I'll let people read through the links, but I'd like to make a basic point: Charles Murray is a good researcher in finding and sorting data, but is lousy at forming conclusions from the data. I say this because, having been one of the few dozen people who actually read his co-authored book, The Bell Curve, I understood the difference between the data showing disparities in intelligence, and the conclusions reached, but the mainstream media saw it simply as a book that segregated races by intelligence.
Today, an article by Oliver James in the Guardian reflects on what role genes play in behavior (and mental diseases) and cites a 2000 quote from Charles Murray, who postulated that our genes were deterministic even to the point of wealth destiny (were we to be poor and stupid or wealthy and intelligent?). Of course, it turns out, genes play a very small role in determining behavior and mental illness.
And there it is: A good society is one where we bring everyone along with us, rather than allow the chips to fall where they may, and call it fate.
via BoingBoing
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