Is discussing iq differences between nations taboo?

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Got to love it

The views of janissy are obvious and utter nonsense.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR6exO2nJDs&feature=related[/youtube]

if a nation spends resources on gathering information about differences in their population's IQ's, then why should it be taboo for them do discuss their findings with other nations?

nations should be able to discuss their findings with each other.

Y'know, that is pretty much verbatim what a 9/11 truther would generally say.


How are you defining "nation?" If you are referring to modern states, then it seems reasonable to claim that a wealthy, industrialized nation with a well-funded education system like Germany, France, or Japan would have a higher average IQ than an impoverished country with widespread malnutrition, no infrastructure, and little organized education like Somalia, Uganda, or Yemen. It does not follow from this that there is any significant difference in intelligence between Germans and Somalians. Environment plays a huge role.

If you're referring to racial differences, I highly doubt that there is any significant difference once you account for different environments, and even if there were I have already explained why I don't feel it would be productive to bother with it.

-IQ tests aren't a terribly good indicator of intellectual ability specifically across cultural boundaries
-there seems to be an implicit racist/eugenicist/national chauvinist line of thought in this
-so far as I can tell it won't actually tell us anything knew or useful: those nations which have a higher level of economic development (and an equivalent investment/expenditure in education etc) tend to have better educated populations. Trying to compare the intellectual ability of the first world nations with those of the second or third isn't the least bit scientific due to the immense gap in access to education (the populations of some african countries never learn how to tell the time, many are illiterate etc), massive economic and social problems etc etc. If you can't read how can you even take a test?

Its considered to be taboo but shouldn't be imho as nations should discuss these results so that they can identify problems and effectively provide better education and resources etc in order to raise IQ levels of the population. The reason it is considered a taboo subject is that many people are ignorant to what IQ tests are exactly and misinterpret the results as some kind of indicator of biological intellectual limits or superiority between different groups of people resulting in either offence or prejudice.

IQ cant and shouldn't be use to try and claim one group of people are smarter than an other, a good example of this is India various tests show that the average IQ in India is around 82-87 yet in Britain they score around 110 and do exceptionally well in terms of education and employment, IQ studies also show higher IQ's in the south of India which is further proof that common/popular theories of "racial" superiority are nothing more than simple minded tripe.

Many racist arguments fail to take into account things like social, psychological, poverty, resources, environment etc

Human Intelligence simply isn't pre-determined by any biological factors.

The smart fraction theory is quite interesting.