've tried google but to no avail.

Cheers.

Be careful - it has nothing to do with the degree of similarity. If you had a population of people who were 99% similar genetically, but within that 1% difference there were 3 alleles which could confer a distinct categorisation of phenotypes on which you based the term 'race', you could by definition say you had three races.

The problem is that across the full spectrum of humanity, there is no selection of genes which could distinctively match five distinct groups. People try to get around this by claiming that the 'in betweens', as such, are 'half races'. However the grouping is arbitrary and based more on our perceptions of apparent phenotypic distinctions such as facial structure and skin shade.

There are genetic variations and many do correlate with geographical locations. This is as close as we can get to describing 'race'. To take it further and create a limited number of categories based strictly on physiology has proven to be somewhat arbitrary when genetics is brought into it.

Athon
 
bpesta22; said:
This paper too:


doi:10.1016/j.intell.2007.07.004

Black–White differences on IQ and grades: The mediating role of elementary cognitive tasks

Bryan J. Pestaa, Corresponding Author Contact Information, E-mail The Corresponding Author and Peter J. Poznanskib, 1, E-mail The Corresponding Author
aDepartment of Management, BU 439, Cleveland State University, 2121 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44114, United States
bDepartment of Accounting, BU 529, Cleveland State University, 2121 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44115, United States
Received 4 June 2007; revised 21 July 2007; accepted 21 July 2007. Available online 23 August 2007.

Abstract

The relationship between IQ scores and elementary cognitive task (ECT) performance is well established, with variance on each largely reflecting the general factor of intelligence, or g. Also ubiquitous are Black–White mean differences on IQ and measures of academic success, like grade point average (GPA). Given C. Spearman's (Spearman, C. (1927). The Abilities of Man. New York: Macmillan) hypothesis that group differences vary directly with a test's g loading, we explored whether ECT performance could mediate Black–White IQ and GPA differences. Undergraduates (139 White and 40 Black) completed the Wonderlic Personnel Test, followed by inspection time and choice reaction time ECTs. Despite restriction of range, ECT performance completely mediated Black–White differences on IQ (d = .45). Group differences on GPA (d = .73), however, were larger and ECT performance did not mediate them. We discuss findings in light of Spearman's hypothesis.

The above is an excellent example of scientific racism.
 
Craig Venter commenting on the recent Watson "Africans" controversy said that Race is a social concept not a scientific one , make of that what you will.

-
 
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Don't expect to see one, Claus! Bpesta22 is not in the habit of answering requests: http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=3180607#post3180607
I tend to agree with ImaginalDisc above: http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=3193072#post3193072
That is just as disgusting as the things Helmuth Nyborg writes in Denmark. But I guess that most other IQ testers don't also require their test subjects, minors, to strip naked and have their photos taken!
(This was probably an ad hom - but true: http://jp.dk/meninger/kronik/article1003349.ece (only available in Danish, sorry!))
 
Races obviously exist just as breeds of dogs exist or sub-species exist in the terms of science.

It amazes me whenever someone decides to "prove" that races don't exist when the evidence that they do, is all about us. It also amazes me when one is instantly called a racist as soon as one simply mentions that races exist.
 
Races obviously exist just as breeds of dogs exist or sub-species exist in the terms of science.

It amazes me whenever someone decides to "prove" that races don't exist when the evidence that they do, is all about us.

DD, why do you insist on ignoring what has been said in order to reiterate the same tired old argument?

This has been covered over and over, and the same 'it's obvious - just look' argument is all that can be put forward in defence.

I'll again simplify it right down;

Yes, spectrums exist. Yes, we can make phenotypical categories which are based somewhat arbitrarily on major morphological differences. Yet genetically this spectrum is a continuum that offers nothing on which we can create a distinct 'race', especially for humans. Hence the categorisation is arbitrary and cannot be made on the basis of naturally occuring fields of genetic variation.

Athon
 
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DD, why do you insist on ignoring what has been said in order to reiterate the same tired old argument?

This has been covered over and over, and the same 'it's obvious - just look' argument is all that can be put forward in defence.

I'll again simplify it right down;

Yes, spectrums exist. Yes, we can make phenotypical categories which are based somewhat arbitrarily on major morphological differences. Yet genetically this spectrum is a continuum that offers nothing on which we can create a distinct 'race', especially for humans. Hence the categorisation is arbitrary and cannot be made on the basis of naturally occuring fields of genetic variation.

Athon
I'm not ignoring anything.

And the "it's obvious - just look" argument is still good, even according to science.

I think what you should first do is to look up the definition of race or sub-species as it is called in the world of science.

Were you aware that two sub-species don't need to have genetic differences at all in order to be called sub-species?
 
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