Revealed: scientist who sparked racism row has black genes
A Nobel Prize-winning scientist who provoked a public outcry by claiming black Africans were less intelligent than whites has a DNA profile with up to 16 times more genes of black origin than the average white European.
An analysis of the genome of James Watson showed that 16 per cent of his genes were likely to have come from a black ancestor of African descent. By contrast, most people of European descent would have no more than 1 per cent.
"This level is what you would expect in someone who had a great-grandparent who was African," said Kari Stefansson of deCODE Genetics, whose company carried out the analysis. "It was very surprising to get this result for Jim."
The findings were made available after Dr Watson became only the second person to publish his fully sequenced genome online earlier this year. Dr Watson was forced to resign his post as head of a research laboratory in New York shortly after triggering an international furore by questioning the comparative intelligence of Africans. In an interview during his recent British book tour, the American scientist said he was "inherently gloomy about the prospects for Africa" because "all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours – whereas all the testing says not really".
The Science Museum in London cancelled a lecture by him, while the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, branded his comments "racist propaganda".
Other scientists working in the field of molecular biology quickly distanced themselves from the comments, saying that it was not possible to draw such conclusions from the work that had been done on DNA.
The study of the DNA of Dr Watson – who shared the 1962 Nobel Prize for medicine – adds another twist to the controversy surrounding the American scientist's comments.
In addition to the 16 per cent of his genes which were identified as likely to have come from a black ancestor of African descent, a further 9 per cent were likely to have come from an ancestor of Asian descent, the test indicated.
By Robert Verkaik
From here.
What would you say is the most intelligent race?
One answer on Yahoo Answers:
East asians (chinese, japanese and koreans) have the highest average IQ of 105 :)
But of course it depends how you measure intelligence!
I'm pretty sure all human beings have the same potential for intelligence, but the opportunities a person have will have a huge effect on the eventual outcome (access to education, amount of free time, access to information, access to food etc etc).
And another:
I think that the East Asians such as Koreans, Chinese, and the Japanese and the Jews are the top races when it comes to intelligence. And I mean Jews not the white race. Both have very civilized cultures that go back in time. Plus in the present they are known to be the smartest.
NVDL: In South Africa (and in other Developed Countries in the world), girls are getting far more distinctions and university entrance than boys. In 2007, Over 200 000 girls passed their matric exams, only 167 500 boys (15% fewer) did. Does that mean girls are smarter? It could. It could also mean they are simply more motivated. It is, after all, still a so-called 'man's world', so male students may feel they don't have to work as hard to get the positions they want. Be careful - this is changing.
In Gauteng, the top student, with 9 distinctions, was an Afrikaans girl: Linda Oosthuizen. She was also younger than most of her classmates, she turned 18 at the end of 2007. Does that mean young Afrikaners, and Afrikaans meisies in particular, are the smartest race and sex in the country? It could mean that they are simply the most motivated group. But what about race?
In terms of South Africa's matric results it is interesting to look at the local newspapers and note the composition of the top learners. One should remember that for many black learners, they are being taught in a second, sometimes a third language. That is a factor. On the other hand, mathematics and science relies less on language acquisition and more on logic.
I think this is an interesting debate, and I find it amusing how angry some people become. It's not practical to get angry, or to pat yourself on the back. If someone says X race is smarter than the race group you or I belong to, and let's say it's true, should you or I become angry/glad? Even if it isn't true (for you or for me), how does that change things for anyone? It seems to me that particularly in this area, how smart people are is self evident. You see it by the patterns that evolve around us: how many people live in certain wealthy areas (of a country and the world), which jobs they occupy, the people you encounter around you on long haul flights that are wealthy and well heeled enough to travel. So it all depends on your personal context, and guess what: you are responsible for shaping it according to your beliefs.
