<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent treatise on nature vs. nurture
Review:
Frank Miele (the author) acts as a "devil's advocate" in this book, as he interviews psychologist Arthur R. Jensen, who is a well-known geneticist. Miele says, in his preface,
"In this book, I skeptically cross-examine Arthur R. Jensen on Jensenism' how and why he believes the scientific evidence is even stronger today that:
"'IQ is real, biological, and highly genetic, and not just some statistic or the result of educational, social, economic, or cultural factors:
"race is a biological reality, not a social construct; and, most controversially of all,
"the cause of the 15-point average IQ difference between Blacks and Whites in the United States is partly genetic.'"
Jensen went from being a highly respected but little-known educational psychologist and professor at the University of California, Berkeley, until he was solicited, in 1969, to write a 123-page article for the prestigious Harvard Educational Review which began with the opening sentence, "Compensatory education has been tried and it apparently has failed." With that article he became a highly controversial figure because of his contention, which runs counter to the institutionalized politically correct view among social scientists, that heredity is of more importance than environmental factors in determining human intelligence.
Jensen, no racist by any stretch of the imagination, demonstrates throughout this book "the interviews which were conducted through e-mail" mainly through statistical analysis and other valid research methodology, the care with which he had arrived at his tentative conclusions.
As with The Bell Curve, by Herrnstein and Murray, The Blank Slate, by Steven Pinker, and Race Evolution and Behavior, by J. Philippe Rushton, all scholarly, well-researched books on similar subject matter, the advocates of the more politically correct view that the races may differ in virtually every other respect except intellectually, are attacking the message by attempting to kill the messenger.
The interviews that comprise this book are just short of hostile to Dr. Jensen in their tone, never granting agreement or accord, and with every answer, no matter how persuasive, the author merely changes the direction of attack. In fact, in the beginning, he announces his skepticism.
But, Dr. Jensen more than holds his own. The e-mail interview method seems to be a good one, since obviously both parties are enabled to be precise in their quotes and double-check everything before sending the question or answer.
We are given little information about the author, Frank Miele, except that he is a senior editor of Skeptic magazine, that his articles have appeared on "many web-pages," and that he lives in Sunnyvale, California, with his Great Dane dog, Payce. However, his questions of Dr. Jensen seem relevant and well-researched. The book is important, however, only because of Dr. Jensen's answers, which are invariably direct, careful, and backed up with very persuasive data and statistics. It is a veritable education in statistical methodology.
If you are interested in this subject matter, I consider this book indispensable to your library.
Joseph (Joe) Pierre
Author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
And other books
Rating:
Summary: An excellent treatise on nature vs. nurture
Review:
Frank Miele (the author) acts as a "devil's advocate" in this book, as he interviews psychologist Arthur R. Jensen, who is a well-known geneticist. Miele says, in his preface,
"In this book, I skeptically cross-examine Arthur R. Jensen on Jensenism-how and why he believes the scientific evidence is even stronger today that: ·'IQ is real, biological, and highly genetic, and not just some statistic or the result of educational, social, economic, or cultural factors:
·race is a biological reality, not a social construct; and, most controversially of all,
·the cause of the 15-point average IQ difference between Blacks and Whites in the United States is partly genetic.'" Jensen went from being a highly respected but little-known educational psychologist and professor at the University of California, Berkeley, until he was solicited, in 1969, to write a 123-page article for the prestigious Harvard Educational Review which began with the opening sentence, "Compensatory education has been tried and it apparently has failed." With that article he became a highly controversial figure because of his contention, which runs counter to the institutionalized politically correct view among social scientists, that heredity is of more importance than environmental factors in determining human intelligence. Jensen, no racist by any stretch of the imagination, demonstrates throughout this book-the interviews which were conducted through e-mail-mainly through statistical analysis and other valid research methodology, the care with which he had arrived at his tentative conclusions. As with The Bell Curve, by Herrnstein and Murray, The Blank Slate, by Steven Pinker, and Race Evolution and Behavior, by J. Philippe Rushton-all scholarly, well-researched books on similar subject matter-the advocates of the more politically correct view that the races may differ in virtually every other respect except intellectually, are attacking the message by attempting to kill the messenger. The interviews that comprise this book are just short of hostile to Dr. Jensen in their tone, never granting agreement or accord, and with every answer, no matter how persuasive, the author merely changes the direction of attack. In fact, in the beginning, he announces his skepticism. But, Dr. Jensen more than holds his own. The e-mail interview method seems to be a good one, since obviously both parties are enabled to be precise in their quotes and double-check everything before sending the question or answer. We are given little information about the author, Frank Miele, except that he is a senior editor of Skeptic magazine, that his articles have appeared on "many web-pages," and that he lives in Sunnyvale, California, with his Great Dane dog, Payce. However, his questions of Dr. Jensen seem relevant and well-researched. The book is important, however, only because of Dr. Jensen's answers, which are invariably direct, careful, and backed up with very persuasive data and statistics. It is a veritable education in statistical methodology. If you are interested in this subject matter, I consider this book indispensable to your library. Joseph (Joe) Pierre
Author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
And other books
Rating:
Summary: Arthur Jensen face to face
Review: Arthur Jensen, a man of impeccable credentials among his peers, psychometricians, a man completely devoid of racist thought, a meticulous scientist who has been maligned and indeed slandered by the PC "no nothings" in furtherance of their "feel good" political agenda speaks directly to a very bright and well prepared interviewer in this book. The result, to the fair minded, is a powerful and compelling argument for his science and a devastating put down of those whose opposition to him is mere name calling. They have repeatedly violated the cardinal rule of science, compile the data honestly and let the results speak for themselves, free of prejudice, personal preference, superstition and political posturing. In hundred years, or perhaps in just a few decades his critics will be considered by intelligent laypersons, as they are now by professionals in the discipline, to be the creationists of the human genome.
