Charles Murray, IQ, and racism
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I recently read Charles Murray's book, The Bell Curve, and it didn't leave a great impression on me. He proposes that IQ is entirely genetic and can only be increased to its "genetic potential", and although I agree with many of his points, I find it difficult to believe that IQ is inherent and think that it's a matter of personal choice. If you want a high IQ, make it happen. Given that the brain is plastic and capable of being rewired, I just cannot agree that intelligence is entirely genetic and believe that we still have much to learn about the human mind. There's still much work to be done in intelligence research. Neuroscience is like any other kind of science; you don't stop searching for answers to the big questions. If you give up searching for answers and say that IQ is wholly genetic and there's nothing you can do about it, that I consider to be a weak attitude. It also gives racists (White Supremacists, The KKK, The Alt-Right, etc.) an excuse to be racists. There's also the problem of culture, especially in the United States, where anti-intellectualism has become increasingly popular. Not only do we need to put more money into intelligence research, we also need to start a revolution and completely burn down the education system as it currently stands. This is a call to action. You guys on board with me?
Cubronzo wrote:
I recently read Charles Murray's book, The Bell Curve, and it didn't leave a great impression on me. He proposes that IQ is entirely genetic and can only be increased to its "genetic potential", and although I agree with many of his points, I find it difficult to believe that IQ is inherent and think that it's a matter of personal choice. If you want a high IQ, make it happen. Given that the brain is plastic and capable of being rewired, I just cannot agree that intelligence is entirely genetic and believe that we still have much to learn about the human mind. There's still much work to be done in intelligence research. Neuroscience is like any other kind of science; you don't stop searching for answers to the big questions. If you give up searching for answers and say that IQ is wholly genetic and there's nothing you can do about it, that I consider to be a weak attitude. It also gives racists (White Supremacists, The KKK, The Alt-Right, etc.) an excuse to be racists. There's also the problem of culture, especially in the United States, where anti-intellectualism has become increasingly popular. Not only do we need to put more money into intelligence research, we also need to start a revolution and completely burn down the education system as it currently stands. This is a call to action. You guys on board with me?
In the 24 years since the book came out, surely you have more than "if you want high intelligence, make it happen."
And then you go completely off the rails with the "burn down the education system" nonsense.
Is that your solution? Anarchy?
/ In before the lock.
notmtwain wrote:
It's actually well known that the brain rewires itself, and harnessing this power does produce results. The question is more or less about how we define intelligence. There's also the problem with our education system, which doesn't take into account the differences between how different people learn. When I say "burn down the school system" I meant that metaphorically. I think parents should stop funding public education and get their kids out of school as quickly as possible. I don't propose anarchy. I think that's absurd.
Cubronzo wrote:
I recently read Charles Murray's book, The Bell Curve, and it didn't leave a great impression on me. He proposes that IQ is entirely genetic and can only be increased to its "genetic potential", and although I agree with many of his points, I find it difficult to believe that IQ is inherent and think that it's a matter of personal choice. If you want a high IQ, make it happen. Given that the brain is plastic and capable of being rewired, I just cannot agree that intelligence is entirely genetic and believe that we still have much to learn about the human mind. There's still much work to be done in intelligence research. Neuroscience is like any other kind of science; you don't stop searching for answers to the big questions. If you give up searching for answers and say that IQ is wholly genetic and there's nothing you can do about it, that I consider to be a weak attitude. It also gives racists (White Supremacists, The KKK, The Alt-Right, etc.) an excuse to be racists. There's also the problem of culture, especially in the United States, where anti-intellectualism has become increasingly popular. Not only do we need to put more money into intelligence research, we also need to start a revolution and completely burn down the education system as it currently stands. This is a call to action. You guys on board with me?
In the 24 years since the book came out, surely you have more than "if you want high intelligence, make it happen."
And then you go completely off the rails with the "burn down the education system" nonsense.
Is that your solution? Anarchy?
/ In before the lock.
