| TheLastStarFighter said: 1. That said, it's silly to say one race couldn't be "smarter" than another, on average. Some groups of people are taller, shorter, lighter, darker, faster, etc. There is nothing wrong with saying a group could be, on average, smarter. It's not a racist statement. It's racist to say it without foundation, however, and the Nobel prize thing is a very weak argument. 2. For those who don't know, there are three races in the world: Asian, Caucasian, and African. Indians, Arabs, etc are Caucasian, just like Brits or French or Germans. Also Caucasian are ancient Egyptians, who do not share common DNA with either Africans or the current Arab-dominated population. The closest modern-day relations of ancient Egyptians are the Copts. They can be darker skin, and often have a broader nose than most Caucasians - and Romans may have called them "black", but it doesn't mean they are of Affrican Race. Modern Copts, with their broad noses, wide ears and reddish-brown skin look a fair amount like classic Egyptian wall paintings: |
1. Nobody asserts that the statistical average for one "race" can't be different from the statistical average for another one. The assertion is never "Africans have a lower mean intelligence than Caucasians". It's always "Africans are less intelligent than Caucasians". What's racist is to assert that the difference is somehow inherent, or that it's in some way a sweeping truth across the board. Most people who assert that Africans are less intelligent base their claim on IQ, which is not the same thing as intelligence. There are many forms of intelligence, of which the IQ test only tests a few, and most components of IQ tests are about education (can you work out the next number in this geometric sequence?) rather than anything more "innate".
Intelligence is affected by developmental circumstances. People who grow up in poor families will typically rate at a lower intelligence... not because of something inherent, but because of reduced food quality, lower educational opportunities, etc. And Africa has the lion's share of poor people. In America, white families have, historically, started with much more, and had more opportunities - this difference has nothing to do with intelligence, and everything to do with oppression and slavery. Add in social/cultural influences, and you can see where this comes from.
But when it comes down to it, a lower average intelligence wouldn't mean any individual is less intelligent. There are black geniuses just as there are white geniuses. Most people who assert that black people are less intelligent are far less intelligent than some very notable black people, and they would refuse to admit to being less intelligent than those people.
2. I'm sorry, but where did you hear that malarkey? All humans share far more than 99% common DNA - indeed, 99.9% at least between any two people. Heck, chimpanzees have about 97% of DNA in common with humans, and cows have 80% in common with humans. Indeed, even the fruit fly has about 60% of its DNA in common with humans. And while there are certainly differences in genes between different ethnicities, such differences can be traced back through regular DNA mutation within humans, plus an element of interbreeding between pre-human homo species, such as neanderthals, cro magnons, etc. And those interbreedings happened so long ago that the genes are spread rather thinly throughout humanity.
Meanwhile, "caucasian" is a very broad, mostly-meaningless term that scientifically equates to "has light skin". The ancient egyptians likely fell within the "caucasoid" grouping, but probably within the semitic component, whereas most people who are referred to as "caucasian" are of the aryan subgroup.
Anybody who would assert that blacks are less intelligent must necessarily be asserting that the genes controlling skin colour also control intelligence. And such an assertion is a very difficult one to provide evidence for, and quite easily to justify dismissing - skin and brain are practically unrelated. If the two are not necessarily connected, then even if the vast majority of black people are less intelligent, this would be put down to a coincidence of genetics, one that need not apply to all black people.
