HL Mencken Club

[Heraclitus]

Strawman! No one denies that black people have more melanin! Just because someone is skeptical towards claims that black people are stupid does not mean they think we are all clones!

But there are many people in Anthropology, psychology and those in positions of public power that quite literally are blank slatist, they really do claim that people are at psychological clones at least when considering genetic influence. And these people despite being the clear minority in their field are granted disproportionate public attention and thus fuel public misconceptions. Some like Stephen Jay Gould even felt ok using dishonest arguments for propaganda points (The Mismeasure of Man falsely states, and this was known at the time it came out, that there is no correlation between brain size and IQ).

But I never implied everyone who disagreed on specific issues is blank slater, I do however occasionally mislabel those who think any study of biological differences is a priori wrong, blank salters because they implicitly promote this view.

But to return your favor let me point out, something I've already mentioned and that you have conveniently ignored:
Not all HBDers think that for example Asians have higher average IQs than Indians or Whites. If what I said is a straw man then you have been setting up your own too:

Yes it is... people try to justify their racist, sexist opinions by making the accusation that anyone who disagrees must think everyone is a blank slate!

And what possible racist agenda might people like Thomas Sowell have in considering it important such reasearch (he actually argues for the specific example of the most controversial aspect, IQ differences) be carried out?

Are you trying to make yourself look smart by going on an irrelevant tangent?

No this paragraph relates somewhat to some the discussions in the posted video, which you obviously didn't watch. To make it simple, people who are interested in opening up a field of inquiry free of political pressure or preconceptions must precariously be political to a extent to counteract political and cultural pressure against them. This does not mean that there is political advocacy for anything beyond this!

[Heraclitus]

Calling "human biodiversity" a "field of study" is being generous.

No its not. Sociobiology is basically just a subset of Human Biodiversity which is sometimes also used to describe the research for fields like Psychometrics.

[giblets]

But there are many people in Anthropology, psychology and those in positions of public power that quite literally are blank slatist, they really do claim that people are at psychological clones at least when considering genetic influence. And these people despite being the clear minority in their field are granted disproportionate public attention and thus fuel public misconceptions. Some like Stephen Jay Gould even felt ok using dishonest arguments for propaganda points (The Mismeasure of Man falsely states, and this was known at the time it came out, that there is no correlation between brain size and IQ).

But I never implied everyone who disagreed on specific issues is blank slater, I do however occasionally mislabel those who think any study of biological differences is a priori wrong, blank salters because they implicitly promote this view.

They implicitly promote skepticism toward such views because of the potential harm that could be caused mistakenly labeling a group of people as being more stupid, especially groups that have not yet recovered from the effects of institutional racism.

But to return your favor let me point out, something I've already mentioned and that you have conveniently ignored:
Not all HBDers think that for example Asians have higher average IQs than Indians or Whites. If what I said is a straw man then you have been setting up your own too:

And what possible racist agenda might people like Thomas Sowell have in considering it important such reasearch (he actually argues for the specific example of the most controversial aspect, IQ differences) be carried out?

I'm only saying that I think a lot of self-identified proponents of "Human biodiversity" are closet racists.

[giblets]

No its not. Sociobiology is basically just a subset of Human Biodiversity which is sometimes also used to describe the research for fields like Psychometrics.

Sociobiology is a subset of "human biodiversity"? I think you have that backwards. Using genes to help explain human behavior would be a subset of sociobiology considering that sociobiology also involves study of animal behavior.

[Heraclitus]

I'm only saying that I think a lot of self-identified proponents of "Human biodiversity" are closet racists.

This is probably true for some people. But I hope you agree that the hate obsessed, irrational and arguably dangerous racists don't usually have the mental tool-kit to do any serious commentary let alone research on the subject. They can rarely go beyond brain dead supremacism.

I also have a feeling that at least the researchers in these field are not more racist than the average guy in the street (though they might be more racist than is typical for their income or education bracket):

[Heraclitus]

Sociobiology is a subset of "human biodiversity"? I think you have that backwards. Using genes to help explain human behavior would be a subset of sociobiology considering that sociobiology also involves study of animal behavior.

I was referring to its application to humans. I probably should have been clearer on that.

Sociobiology has become one of the greatest scientific controversies of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, especially in the context of explaining human behavior. Applied to non-humans, sociobiology is uncontroversial. Criticism, most notably made by Richard Lewontin and Stephen Jay Gould, centers on sociobiology's contention that genes play an ultimate role in human behavior and that traits such as aggressiveness can be explained by biology rather than a person's social environment. Many sociobiologists, however, cite a complex relationship between nature and nurture. In response to the controversy, anthropologist John Tooby and psychologist Leda Cosmides launched evolutionary psychology as a branch of sociobiology made less controversial by avoiding questions of human biodiversity.

I've recently much improved my opinion of Christianity but I can't help but feel a Pagan or Hindu society wouldn't have a problem with humans just being another animal. The soul is a wonderful concept in some ways, but the Descartian dualism it breeds (and keeps breeding for generations after people have stopped practising their religion) is just a big headache.

[DaShi]

This is probably true for some people. But I hope you agree that the hate obsessed, irrational and arguably dangerous racists don't usually have the mental tool-kit to do any serious commentary let alone research on the subject. They can rarely go beyond brain dead supremacism.

I also have a feeling that at least the researchers in these field are not more racist than the average guy in the street (though they might be more racist than is typical for their income or education bracket):

I disagree. Just because someone is educated, doesn't mean they can't be a hate obsessed, irrational and arguably dangerous racist. I will that you, Hera, are not a hate obsessed, dangerous racist.

[Heraclitus]

I disagree. Just because someone is educated, doesn't mean they can't be a hate obsessed, irrational and arguably dangerous racist.

They can be, I just stated that the majority of people who are like that don't tend to be very bright.

I will that you, Hera, are not a hate obsessed, dangerous racist.

I'm not sure I understand this right. Don't you hate my guts? Or is my wogishness showing and I just missed subtle mocking that doesn't translate well from English.

[DaShi]

They can be, I just stated that the majority of people who are like that don't tend to be very bright.

But you are implying association, where there may be one. So I must believe that you have some hard evidence to back this up. Or then why cover for the "intellectual" racists?

I'm not sure I understand this right. Don't you hate my guts? Or is my wogishness showing and I just missed subtle mocking that doesn't translate well from English.

Yeah, I thought it would be too subtle for you. Best you don't know.

[Berzerker]

"elections are advance auctions on stolen property"