Rating:
Summary: One for the archives
Review: Great book/interview/introduction to Dr. Jensen's work. Miele has done a masterful job presenting a human side to the too-often vilified caricature of Dr. Jensen. Anyone (e.g., admirers and antagonists, alike) who reads it will learn something new about one of psychology's most fascinating scientists, and, personally, I think it should be a mandated read for any Introduction to Intelligence course.
Rating: 
Summary: Just Doing Factual Science
Review: Intelligence, Race, and Genetics spends a lot of time on the scientist Arthur Jensen's opinions and what his agenda or ideology may be. Some questions are along the line of, "Have you ever been associated with, or now a member of a Neo-Nazi organization?" The silliness aside, one comes to the conclusion that Jensen is hesitant to say what the political implications of what his race and IQ research will be. He is mostly interested in doing accurate science, no matter whether the conclusions are politically convenient or not.
One gets the impression that public policy problems can't be solved unless the solutions are backed by good, accurate science. You can't solve such problems by wishing that problems and solutions fit a liberal ideology. Otherwise, you'll keep spending money on programs that don't work. I gleaned a few of his opinions from the book. He still believes in integration, but favors a more individualistic education system with less government control. Vituperative attacts from liberals don't bother him as much as winning approval from people who have their prejudices confirmed by his research. (Although I can't see how an opinion based on scientific research can be called merely a prejudice.) He does not think that mass third world immigration to America will benefit this country. An ethical and voluntary eugenics program would benefit this country, but reducing world population growth is his first concern. This book is a nice complement to The Bell Curve, the classic on hereditarian science. Some of the technical explanations of how Jenson comes to his conclusions may be hard to understand for the layman. Jenson puts science first above politics in his research, I don't know if we can say the same for other academics.
Rating:
Summary: Jensen may not be the last word on human variation
Review: One of the best documented facts of social science is the following: it is possible to administer tests of intelligence that are remarkably (though not completely) reliable and consistent over time. This tested intelligence correlates very highly with success in school. It is also known that tested intelligence correlates with social-economic status, and, even when controlled for SES, within families. So it has been generally accepted, for about a hundred years now, that intelligence has both genetic and environmental components. But for almost as long, there has been a debate over the relative contributions of heredity and environment. There are implications of this debate for social philosophy, for this reason: liberal social philosophers stress the perfectibility of man, while conservatives have a gloomier, more pessimistic view. Since it is easier to alter environmental than genetic factors, liberals hope that intelligence is more environmentally influenced. Now enter Arthur R. Jensen, an enormously productive and talented researcher at the University of California. Since the late 1960's, he has produced a barrage of totally persuasive research that shows, beyond much question, that intelligence has much more to do with heredity than with environment. Any hope that all human beings can have an equal amount of ability is now shattered. In retrospect, of course, such a hope was never reasonable. This is bad news, and not only for the liberals. Jensen's findings make us look at society with less optimism than we would like. His findings do not mean that we must give up on more humane arrangements, nor on our ideals of equal opportunity. But it warns us we must take into account the inequalities in ability that seem here to stay. Miele's book, in the form of an extended interview with Jensen, tells the story of Jensen's research findings and also of the resistance to accepting these findings. There have been political attacks on Jensen as a "racist," and these attacks are duly rebutted in this book. In fact, much of the book is taken up by such controversies, and this is perhaps as it should be. But foolish attacks aside, there are deeper problems with Jensen's presentation of his work that this books barely touches. 1) It needs to be said more clearly and more strongly that the group differences documented by Jensen -- differences of relative frequency -- are statistical in nature and have no application whatever for the assessment of a given individual. 2) The "mental abilities" that are probed in I.Q. and similar tests represent but a small portion of those attributes on which humans differ. We know from personal observation that some people are kinder than others, have more empathy than others, are less selfish than others. Social science, so far, has had little to say about the distribution of such traits. That is regrettable. 3) Jensen is very much impressed by the "abilities" that determine worldly success. He even uses the term "meritocracy" with some approval. His mindset here is self-consciously tough. He does not seem to have much use or interest in those qualities that we may call "saintliness." If an attribute does not show up on a battery of IQ tests, Jensen is not interested. But some day, perhaps, there will be a science of human assessment with a wider focus.
Rating:
Summary: Examining 30+ Years of Research
Review: Written in an interview format, Jenson addresses culturally sensitive questions in a professional, objective, and scientific manner by reviewing decades of research and explaining results in layman's terms. The intended purpose is to examine the impact that genetics play in regard to level of cognition, and the variations of between groups scores on tests that measure g (intelligence). Under 250 pages, this text is not able, nor is it intended, to go into great depth on issues. Instead, it offers a sampling or summary of the information that can be attained through more extensive research. 5 stars to a book that could likely be shredded before its truths reached the inside of collegiate classrooms.
Rating:
Summary: Examining 30+ Years of Research
Review: Written in an interview format, Jenson addresses culturally sensitive questions in a professional, objective, and scientific manner by reviewing decades of research and explaining results in layman?s terms. The intended purpose is to examine the impact that genetics play in regard to level of cognition, and the variations of between groups scores on tests that measure g (intelligence). Under 250 pages, this text is not able, nor is it intended, to go into great depth on issues. Instead, it offers a sampling or summary of the information that can be attained through more extensive research. 5 stars to a book that could likely be shredded before its truths reached the inside of collegiate classrooms.
<< 1 >>
|
