Re: BELL CURVE
Ken Arromdee (arromdee@jyusenkyou.cs.jhu.edu)
30 Jan 1995 15:04:34 -0500
In article <3gh49f$cja@usenet.rpi.edu>,
Michael Andrew Turton <turtom@rebecca.its.rpi.edu> wrote:
>Even if I was able to parse
>a "Swede" and a "Nigerian" it would mean only that you were able to
>find a citizen of Sweden and a citizen of Nigeria who corresponded
>to some preconception of "swede" and "nigerian" (perhaps "white" and "black")
>which we both shared....it would tell me nothing about "race." For example,
>it would be child's play to find a citizen of Sweden who looked "black"
>to you, find a citizen of Nigeria who looked "white" and watch your
>preconceptions simply fall apart, or get a citizen of Sweden who looked like
>some of the peoples of northern Nigeria and then watch you be unable to
>chose between them.
Fine, you've found a person from each place that can't be classified on the
basis of traits. Well, what does this prove? It proves that you can't
classify every person. It _doesn't_ prove that you can't classify _most_
people, and if statements about "races" are statistical ones that do not
have to be true for every single individual, you only _need_ to be able to
classify most people to make the statements.
--
Ken Arromdee (email: arromdee@jyusenkyou.cs.jhu.edu)
"Communism is just one step on the long road from capitalism to capitalism."
-- Russian saying
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