outstanding article on intelligence
A fascinating, fascinating, fascinating article on intelligence by Charles Murray (yes, that Charles Murray).
Slight editing done below to remove the targets for PC flamage, and allow folks to cocentrate on the underlying experiment, which is as tres cool:
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/produc……The [ population-1 vs. population-2 ] difference in [ memorizing, then reversing a string of digits ] is about twice as large as the difference in [ just repeating a list of digits ]. It is a clean example of an effect that resists cultural explanation. It cannot be explained by differential educational attainment, income, or any other socioeconomic factor. Parenting style is irrelevant. Reluctance to [ achieve ] is irrelevant. Motivation is irrelevant. There is no way that any of these variables could systematically encourage [ population-1 ] performance in digits-forward while depressing it in digits-backward in the same test at the same time with the same examiner in the same setting…
Like the highly IQ / g – correlated see-the-light-hit-the-button reaction-speed test, I find it utterly fascinating that a very broad amorphous social concept like “intelligence” turns out to be so highly tied in to much simpler capabilities.
August 27th, 2005 at 8:18 am Quote
Perhaps those with a higher IQ happen to also be clustered in jobs that require them to actually use an manipulate numbers daily, which exercises the neurons responsible for said manipulation?
I’m not sure I agree with the long list of claims of irrelevance.
– J
August 30th, 2005 at 9:32 pm Quote
The Inequality Taboo
If you don’t know who Charles Murray is, the author of Losing Ground, The Bell Curve and (more recently) Human Accomplishment, it’s your own business. But if you don’t read his last essay published on Commentary, you’re just nuts. Analysis, comment…
August 31st, 2005 at 4:29 am Quote
Hello “The Right Nation”. Thanks for dropping by, but (a) your post doesn’t refer to anything said in THIS blog; (b) your comment here is just an excerpt of the blog post at your blog that you link to; (c) your blog post is chock-full-o’-links.
Good luck in your slightly crazed google-bombing attempt.