Race inquiry into lecturer who says blacks less intelligent

Bluemerle · 09-03-2006, 11:09 PM

Listen to this brave woman. She knows what she is talking about.

http://tinyurl.com/ze772

Logan · 09-03-2006, 11:39 PM

can anyone name a black inventor, as sure as hell I can't!

Alex McKee · 09-03-2006, 11:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Logan

can anyone name a black inventor, as sure as hell I can't!

Nathaniel Alexander.

Logan · 09-03-2006, 11:52 PM

and he invented??
is he the only one then?

Alex McKee · 10-03-2006, 02:03 AM

You asked for one to be named, I named one. He invented the modern folding chair. First that came to mind, for some reason.

Plenty of others.

Mikeuk · 10-03-2006, 07:28 AM

Yes, somebody sent me a link to a website about black inventors, according to which they invented the aeroplane, the telephone, the guitar, the saddle (!) and just about everything else you can name.

I then found a rather more sane 'black inventors' site. I'm very happy to accept that one black man may have invented the folding chair, and another one certainly invented some technical device used on old-fashioned tramcars. There's a big website all about him.

These websites are put together as an argument against the kind of bigot who says that black people have never achieved anything at all. That is clearly nonsense. Sadly, these sites actually prove that the level of black achievement is relatively low. A deckchair inventor is hardly to be ranked with the Wright Brothers.

The argument that they have been 'oppressed for centuries' really doesn't wash. How come Jews have achieved so much in virtually every field? They weren't exactly given a clear run.

If you doubt the existence of racial differences you also have to explain black excellence in atheletics. Paradoxically some 'anti-racists' then fall back on what many might regard as offensive stereotypes of Africans fleeing wild beasts in the jungle. From a Darwinian point of view there may even be something in that.

If we are to follow Occam's famous policy of drawing conclusions from empirical observation, and cutting out all the most unlikely causes it seems to me that we must conclude that while environmental circumstances can improve the performance of low-achieving racial groups, the main cause of that under-achievement is likely to be hereditary.

Why are some people so certain that this cannot possibly be true?

David Holland · 10-03-2006, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Logan

can anyone name a black inventor, as sure as hell I can't!

I couldn't but I have heard of this invention called 'google'.
Have you heard of it ? I did a search and found this :-

http://inventors.about.com/library/blblackinventors.htm
Here there are loads of them.

There are lots of differences between Africa and Europe other than the colour of our skin, climate, religion, geography etc.
A lot of European countries were poor until recently eg Spain and Portugal.
Personally I believe Protestanism (because it encouraged education) is a very important factor in why the UK, US etc are richer than South America.

eublues · 10-03-2006, 10:03 AM

All characteristics have some sort of hereditary basis, but interacting with that are environmental factors, and these interactions are highly complex and subtle.

Blacks in the USA are predominant in basketball, compared, say, to whites or hispanics. There are no doubt hereditary factors related to physique and the like playing some role, but cultural factors are probably much, much, much more important.

Likewise the predominance of male composers over females in European music is probably most plausibly explained as essentially cultural/ historical.

David Holland · 10-03-2006, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eublues

Blacks in the USA are predominant in basketball, compared, say, to whites or hispanics. There are no doubt hereditary factors related to physique and the like playing some role, but cultural factors are probably much, much, much more important.

I agree England and Australia are the top countries at cricket and the US are rubbish. However we have similar racial mixes. The difference is entirely due to culture.

gfnewman · 10-03-2006, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Bluemerle: Listen to this brave woman. She knows what she is talking about.

http://tinyurl.com/ze772

Thanks for this. As you said, this woman knows what she's talking about and I fully support her. I would really like to see how that debate began, and how it continued.

I must also applaud the programme producers for allowing her to express her views. If that were the BBC, or any other British station it would never have gone INTO phpbb_the studio.

09-03-2006, 11:39 PM	#12 (permalink)
Logan Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 181	can anyone name a black inventor, as sure as hell I can't! __________________ only dead fish go with the flow www.abcounties.co.uk proud to be \"indigenous\"

09-03-2006, 11:52 PM	#14 (permalink)
Logan Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 181	and he invented?? is he the only one then? __________________ only dead fish go with the flow www.abcounties.co.uk proud to be \"indigenous\"

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09-03-2006, 11:09 PM	#11 (permalink)
Bluemerle Uber Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Dorset. Posts: 3,252	Listen to this brave woman. She knows what she is talking about. http://tinyurl.com/ze772

10-03-2006, 02:03 AM	#15 (permalink)
Alex McKee Moderator Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Gloucester Posts: 6,666	You asked for one to be named, I named one. He invented the modern folding chair. First that came to mind, for some reason. Plenty of others.

10-03-2006, 07:28 AM	#16 (permalink)
Mikeuk Banned Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Fareham Posts: 5,758 Party: Conservatives	Yes, somebody sent me a link to a website about black inventors, according to which they invented the aeroplane, the telephone, the guitar, the saddle (!) and just about everything else you can name. I then found a rather more sane 'black inventors' site. I'm very happy to accept that one black man may have invented the folding chair, and another one certainly invented some technical device used on old-fashioned tramcars. There's a big website all about him. These websites are put together as an argument against the kind of bigot who says that black people have never achieved anything at all. That is clearly nonsense. Sadly, these sites actually prove that the level of black achievement is relatively low. A deckchair inventor is hardly to be ranked with the Wright Brothers. The argument that they have been 'oppressed for centuries' really doesn't wash. How come Jews have achieved so much in virtually every field? They weren't exactly given a clear run. If you doubt the existence of racial differences you also have to explain black excellence in atheletics. Paradoxically some 'anti-racists' then fall back on what many might regard as offensive stereotypes of Africans fleeing wild beasts in the jungle. From a Darwinian point of view there may even be something in that. If we are to follow Occam's famous policy of drawing conclusions from empirical observation, and cutting out all the most unlikely causes it seems to me that we must conclude that while environmental circumstances can improve the performance of low-achieving racial groups, the main cause of that under-achievement is likely to be hereditary. Why are some people so certain that this cannot possibly be true?

10-03-2006, 10:03 AM	#18 (permalink)
eublues Uber Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 3,122	All characteristics have some sort of hereditary basis, but interacting with that are environmental factors, and these interactions are highly complex and subtle. Blacks in the USA are predominant in basketball, compared, say, to whites or hispanics. There are no doubt hereditary factors related to physique and the like playing some role, but cultural factors are probably much, much, much more important. Likewise the predominance of male composers over females in European music is probably most plausibly explained as essentially cultural/ historical.