I'm sure you've heard about the statement of James D. Watson, famous biologist, Nobel prize winner for the discovery of DNA structure. He said that he is worried about the future of Africa as long as people think that the intelligence of Africans is equal than that of the Whites. He said:
"There is no firm reason to anticipate that the intellectual capacities of peoples geographically separated in their evolution should prove to have evolved identically"
I don't want to talk about whether his statement is based upon reliable scientific data or not.
My question is: do you think that scientific results that would eventually lead to racial (or other) discrimination should be hidden from the public? [/quote]
Elaine
It was a shocking and unfortunate comment but he has since gone on to apologize and say that what he said (or what we think he said) isn't what he meant. And he added that there is no scientific basis for such a belief. Which begs the question, "well, what exactly did you mean when you said it??" Regardless, if there was indeed unbiased scientific evidence that proved that such genetic differences exist, one that could potentially be used negatively, I don't believe it should be kept hidden from the public. After all, the purpose of science is to uncover general truths. There would be no point to it if we kept scientific data hidden, no matter how hard that pill is to swallow.
Josh Lalonde
No, I don't think that such a finding should be kept secret, but I think the early stages of a study on the subject should be as low-profile as possible. All the "studies" I've seen on this kind of subject have had severe methodological flaws, so to publish them serves no purpose other than ridicule or inciting hatred; if someone really wants to study this (why?), they should do so quietly, share their results and methods with a few other researchers with some expertise in the field, and only publish after it's been confirmed.[/i]
greg in noord-frankrijk
Re: Controversial statement of James D. Watson
KSa wrote:
I don't want to talk about whether his statement is based upon reliable scientific data or not.
The only thing reliable is Watson's senility. Here are some headlines about the "statement" in the French media :
« Raciste, mon cher Watson ! »
« Le gène du racisme découvert chez James D. Watson ! »
« Dr James Watson, Prix Nobel raciste »
etc
KSa wrote:
My question is: do you think that scientific results that would eventually lead to racial (or other) discrimination should be hidden from the public?
There is no need to because racialism is nowhere close to science. If someone turned up with "scientific" evidence about "races", then he would be a fascist, not a scientist. And it would be Society's best interest to expose the charlatan's findings to the public to confound him.
Uriel
Has he been reading The Bell Curve again?
No, seriously, there are plenty of physical differences between the races -- or geographic varieties, if you prefer, to be strictly accurate -- that are perfectly quantifiable; they abound in medicine, for instance, and research into why blacks are more likely to get heart disease or why whites are more prone to certain cancers can only be a benefit. Party on, Pfizer and Merck. However, intelligence isn't one of those quantifiable differences, and I think we've had enough exhaustive research into that subject to close that door, so while Watson's statement "There is no firm reason to anticipate that the intellectual capacities of peoples geographically separated in their evolution should prove to have evolved identically" sounds perfectly plausible, dear God, have you not been reading the journals, Watson? There is no worse sin for a scientist than not staying current!
Regardless, if there was indeed unbiased scientific evidence that proved that such genetic differences exist, one that could potentially be used negatively, I don't believe it should be kept hidden from the public. After all, the purpose of science is to uncover general truths. There would be no point to it if we kept scientific data hidden, no matter how hard that pill is to swallow.