[Paleopsych] Re: joel

Premise Checker checker at panix.com
Sun Jul 25 17:09:16 UTC 2004


Richard Lynn merely (actually, it was hard work) assembled all the 
national IQ test scores he could find, and his book thoroughly goes into 
the problems with these sources. There was some controversy on the 
evolutionary-psychology Yahoo! group about estimates in the 70s for 
certain African countries and a surprisingly low estimate of 92 for 
Israel, but the studies he cited for other countries went pretty much 
unchallenged.

As far a men and women go, Jensen has weighed in with saying they are the 
same, but he did not go very deeply into the matter. IQ tests makers have 
been charged with rigging the tests so the results are the same (which 
charge Jensen is very well aware of). I don't know how much consensus 
there is on the matter.

Regarding eugenics, it's coming, not by being imposed from above by the 
government but by individual choices in embryo selection and technologies 
still in the works. Lots of anguish by bio-conservatives, but they are 
unlikely to stop so powerful a drive as to improve the lot of one's 
children.

I hope Lynn is a racist, and a sub-racist, too. Nothing would surprise me 
more than to learn that primate evolution went into reverse with the 
arrival of man. What characterizes primates is that they have brains too 
big for the physical environment alone. The excess brain matter is used to 
negotiate the *social* environment. It's called "evolution by social 
adaptation." And so also, there is feedback from the social environment to 
the genes. This is called "gene-culture co-evolution." I should think this 
co-evolution could only have increased with the arrival of man.

And this would mean that there is a fabulous diversity of psychological 
characteristics, as well as physical ones, the races and sub-races of man. 
I certainly hope so, since I am very much a pluralist and hope there are 
genetic as well as cultural barriers to the imposition of "democratic 
capitalism" by America down the throats of the rest of the world. I would 
rather have a plurality of approaches and not a universalist one.

Racism, and sub-racism, is going to be a major theme among the Left as the 
21st century rolls on. The reason is that the *major* Left-Right divide is 
coming to be pluralism vs. universalism, while at the end of the last 
century it was equality vs. inequality, and before that central planning 
vs. free market. (There are many other splits, such as secular vs. sacred, 
change vs. tradition, and self-expression vs. self-restraint, but I am 
speaking of the most basic divide.) The Left hates capitalism, not because 
it advocates central planning any more, but because it detests the 
universalizing forces of McDonalds and Disney.

Now that I am looking for it, I am seeing lots of signs of the Left 
quietly abandoning egalitarianism (the programs don't work), just as it 
earlier quietly abandoned central planning (they didn't work either), 
though now they are inclined to deny that they ever supported it.

Joel, you may label me a 21st century Leftist and a 20th century Rightist. 
Continue to look for odd alliances as that between Pat Buchanan and Ralph 
Nader. And observe the reaction to the war on Iraq by both 20th century 
Rightists and 20th century Leftists.

Is there a paleopsych theme here? I think there is, but I'll have to 
figure one out later.

On 2004-07-24, Joel Isaacson opined [message unchanged below]:

