I would imagine that has a lot to do with what you cite it to support. The conclusions here are weak where innate ability is concerned, yet I suspect that’s where you were headed. I can cite studies showing worse outcomes for African Americans for example, but I’d be a deceptive ass if I tried to pawn that of as proof off innate differences.
I can cite studies showing worse outcomes for African Americans for example, but I’d be a deceptive ass if I tried to pawn that of as proof off innate differences.
If one considers studies from around the world, across many cultures, it's pretty clear to me that there's no IQ huge disadvantage to having African genetics. Nigerian immigrants are presently kicking ass and even outdoing Asians. Immigrant from many Caribbean backgrounds do very well. Also cited by myself elsewhere, there's a study that found that the African American children of US servicepeople in Germany was basically the same as their classmates. Whatever's the cause of lowered IQs in underprivileged African American children in the US, it's not genetic.
Historical IQ studies suggest that immigrant groups can raise their average IQs by a lot. Historical studies of such groups also indicate that the degree of group assimilation and participation in society versus group isolation can have huge effects on the wealth of the group. A pattern that arises again and again, are elites of some such groups that keep their group isolated to retain subgroup power. This pattern can cause the same ethnic group to have widely disparate economic success in different parts of the world. (German immigrant communities are a good example of this phenomenon.)
The above is discussed in Thomas Sowell's Migrations and Cultures.
> If one considers studies from around the world, across many cultures, it's pretty clear to me that there's no IQ huge disadvantage to having African genetics. Nigerian immigrants are presently kicking ass and even outdoing Asians. Immigrant from many Caribbean backgrounds do very well. Also cited by myself elsewhere, there's a study that found that the African American children of US servicepeople in Germany was basically the same as their classmates.
The above is discussed in Thomas Sowell's Migrations and Cultures.
An overarching theme in Thomas Sowell's books: The world is ruled by human capital, that is: cultures and people's ideas of how the world is and should be. Thinkers like Jordan Peterson would add that the world is also ruled by various forces working below the level of consciousness, for which humans have developed religion and art to try and deal with -- which also fall under the rubric of culture.
I think it's Culture which is the dominant factor, and this is a great foundation of hope. It means that all of the greatest accomplishments of human civilizations are available to all peoples, given enough effort to transform one's understanding and way of life. Such is the power of culture, that this effort may take generations to accomplish. History bears this out. If the descendants of Irish peasants (who, during the potato famine could start out 1/2 to 1/4th as wealthy as the average US slave) could arrive at their current place in modern society, then there's basically nothing that cultural transmission can't accomplish, given enough resources and time.
The cause of sex-related ability tilt is irrelevant with regard to the consequences on STEM employment. Whether due to socialization alone, innate ability alone, some combination of the two, or causes we don't understand, the outcome is the same and the consequences are the same.
Exactly. It doesn’t matter what the causes are. The fact is it’s harming people as a whole and talented women aren’t being treated fairly. All the biology in the world doesn’t explain or fix this very real problem.
Also, we are not slaves to “biology”. We are perfectly capable of murdering each other but we don’t, because we have rules. Rules trump biology.
>The fact is it’s harming people as a whole and talented women aren’t being treated fairly.
What do you mean by this? Talented women aren't being treated fairly? Every girl has the option to choose a STEM field, but most don't. Nonetheless, women are in the majority for general enrollment at universities in Canada [1] (and I believe it is the same in the US). At my university in Alberta, we have numerous clubs, organizations, and programs supporting women going into STEM fields-- not including government-sponsored advertisement campaigns to encourage the choice for STEM. Around the world, there are countless organizations created to support and encourage women going to STEM [2], never mind various campus-specific programs and clubs especially in North America.
I don't really see how women are being harmed. Maybe most women don't want to go into STEM. Maybe the biology argument is valid? Even if it's not, where is the harm, exactly?
Thank you for choosing STEM. Be the best you that you can be. STEM does not matter what gender, race, etc just having a human brain and good ACT and SAT test scores.
I think the harm they are talking about is this metoo movement. Sexual harassment, sexual abuse, etc.
In the 1950s and 1960s women dominated computer science and math and other things and then , not enough women taking classes so the microcomputer was aimed at boys because of video games but they forgot girls play video games too.
My mother worked on a punch card system and trained by IBM and did work for the public school system on an IBM mainframe. She quit because I was born and she wanted to take care of me. But that was her choice.
That's pretty illogical. If you test positive for a virus, you'll want to think twice about taking antibiotics.
Also, we are not slaves to “biology”. We are perfectly capable of murdering each other but we don’t, because we have rules. Rules trump biology.
Culture trumps conscious mental entities like rules. Such an idea is needed to explain many of the things we see around the world and in history. (Like, why have Jewish people been able to locally dominate in tailoring in so many instances across literally thousands of years? It's certainly not because of some kind of tailoring gene, and it's not about "rules.") A strongly cultural view basically dismantles huge swathes of Alt-Right ideology, replacing it with something else which allows for everyone to participate. However, such a view also dismantles much of the current day Far Left ideology. I think it's high time that something more rational and more fitting with evidence came to replace that, however.
