RE: Crank Science? [was White male discrimination (well sortof..)]

From: Lee Corbin (lcorbin@tsoft.com)
Date: Wed Aug 15 2001 - 00:59:17 MDT


Olga Bourlin writes

> I keep hearing The Bell Curve being brought up. The Human Genome Project
> has denounced it. Everything I've read about it makes me think it's "crank"
> science. Does anyone know of a disinterested organization that has given
> The Bell Curve a good report card?

Hi Olga,

Our book discussion group read it many years ago. At least one member was
expecting "The Bell Curve" to be very wrong in its claims. That person,
Chris Hibbert, a longtime contributor to this list (and who I am pretty
sure does not mind me saying this), came away after reading the book
pretty convinced by it.

No one that I've ever heard (or read) suggests that it is a crank work. The
worst I've heard is that some people think that Herrnstein & Murray are
wrong. Very little of the book has to do with race. It's almost entirely
an analysis of what we mean by "intelligence", whether there is such a
thing as "g", and the effects on society this last century due to the
widespread use of IQ tests.

Lee



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