>
>> From: Premise Checker <checker at panix.com>
>> Reply-To: The new improved paleopsych list <paleopsych at paleopsych.org>
>> To: The new improved paleopsych list <paleopsych at paleopsych.org>
>> Subject: RE: [Paleopsych] 9/11 Report: Exectitve Summary
>> Date: Sat, 24 Jul 2004 21:58:41 -0400 (EDT)
>> 
>> The IQ data come from Richard Lynn's _IQ and the Wealth of Nations_. It's 
>> the most thorough assemblage of national IQ statistics ever made.
>
> Look, Frank, "Moslem nations" comprise hundreds upon hundreds
> of millions of people on this planet, perhaps close to a BILLION!
> Richard Lynn of Ulster, Ireland (a center of tolerance...)
> also says that women lag 4 IQ points behind men;  also has his own
> peculiar recipe for Eugenics.    By his own account, Richard Lynn
> does not have, as you state above, "the most thorough assemblage
> of national IQ statistics ever made."  what he has is "measures and
> estimates" -- whatever that means...  in his own words:  "We give
> measures and estimates of average IQs in the world's 185 nations..."
>
> [See his web site copied below for reference].   If you wish to
> buy into that garbage that's your privilege, of course...   but
> don't quote the 90 point IQ as fact -- it is not.
>
> You also mention the Israeli predicament in your other post.
> As a native of Israel I know a thing or two about conflicts
> with Moslems, and it wouldn't be hard for you to guess on
> whose side I weigh in...   but the last thing I can afford
> is to denigrate the IQ of Palestinians... this is not
> the issue with militant Palestinians, unfortunately...
>
> I repeat, take back the misguided (if not downright racist)
> "estimates" of Professor Lynn -- you ought to know better.
>
> -- Joel
>
>
> Richard Lynn
> Professor Emeritus,
> University of Ulster
> Research Interests:
> Intelligence
> Sex Differences
> Race Differences
> Eugenics
>
> Address:
> North Wing, Siston Court,
> Bristol BS16 9LU,  (UK)
> Tel 0117 303 9058.
> E-mail  Richard at RLynn.co.uk
>
>  I graduated in psychology at the University of Cambridge and have worked as 
> lecturer in psychology at the University of Exeter, professor of psychology 
> at the Economic and Social Research Institute, Dublin, and at the University 
> of Ulster.
>
>  Most of my work has been on intelligence. In 1983 I published a paper in 
> Nature showing that the IQ in Japan had increased over the course of the 
> previous half century, a phenomenon now known as the Flynn Effect following 
> the demonstration by Jim Flynn of secular increases in intelligence in number 
> of countries. In 1989 I proposed that the increases in intelligence have been 
> caused by improvements in nutrition. I have also published several papers 
> showing that intelligence is associated with brain size and reaction times.
>
>  My work on intelligence and brain size led me to consider the problem that 
> women have smaller brains than men even when allowance is made for their 
> smaller bodies. This implies that men should have higher average IQs than 
> women, but it has been universally asserted that men and women have equal 
> average IQs. In 1994 I proposed that the solution to this problem is that 
> girls mature faster than boys and this compensates for their lower IQs, which 
> only appear at the age of 16 onwards. Among adults men have higher average 
> IQs than women by about 4 IQ points. This advantage consists largely of 
> higher spatial abilities but is also present in non-verbal reasoning.
>
>  My major discovery is that the Oriental peoples of East Asia have higher 
> average intelligence by about 5 IQs points than Europeans and peoples of 
> European origin in the United States and elsewhere. I first published this 
> finding in 1977 in a paper on the intelligence of the Japanese. In subsequent 
> years the high Oriental IQ has been confirmed in numerous studies of Oriental 
> peoples in Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, China, Singapore and the United 
> States.
>
>  In 1991 I extended my work on race differences in intelligence to other 
> races. I concluded that the average IQ of blacks in sub-Saharan Africa is 
> approximately 70. It has long been known that the average IQ of blacks in the 
> United States is approximately 85. The explanation for the higher IQ of 
> American blacks is that they have about 25 per cent of Caucasian genes and a 
> better environment.
>
>  The theory I have advanced to explain these race differences in IQ is that 
> when early humans migrated from Africa into Eurasia they encountered the 
> difficulty of survival during cold winters. This problem was especially 
> severe during the ice ages. Plant foods were not available for much of the 
> year and survival required the hunting and dismembering of large animals for 
> food and the ability to make tools, weapons and clothing, to build shelters 
> and make fires. These problems required higher intelligence and exerted 
> selection pressure for enhanced intelligence, particularly on the Orientals.
>
>  My book Dygenics showed that the eugenicists were right in their belief 
> that modern populations have been deteriorating genetically in respect of 
> health, intelligence and the personality trait of conscientiousness. This 
> deterioration began in the second half of the 19th century and has continued 
> up to the present.
>
>  My book Eugenics considers what measures could be taken to rectify this and 
> discusses the genetic future of mankind. It is argued that genetic 
> improvement is likely to evolve spontaneously through the technique of embryo 
