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There is a far bigger picture here than a few words that have been attributed to James Watson. It needs to be considered that he is a physical scientist and most tests that measure reasoning and intelligence come from the social sciences. One of the biggest criticisms of IQ tests is the inherent tendency for these measures to be skewed in favor of a white middle class demographic and alternative tests such as the Dove aptitude measures have been presented.

I read an article by a couple of scholars who noted that in the communication field only ten percent of graduates are minorities. Of this group even fewer go on to obtain a masters degree and the presence at the PhD level is barely there. As such in a discipline that is considered to have liberal trappings the dominance by white males is not to be denied. This begs the question as to how many women and African Americans are in the research arena of physical sciences. As such it can be argued that Watson and his colleagues are products of their own social environments.

While I understand the desire to vilify the actions of Watson I'm concerned that this will not address the institutional constructs which promote a specific ideology. Can DNA, at this point, really reveal the amount of intelligence and potential in a human being? There are people who due to injury have sustained brain damage so could an environmental element really play a role?

In order to really start to answer this question it might be prudent to find a study of twins and IQ levels particularly amongst individuals who had been separated at birth. Has such a study been done? The best thing to do when anyone implies racial or gender superiority is to prove the person wrong.

Learn more about this author, Marti Wilkinson.
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