The implication is that wealth = intelligence. I'm not saying that's an absolute, but I am saying, I believe that on average, it's believable. You get wealthy people of various race groups. Criminals are wealthy. Sports people and celebrities are wealthy. My point is that talent and intelligence and hard work - especially hard work - are interchangeable, if you're aiming to be successful, and either skill is a necessary precursor for success, and some sort of existence beyond the poverty line.
Are there genius' that die in obscurity, in poor and apparently random settings? I'm sure there have been many. But poverty didn't prevent Oprah or Donald Trump from making it. Poverty doesn't make success or wealth or being intelligent impossible - ask Haile Gabreselassie. It just makes it harder. On the other hand, a lot of kids from good backgrounds never find the incentive - never use their intelligence - to work as hard and as smart, employing far fewer inner resources than their parents did. Sometimes poverty provides a clarity of purpose and that can be the most valuable resource.
Obviously the links between race and things like aptitude and intelligence are stereotypes, but stereotypes are there for a reason; they simply reflect an average, sometimes just a perceived average. Take these: blondes are more fun, redheads are more sexually aggressive, don't trust a man with a beard. These truisms aren't facts, but they may turn out to true, even just because our behaviour - since we may believe these stereotypes - starts to support the stereotype in a self-fulfilling prophesy. What about star signs? To what extent does our exposure and knowledge begin to reinforce the belief, making it reality?
Whatever is true for a stereotype obviously is not necessarily true of the individual of that group. It doesn't mean that an individual, is per se particularly bright or not. We're all aware of the exceptions. We're also very aware of how things are. I tend to agree that my experience of Jews and Asians shows a high degree of intelligence. I've heard that Indians are also one of the smartest races.
South Korea has grown at a phenomenal rate since it was flattened in a devastating war in 1953, and is currently the world's 11th biggest economy. Korean products have now filtered into the world. Chances are you use a phone, TV, and a drive a car made by Koreans. They're a fantastically hard working, innovative people. South Korea's population is the size of South Africa's, and its landmass is 10% the size of South Africa. They have none of SA's resources, but crucially, they have turned their people into an innovative, and vital resource. The Koreans study like crazy. The thirst to learn, and to learn all the time, is impressive, if not obsessive.
The Jews are quite visible especially in the Media, and banking. They are excellent communicators, astute businessmen. Often. Even so, they have not found a way to really thrive in Israel, and perhaps that is more a question of imagination, stubbornness etc, than intelligence. In the Middle East, I believe, the primary factor eroding wealth, success and happiness is conflicting belief systems. Here is a case where a belief system doesn't work as well because of proximity to another powerful and contradictory system, the implications of these contradictions. In the case of a belief system that is hurting more than helping your chances of living happily and successfully, you have to employ something other than sheer intelligence to be able to thrive once more: imagination, and other inner resources become more important, including the ability to work and live co-operatively rather than competitively and comparatively.
I'm willing to concede that both these races, are, on average, smarter than Europeans. Does that mean that I expect each Jewish person or every Asian person I encounter to be smarter than me? Not at all. And of course, there a plenty of other factors at play.
So intelligence alone, while important, ain't enough. Imagination, attitude (which includes motivation, determination) and your belief system (your personal sense of identity) are also very important. And things like emotional intelligence. Are you easy to live with? Can you forgive? Can you adapt.? What do you focus on? Can you work in a team? Can you work on your own? Can you think independently? What resources do you have (financial, emotional, motivational)? And while the Jews and Asians are smart, my opinion is that they lose points in other areas: like sport. But who was the first to break the 4 minute mile barrier? When I lived in Korea I discovered that most Asians are poor swimmers for example. But China now has some top Olympic swimmers.
The problem with these stereotypes is that stupid people (and not so stupid people who ought to know better) might take them too seriously, and may become unfairly biased against groups, leading to discrimination and worse.
For those who still become angry at these sort of remarks, I suggest the following: demonstrate intelligence, not in an argument, or in remarks, but in a course of action. The proof, after all, is in the pudding, isn't it?
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