James Watson... do I need to say more?

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Here is the article posted in CNN:

Critical thinking exercise: Did James Watson say that black people aren't as smart as white people? Think carefully about the question. Here's his quote: "all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours -- whereas all the testing says not really." Did he says that black people aren't as smart as white people, OR, did he say that "all the testing says not really"? As a scientist, he's referring to test results, not to his personal opinion. Whichever test results he's indicating here, he's only to blame if the test results he's referring to don't show what he claims they show.

The question is: Is he reporting accurately on the results of these tests? A follow-up question would be: Does believing a test result make him a racist? As a scientist, wouldn't his natural inclination be to believe test results? Again, I don't know to which tests he's referring. This is simply an exercise in logic.

Hate is necessary for racism to exist in a person. He shows no ill will, just an opinion based on data. Whether that opinion is correct or misguided is a question into which hate does not enter. In other words, if he's wrong, then fine. That doesn't make him a racist, just mistaken.

There's going to be someone in this thread who doesn't understand the difference between hate and inaccuracy, and that's why I've explained it ahead of time -- even though that person will probably come along and call me a racist too.

Hypothetically, what if blacks weren't -- on average -- as smart as whites? What would be the big deal about that? And what if white men really can't jump, as the basketball movie of the same title supposes? Why would such be at all political? "Smarter" does not mean "better". Again, hate is the "active ingredient" in racism. If you don't have hate, you're not a racist. You may be mistaken in some of your beliefs about race, but being mistaken doesn't make you bad, just temporarily ignorant. We all have ignorance of something.

If you were to find the average IQ's of different nations, there is a noticeable difference. What Dr Watson has missed is that IQ tests are dependent on culture, you could also write a test that black people do better on than white people. He is a muppet and a racist, but I dont think he should have been censured like that.

The issue of intelligence related to race is an eternally thorny one, as it's so emotive, especially if things are said offhand and unscientifically.

Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the pair of people credited with discovering the double helix more or less plagiarize it off a peer?

I think its all a publicity stunt... the intellectual equivalent of pasis hilton waving her snatch in front of the papparazzi...

Ragtime, you're not really clear and you seem to be mixing the two points of contention. I won't argue the "test results" because frankly, I don't believe that IQ tests are not culturally biased to begin with. That is, even if there is a disparity among "races" in regards to IQ testing, I don't find it evidence of anything. But if he wants to cite IQ disparity among the "races" then that's his deal.
His complaint about black employees is different. That is purely subjective and based on prejudiced values. He is attaching a (negative) personal opinion onto a research topic.

And why is complaining about this guy somehow a threat to free speech? Was this guy thrown in jail? Put in house arrest? No, a committee decided that they didn't want him to represent their function.
Having an opinion is normal. But people also have a right to hold you accountable for it if it denigrates someone.
BTW, Scott Joplin and I share a birthday, different year though.

Why do you keep coming back with the Thought Police/Free Speech stuff?

Prejudice is self-explanatory, it's judging people based on assumed generalizations. He's tying his personal opinion (that has no scientific or rational basis) to his research background. Because of his celebrity status in the science world, his opinion (which denigrates another race) has more weight to it. It's not more complicated than that. The committee understandably doesn't want to be responsible for this guy if he starts "lecturing" on something so bogus and inflamatory.

Your "friend" isn't racist for stating his history but would be if he based his future hiring practices on that history. I make no qualms about having prejudiced ideas and behaviors either. It's a human trait we all share.

Having been raised in a very White corner of the world, I have noticed that people seem to magnify their experience with people of different ethnicity. The town could have 100,000 people with 95% of them white but when they see a Black man or an Asian family they notice right away and will remember everything they did, good or bad. The White employer might have had more white employees that were dishonest but he doesn't think about it because he isn't "looking" at them.

Okay, you're reading way too much into my writing style, while taking some things personally.

Of course I can your friend a racist if he is using race to disqualify job applicants. He is the one using race as the determining factor.

There is no contradiction in my statement about Black culture. Being Black, African-American or whatever your preferred choice of label, does not mean you're part of any Black culture. Just like being Indian doesn't mean I'm part of Indian culture, or having Mexican ancestors means you're part of Hispanic culture.

don't edit your post to change your question. It makes it confusing.