I may be a little bit late to the party on this one, but in light of recent comments made by
Hillary Clinton, it somehow seems relevant. Last month there was some fervor in the press over some remarks made by
James Watson, a prominent biologist, stating that a persons race may be related to their level of intelligence particularly in the case of black Africans
1. The statement is controversial and has opened the door to a lot of discussion on the web and elsewhere. Some, like William Saletan in this controversial
Slate article, argue that IQ tests, and sequentially the racial gap that shows up in test results are infallible. Others have been quick to point out that the IQ standard is anything but infallible as noted in a
New Yorker book review. In fact, at least one study has shown that Blacks gained 4 to 7 points on Whites between 1972 and 2002; which seems like a very short time in terms of evolutionary catchup.
Personally. I think that IQ tests and the faith that is put into their results is a simplistic way of looking at a complex problem; what it means to be intelligent. To paraphrase an
Asimov anecdote, should the mechanic who can repair a motor be considered any less intelligent than the astrophysicist who cannot? I bet your typical farmer probably doesn't know a lot about web design, but as I proved to myself this last Summer I sure as hell don't know how to grow a tomato. It even brings to mind the cases of people with conditions like autism (like
Gilles Trehin) who are able to accomplish amazing feats. As Asimov stated in his anecdote, IQ test are arbitrary in that they are measure of intelligence decided by "a small subsection of [a] society [that] has managed to foist itself on the rest as an arbiter of such matters."
In any event, the statement that James Watson made, the Slate article, as well as Hillary's recent political gaffe, show that being considered intelligent doesn't exclude you from saying something dumb.
1. In a case of profound irony it has been discovered that Watson himself is 16% black African having a great-grandparent from sub-Saharan Africa.