Race and Intelligence

I'd love to meet a biologist who spends time with "race" as a meaningful concept in any animal.
posted by mediareport at 3:26 PM on November 18

You see the term used quite often in botany. For example, A rapid method for distinguishing the tulip and daffodil races of Ditylenchus dipsaci (Kuehn).
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 4:24 PM on November 18, 2007

"If you want to know what race is, it is a social construct."

If race is a social construct, what accounts for the ability of forensic scientists to accurately identify the race of individuals by analyzing DNA evidence?
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 6:01 PM on November 18, 2007

"EB just got sent to the cornfield for talking like that."

Cornfield. Twilight Zone reference. Cool! And appropriate, too.
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 6:08 PM on November 18, 2007

"...social construct called race...."
posted by pyramid termite at 6:39 PM on November 18

Once again, if race is a social construct, what accounts for the ability of forensic scientists to accurately identify the race of individuals by analyzing DNA evidence?
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 6:46 PM on November 18, 2007

You've got to be joking. Physical attributes are the hallmarks of race. And physical attributes are genetically determined.
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 6:54 PM on November 18, 2007

KokuRyu, what's a gaijin?
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 6:58 PM on November 18, 2007

Touche, PeterMcDermott. However, if he's flying the frickin' plane, I want the hell off!
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 7:04 PM on November 18, 2007

" no, they are the elements that are used to create the construct we call race"
posted by pyramid termite at 7:02 PM on November 18

I'm recalling this from memory, but do you recall the serial rapist-killer in Louisiana some time ago, in the relatively recent past? The FBI's criminal profiler predicted that he'd be a white guy, since serial homicide is statistically a white thing. But there was DNA evidence left behind from one of the crime scene,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 7:19 PM on November 18, 2007

No, PT. Blackness accurately described this sonofabitch, as any three-year-old can see.
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 7:44 PM on November 18, 2007

I wondered how long it would take cousincozen to get here.
posted by robcorr at 7:33 PM on November 18

??
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 7:46 PM on November 18, 2007

"Good. Let's stop talking about how stupid black people are while you let us know how the child raping has been working out for you. Curious minds want to know!"
posted by cytherea at 7:46 PM on November 18

Holy crap, cytherea! Do you want to get wished to the cornfield!
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 7:53 PM on November 18, 2007

"all you have to show me is a photograph"

Yes, it's what the cops used.
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 8:02 PM on November 18, 2007

"The folks who insist on the term have an obligation to explain why biologists should treat human categorization differently than that used for non-human animals. I'd love to hear a good explanation for that."
posted by mediareport at 7:54 PM on November 18

Well, the well-publicized destruction of the co-discoverer of the double-helix and renowned Nobel laureate might serve as very effective object lesson.
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 8:10 PM on November 18, 2007

robcorr: Actually, it was two. But who's counting?
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 8:19 PM on November 18, 2007

"That doesn't change the fact that the categorization is done by society, not 'nature'."
posted by delmoi at 7:38 PM on November 18

Well, I guess air is a social construct, too. Correct? The constituent gases may very well vary from place to place. So what's really meant by "air"?

I'd never really thought about it in that way before.

BTW, though...did you realize that you ended that last... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 8:39 PM on November 18, 2007

"I guess I should be thankful the other one was deleted before I saw it, but on the other hand, I'm glad I know about it."
posted by robcorr at 8:33 PM on November 18

Here you go, robcorr. Enjoy.
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 8:53 PM on November 18, 2007

robcorr: Living in Australia, what's it to you?
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 9:08 PM on November 18, 2007

Of what? The perils of credentialism? That well-known scientists can be wrong about something? Wow, that's a newsflash. You're avoiding the question, Alan, which isn't surprising, since you don't have a good answer. The least you can do is admit it's an interesting point worth exploring further.
posted by mediareport at 9:01 PM on November 18

Of what? Of making damned sure one toes the party line. To me, the Watson thing was a career assassination, a hit... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 9:35 PM on November 18, 2007

"...when you say something like 'anyone who's ever had blacks working for them knows what I'm talking about' you've pretty much assassinated yourself, nobel laureate or not."
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 9:39 PM on November 18

As I remember seeing Bush's former spokeshole, Ari Fleischer, say during a press briefing, as he looked around the room menacingly, Watch what you say.
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 10:00 PM on November 18, 2007

"Um, 'race' doesn't represent anything in animals."
posted by mediareport at 10:13 PM on November 18

In a taxonomic sense, it does. Goodnight.
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 10:23 PM on November 18, 2007

"I've been asking for an example for hours now; no one's come up with one."
posted by mediareport at 10:33 PM on November 18

Well, as a teaser...dogs, cats, cattle, swine, fowl all are represented by varieties/races. I've gotta crash, though. In the mean time, here's something for you to peruse, to demonstrate just how nutty (and pervasive) race touchiness is.
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 10:48 PM on November 18, 2007

The achievement gap is "absolutely, positively not genetic."
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 7:26 AM on November 19, 2007

But a twenty-one-gun salute in his head stopped that.
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 7:50 AM on November 19, 2007

I think we should end this thread with a recent commentary by mathematician and author, John Derbyshire, which I believe offers an explanation for the predominant muddled thinking demonstrated by many here. In my opinion, it's more akin to a fashion thing than anything else, and it's not something that's come into existence unaided. But, as Groucho Marx said: "Who are you going to believe? Me, or your lying eyes?... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 10:06 AM on November 21, 2007

I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.