> selection in which women will use IVF to grow a number of embryos, have them 
> genetically assessed and will select for implantation those with genetically 
> desirable qualities. It is also likely that some authoritarian states will 
> use genetic engineering to improve the genetic quality of their populations 
> for military purposes.
>
>  My book IQ and the Wealth of Nations (co-author Tatu Vanhanen of the 
> University of Helsinki) considers the problem of national differences in 
> wealth and economic growth. Economists and other social scientists have been 
> trying to solve the problem of why some nations are so rich and others so 
> poor since Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations (1776). We argue that an 
> important but hitherto unrecognised factor is the IQs of the populations. We 
> give measures and estimates of average IQs in the world's 185 nations and 
> show that national IQs are strongly related to national incomes and rates of 
> economic growth. The principal reason for this is that nations whose 
> populations have high IQs can produce goods and services that command high 
> values in international markets. See below for more details of this argument 
> and on the IQs of every nation in the world.
>
>
> Publications
>
> The intelligence of the Japanese.
> Bulletin of the British Psychological Society,1977,30,69-72.
>
> IQ in Japan and the United States shows a growing disparity.
> Nature, 1983, 306, 291-2
>
> The role of nutrition in the secular increase of intelligence.
> Personality and Individual Differences, 1990, 11, 273-286.
>
> Race differences in intelligence: a global perspective. Mankind 
> Quarterly,1990,1,255-296.
>
> The evolution of racial differences in intelligence. Mankind 
> Quarterly,1990,32,99-121.
>
> The geography of intelligence. In H.Nyborg and J.Gray (Eds)
> The Scientific Study of Human Nature. New York: Elsevier,1997.
> Sets out evidence for race differences in intelligence worldwide. Concludes 
> that the average IQs of the races are Orientals 105; Europeans, 100; South 
> Asians, 90; Native American Indians, 90; Australian Aborigines, 90; 
> sub-Saharan Africans, 75.
>
> Sex differences in intelligence and brain size: a developmental theory.
> Intelligence,1999,27,1-12.
> Shows that men have higher average IQs than women by about 4 IQ points.
>
> Dysgenics: Genetic Deterioration in Modern Populations. Westport, CT: 
> Praeger,1996.
>
> Eugenics: A Reassessment. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2001
>
> IQ and the Wealth of Nations (Co-author Tatu Vanhanen, University of 
> Helsinki)
> Westport, CT: Praeger, 2002.
>
> Racial and ethnic differences in psychopathic personality.
> Personality and Individual Differences, 2002, 32, 273-316.
> Shows that psychopathic personality considered as a dimension of personality 
> is highest among blacks and Native Americans, next highest in Hispanics, 
> lower in whites and lowest in Orientals.
>
> (With P.Irwing and T.Cammock) Sex differences in general knowledge.
> Intelligence, 2002,30, 27-40.
> Examines sex differences in 19 areas of general knowledge and finds women 
> have more knowledge than men of medicine and cookery, while men have more 
> knowledge than women of politics, history, geography, sport, finance, and 
> science. Men have more general knowledge than women.
>
> Skin color and intelligence in African Americans.
> Population and Environment, 2002, 23, 365-375.
> Presents new evidence showing conclusively for the first time that lighter 
> skinned blacks have higher IQs than darker skinned blacks. This supports the 
> theory that the proportion of white ancestry is a determinant of the 
> intelligence of African Americans.
>
>
> All material © 2000, 2001,2002  R Lynn
>
>
>> On 2004-07-24, Joel Isaacson opined [message unchanged below]:
>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> From: Premise Checker <checker at panix.com>
>>>> Reply-To: The new improved paleopsych list <paleopsych at paleopsych.org>
>>>> To: paleopsych at paleopsych.org
>>>> Subject: [Paleopsych] 9/11 Report: Exectitve Summary
>>>> Date: Sat, 24 Jul 2004 18:54:16 -0400 (EDT)
>>>> 
>>>> Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the 
>>>> United States
>>>> http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/22/politics/22CND-EXEC-SUMM.html?hp=&pagewanted=all&position=
>>>> 
>>>> [Note under "Financing" that the attacks cost $400-500,000 and that 
>>>> the annual budget of Al Qaeda is estimated to be about $30 million. I 
>>>> say that any undergraduate engineering class in the United States 
>>>> could have pulled it off. My biggest fear is a virus that could take 
>>>> large numbers of computers out of service for a long time. (The 
>>>> Internet itself was happily designed to be routed around.) But this 
>>>> would require a level of cognitive ability way ahead of what Moslem 
>>>> nations, with an average IQ of about 90, could accomplish. The higher 
>>>> IQ nations are far more interested in trading with the U.S. than in 
>>>> destroying it.
>>> 
>>> Look, Premise Checker, it is downriight idiotic to pronounce an "average
>>> IQ of about 90" in Moslem nations.   Where do get your facts?
>>> Also, denigrating the smarts of the adversary is an act of singular
>>> stupidity, sepecially in this case.  Take it back and re-think
>>> the wisdom of your attitudes.    -- Joel
>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> [Relax, folks. Life will go on, even if 100,000 Americans are killed 
>>>> during another attack. 6,000 Americans die every day.]


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