Do+different+races+have+different+intelligence+or+mental+IQ?



According to [|wikipedia], intelligence is defined as "a very general mental capability that, among other things, involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly and learn from experience. It is not merely book learning, a narrow academic skill, or test-taking smarts. Rather, it reflects a broader and deeper capability for comprehending our surroundings—"catching on", "making sense" of things, or "figuring out" what to do."


 * However, the question is, does race differential affect any parts of the definition of intelligence?**
 * Why do people think different races have different IQs?**

-Based on researching online, there is no proof that racial difference affects intelligence, however, statistics do show that different races have different intelligence. BUT BACKING UP -- WHAT IS "RACE"? DOES IT EXIST?

-In the bible in the Old Testament the belief of physical and mental differences between individual and groups alike are congenital, hereditary, and unchangeable. WHERE DOES THE BIBLE SAY THAT? CAN YOU CITE CHAPTER AND VERSE?

-Education and the effort to drive to success are the most important factors in intelligence

(World Average IQ Map)


 * What affects intelligence?**

-There is no genetic or racial contribution to the black-white difference on I.Q. From research findings from psychologist Professor Richard Nisbett’s book - “Intelligence and How to Get It”, he says that there seems to be no genetic difference in intelligence between whites and Asians.

-Dr. Nisbett researched on this topic, and based on the statistics results three groups of people in America (Jews, Chinese-Americans and West Indian Blacks), there is clearly an intelligence difference between the groups, but it wasn't caused by genes. Nisbett says that the groups are not innate advantage, but they have a tendency to get out most of the firepower they have.

__There are other factors we should consider:__

-A country that allows immigration has always prospered better than those countries that did not. An immigrant community energizes a country by working hard and driving themselves towards success.

- Jews have always been minorities in countries they live in. Through experiences, they learned that anything could be robbed except for their intelligence, and through that they inculcated the importance of education. Today statistics prove that they are more educated and control top positions in both the academic and corporate world.

-Black Americans have had a bad experience in America in the past history. During that time of racism and slavery, they saw how they were treated badly and discriminated. Also, many Black Americans come from broke families and a lot of times without a father. However, that doesn't seem to drive them forward in academics. It does not seem difficult to understand the importance of working hard.

-Results from Black Americans who work hard actually proves that they can be as good as any other race groups.


 * On the other hand, there are people who believe that different people do have different intelligence based on their race groups.**

James Watson, a scientist who received the Nobel Prize from his contribution in DNA researches, made some comments in 2007 that offended many people. His claim was that intelligence testing shows lower intelligence scores in Africa than Europe. James Watson is one of the most important living figures in American science, but his remarks, which were said to be not supported by science, were insulting. Many scientists told the media that his results from testing was not true. However, there is a possibility of scientists telling the media the false information as well. Only scientists know the complete truth, the media just say what they were told. Watson's remarks created a big stir because they implied that blacks were genetically inferior to whites. Here is a [|video] talking about James Watson and whether there is a link between race and intelligence or not. The first two minutes is the most important part of the video in my opinion, and it's about James Watson and what he thinks.

Some people also claim that they have proof of racial difference affecting IQ and intelligence. On a [|political blog site], the writer mentioned a gene database, called the [|HapMap Project]. The project contains random samples of genetic sequences from people in China, Japan, Nigera, and people in the United States with European ancestry. According to the person that wrote the article, it is possible to search the database for genes that have been linked with intelligence in published scientific studies. That means that it is possible to determine if high intelligence genes occur with greater or lesser frequency in different races.


 * What I Want To Do Next:**

In my last paragraph, I mentioned the HapMap Project, and I would want to do a research on the project in order to get to know it better and to see if the sources and results of the projects are reliable or not.

I would also want to research on Myopia, which is nearsightedness. Looking through the internet, I learned that myopia has a pretty high chance of having to do with intelligence, and I would want to know more about that.

Myopia:

When searching upon Myopia and intelligence, I came across the phrase "The Myopia Myth" and I decided to look deeper into that subject. The myth was that people with Myopia, or nearsightedness, are more intelligent than the rest of the population. From time to time reports are published showing that people with Myopia score higher than people without it on intelligence tests. So why does this affect intelligence differential between races? On the same website I found the HapMap Project, it said that the prevalence of Myopia in different races is different, meaning that there are intelligence differential between different races.

According to Wikipedia:

The prevalence of myopia has been reported as high as 70-90% in some Asian countries, 30-40% in Europe and the United States, and 10-20% in Africa.

So how does Myopia affect intelligence?

AnnBibKuo