| Racial differences? | Psychometric studies discussed in books like "The
Bell Curve" and "The G-Factor" have demonstrated ten
percent differences in specific measures of "intelligence" among
the different ethnicities. Highly controversial and "politically
incorrect" conclusions raise serious questions about racial
differences in the ways our brains work. Critics maintain cultural
differences may be responsible for the bulk of observed differences and that
current testing methodologies are "unfair" to ethnic groups which score
below the mean.
That there are differences among the races is not in question, nor is the social and psychological destructiveness of unfavorable comparisons. However, it seems likely to me that because every aspect of a human being's capability and behavior is significantly moderated by his genetic heritage, there are likely to be strong similarities among individuals born from the same gene pool. So, I wonder. Is it possible that I might be able to detect patterns characteristic of African populations that are clearly different from the predominantly Northern European white populations which I have intimate familiarity? |