Monday, December 30, 2002

I just heard the authors (Miele and Jensen) of a new book on intelligence and genetics interviewed on the local NPR affilliate. A couple of callers were offended by the topic, but the authors rebutted the callers well. I don't think that there is much serious academic dispute about what Jensen says. One caller said that the Nazis used IQ tests, and we should learn that lesson and avoid them. Jensen said that the term "IQ" was actually coined by a German Jew in the 1930s, and that Hitler hated IQ tests because they failed to prove Jews inferior.

Another potentially controversial new book on a related topic is The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature by Steven Pinker. It says that certain instincts are inherited, and hardwired in the brain.

Links to both books are here.

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