The Bob's

[grbeck]

Asians don't disprove anything. Did you ever consider that Asians put a high cultural value on education (far more than whites)? This does not mean that a measuring stick designed by whites to measure the world isn't culturally biased. I have presented plenty here in my critique of the test. I don't expect to change your mind on the subject, but I will always lead to the scientific answer.

 

 

 

Your original criticism was that the test was biased in favor of whites (specifically, American whites of the middle and upper-middle classes). Asians are not white, and many of them were not even born here. If they are doing well on it - indeed, outscoring American-born whites who should be trumping everyone else if the test was designed to benefit them - then this is a serious ding in the credibility of bias claims.

 

 

 

The point being your contention that Asians show that the test isn't culturally biased is ridiculous. It does no such thing - see above.

 

You are trying to change the manner in which you claim the test is biased because there is evidence that your original contention - that it is biased in favor of whites - is not true. After all, if Asians are doing well on it, then it cannot be biased in favor of whites. "Cultural bias" and "racial bias" are not the same thing. "Racial bias," for example, suggests that no matter how education an Asian or African-American obtains, he or she will never outscore a top-scoring white person who also takes the test. This, of course, is not happening.

 

 

 

Which we have known for years based on income levels, socioeconomic class, stability of the environment, intrinsic educational value, etc. In other words, it tells us nothing new, nothing of value.

 

If a test is telling us which children are likely to succeed later in life, we need to look at what those people are doing with their children that makes this success possible. That seems pretty valuable to me.

 

 

 

Imagine how great people would feel if there was never an IQ test. We wouldn't have yet another measuring stick to separate the rich from the poor, or be incorrectly leveraged by people claiming racial superiority. This is why these tests are such an ethical minefield. They don't measure what they claim to measure, they tell us nothing new, but they are ripe for abuse by a certain mindset.

The problem with the poor isn't that they feel "bad" or "inferior." If anything, they are generally quite satisfied with their lot in life (several of my relatives work closely with them on a regular basis). They aren't being kept down because of an IQ test, the Klan, racism or anything else. They are being kept down by their own counterproductive behaviors - doing poorly in school (or dropping out completely), having children out of wedlock that they cannot afford, and skipping from job to job (if they bother to work at all).

An IQ test is the least of their problems. The problem isn't that the IQ test, in some way, may make them feel "bad" or "inferior." Their problem is that they are quite happy with their lot in life, and have no compunction about living off of others. Any failures are explained away by racism, the Klan (which hasn't been a factor for decades), the "1 percent," or the usual suspects. They need to feel "bad" so that they can start working to improve their lot in life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 24, 2013 by grbeck