In a new documentary, “American Masters: Decoding Watson,’’ to be broadcast on P.
In a new documentary, “American Masters: Decoding Watson,’’ to be broadcast on P.B.S. on Wednesday night, he is asked whether his views about the relationship between race and intelligence have changed.
“No,’’ Dr. Watson said. “Not at all. I would like for them to have changed, that there be new knowledge that says that your nurture is much more important than nature. But I haven’t seen any knowledge. And there’s a difference on the average between blacks and whites on I.Q. tests. I would say the difference is, it’s genetic.’’
Dr. Watson adds that he takes no pleasure in “the difference between blacks and whites’’ and wishes it didn’t exist. “It’s awful, just like it’s awful for schizophrenics,’’ he says. (His son Rufus was diagnosed in his teens with schizophrenia.) Dr. Watson continues: “If the difference exists, we have to ask ourselves, how can we try and make it better?”
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/01/science/watson-dna-genetics-race.html
“No,’’ Dr. Watson said. “Not at all. I would like for them to have changed, that there be new knowledge that says that your nurture is much more important than nature. But I haven’t seen any knowledge. And there’s a difference on the average between blacks and whites on I.Q. tests. I would say the difference is, it’s genetic.’’
Dr. Watson adds that he takes no pleasure in “the difference between blacks and whites’’ and wishes it didn’t exist. “It’s awful, just like it’s awful for schizophrenics,’’ he says. (His son Rufus was diagnosed in his teens with schizophrenia.) Dr. Watson continues: “If the difference exists, we have to ask ourselves, how can we try and make it better?”
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/01/science/watson-dna-genetics-race.html
I bet he voted for Trump.
ReplyDeleteSchmuck!
ReplyDeleteHas he selected biased data or is he making these claims without data?
ReplyDeleteHis comments reveal considerable bias, like" "although he wished everyone were equal, “people who have to deal with black employees find this not true.”" The problem I have with what I've heard about the documentary above, is that it exhibits the classic science communication failure. It is the provocative statements that spread, not the thoughtful analysis thereof. He is now a very old man, 90, and has apparently been in a recent auto accident. He is not in a position of power, and so his current opinions should not be given attention.
ReplyDeleteThe headline “James Watson Won’t Stop Talking About Race” is unfair. They asked him the question. Was he supposed to decline to answer? Was he supposed to lie?
ReplyDeleteWe will accept some racial differences as being genetic. Some groups are prone to certain diseases e.g. sickle cell anaemia.
That something is typical of a group does not mean that it applies to the individual.
Is he correct in his view? I’m not sure that it matters. Is our fascination with IQs anything more than intellectual snobbery?