Re: The Bell Curve : Reaction time and IQ
Arun Gupta (gupta@mrspock.mt.att.com)
Tue, 4 Apr 1995 00:16:39 GMT
I wrote :
>
> People may remember the claim that reaction time experiments (which
> have no built-in bias, by their very nature) show that there is a
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> significant black/white difference. Furthermore, it is claimed that
> these tests correlate significantly with IQ. [see for example page
> 282-283 of Murray and Herrnstein's TBC ].
>
I had meant to write "which supposedly have no built-in bias".
Personally, I think exposure to something like a video game which
requires quick reactions to visual cues would influence the outcome
of this experiment.
The real point that Leon Kamin made is that Jensen's data doesn't
support a claim of black inferiority. Murray and Hernnstein present
it as the conclusive piece of evidence that no-one can explain away,
by reason of cultural bias, lack of motivation, whatever
that there is a black/white difference, with blacks inferior.
Kamin makes it clear that there is nothing to explain.
The question may still remain, why should one believe Kamin's
reporting over that of Murray and Hernnstein, and the answer to that
is to go to the original citations if possible.
-arun gupta
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