:)
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 10:25 AM on November 21, 2007

racist postcards and white privilege

"That's the only reason anyone cares about skin color; it's a mark of economic/social class and culture. If we were all the same color, you'd still find the exact same behaviors..."

"...race has a huge impact on opportunity in the United States."

This morning I read a commentary that presented what I'm sure is considered a rather heterodox view on the apparently intractable black-white disparities. Since it's evidently... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 4:39 PM on November 14, 2007

"Is that...is that supposed to be some kind of rationalization for white privilege?"

No, it's supposed to be at least an insinuation that the concept of "white privilege" is horseshit.

"So maybe could be might be that's why they don't want to 'wait a week'...."

Which can be described as "high time preference," which was the basis of the recent silly brouhaha in Seattle instigated by... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 9:02 AM on November 15, 2007

"What, exactly is your point, posting the above text?"

I'll tell you, if you give me a dollar.
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 9:49 AM on November 15, 2007

I apologize for that, James. That was crappy of me.

I wanted to provide a different perspective on the, what I consider, specious concept of "white privilege."
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 10:02 AM on November 15, 2007

I'll get right on that, OmieWise. And thanks:)
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 10:11 AM on November 15, 2007

Treasury: Income Mobility Substantial. Pew: But Not Enough.

"The central tenet of free trade is "comparative advantage," or the idea that business goes to whomever does it most cheaply. But one thing I don't hear any reassurances on is exactly what the United States has a comparative advantage in producing."

It could be that what is currently being referred to as "free trade" doesn't meet the original definition. At a Brookings Institute symposium in 2004, Paul Craig Roberts offered an interesting... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 8:28 AM on November 14, 2007

" 7. Last God I hate rich people..... screwing the world up so they can make a buck!"

I don't know. When I meet a really wealthy individual and size them up, more often than not, I sorta feel like an idiot, like, what's my pathetic little malfunction. I could be wealthy like them.
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 9:16 AM on November 14, 2007

(replace that period with a question mark)
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 9:18 AM on November 14, 2007

"Yeah, that’s one of those cultural things impressed upon you especially in the U.S."

Actually, it's more that often times they don't seem that exceptional. At all. Just lots and lots more driven. And it's not that they're exceptionally remorseless and/or mercenary. Money and acquiring money is all they think about. I think most of the time, when people fail to become financially successful and secure, it's mostly their own fault. You and other commenters... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 7:40 AM on November 15, 2007

Orphaned baby owls find a plushy mom

"'We thought there was no way it could survive in the wild," the centre's manager, Philip Pain, said yesterday. 'It had no experience or training to allow it to hunt for itself; the bird had been hand-reared as a chick.'"

Well, I think that's a perfect example Ron Paul could use to advance individualism and attack collectivism. See, Kattullus, you can always find a way to inveigle.
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 5:12 AM on November 12, 2007

Law Professor–Constitution Requires Homeschoolers To Teach Children Liberal Pieties

"Never would've happened if she were a brunette."

Not so.
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 6:40 PM on November 7, 2007

Diversity counterproductive to "social capital?"

"My Commentary problem-- and ours..."

Clever.
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 6:10 AM on November 3, 2007

Oh, deer

"Does it make me an asshole to hate this guy?"
posted by floam at 1:47 PM on October 20

Answer: No. I stopped reading at "Since the fish weren't biting" part and didn't get to savor the "See you on opening day; payback time" bit. Look on the bright side, though. Maybe one of his buddies will accidentally shoot him on opening day.
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 9:43 AM on October 22, 2007

Yeah, right. And you're the one who fantasizes that hunters mete out "clean kills."

I think it was an apt observation made by an earlier commenter, that, for this latent psychopath and his buddies, flipping through the pix in reverse order made just as much sense.
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 9:28 PM on October 23, 2007

Smart Man With Foot, Head in Wrong Places

"I would like an example of one useful purpose that would be served by investigating which ethnic groups are on average more cognitively able than others. tkchrist, if certain individual deficits are fixable, then of course this is a valid field for research. But what do we gain be comparing average intelligence quotients across ethnic lines?"

posted by creasy boy at 11:27 AM on October 17

Low intelligence could be associated with criminality.
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 9:31 AM on October 18, 2007

Johnny Reb Among Us

I can't wait 'til the ragheads get their nu-que-ler chops together, and nuke a Northern city or two. Then I'll get to laugh my ass off. Again.
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 1:42 PM on October 5, 2007

Basically, yeah. Silly old world, huh?

But witticism? How do you mean??
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 1:49 PM on October 5, 2007

"Raggedy Ann and Andy got the bomb?!!"

I beg your pardon. I meant A-rabs.
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 1:58 PM on October 5, 2007

I'm not a troll, Florence.
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 2:05 PM on October 5, 2007

*crickets chirping*
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 5:45 PM on October 5, 2007

"...great evils would also befall us: starvation would occur..."

I think you're being overly pessimistic. I'd like to go on record right now and say that Yankees can always eat the peanuts outta my shit, and I'm sure my fellow Southerners feel the same way.
posted to MetaFilter by cousincozen at 5:44 AM on October 7, 2007

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