John writes:
Luke,
I’m a 56 year old Texas boy goy with no religious affiiliation, I just wanted to write a few lines of encouragement – your site is thought provoking in many ways,
I have a Ph,D, in Industrial Organizational psychology, so your comments on race differences in IQ, etc. were no shock to me at all – and I am aware of how much of a “live wire” that topic is to touch professionally,
I’ve read THE BELL CURVE, and pondered the issue, but I haven’t read deeply enough beyond that to offer cogent thoughts, Probably the most brilliant guy I knew in my Ph.D, program was a black Nigerian, and I asked him his opinion once, He replied that he considered the relationship between race and IQ to be hopelessly confounded by other variables. I think that may be true. Too much research these days is correlatonal. We forget the great Lewin and his systems theory, and we take “snapshots” instead of conducting longitudinal research. Professors need to publish to get tenure, and a publication at the end of a 50 year study isn’t going to do them much good,
The article you referenced talked about the backwardness of Africa in relation to other parts of the world. In addition to psychology, I have a deep interest in history. Based on my reading of history, I give very little weight to that argument. Remember that the Celts of England had primitive technology, and they certainly lived in unhygenic conditions. It’s also been reported that Himmler was constantly on the lookout for archaelogical proof of an advanced Aryan civilization in areas of Germany. Supposedly, Hitler scoffed at this and told him it was a waste of time – because inhabitants of the German regions had been living in mud huts at the time of the Roman Empire. As far as Africans go – they were living a certain way – then they were subjected to colonialism and the robbing of their resources – and then many of them were speedily coerced into becoming totalitarian states ruled by brutal and politically corrupt regimes.
The article you referenced also emphasizes “climate” as having a great impact on behavior. No doubt this is true – particularly at the extremes. Eskimo culture has barely advanced beyond simple survival because of the bleak, challenging environment they live in. However, “access to resources” also seems to be critical. American Indians, for example, were able to live a nomadic hunter/gatherer existence due to the wide territory they could range across. Contrary to popular belief, they were NOT akin to modern environmentalists, because they didn’t have to be,. The continent was thinly populated, and teeming with wildlife. They did in fact kill buffalo and remove only the tongue if they were craving buffalo tongue that day, and they did that with as little compunction as we would have about buying a Diet Coke at the convenience store. It just didn’t matter – because when those buffalo migrated seasonally, they moved in herds that were as wide as 50 miles across. Indians also set vast wildfires for various reasons – hunting, warfare, or as an easy method for clearing land.
Just as necessity is the mother of invention, I believe that LACK of necessity may be the cause of lack of cultural innovation. Additionally, lack of advancement at one point in history does not determine the fate of a people for all time. Spurred by changing conditions or “outside influences” such as contact with another culture or climate change, a group can advance (or decline) rapidly.
These observations also are relevant to the conservative argument against creating a cradle-to-grave welfare state, as it stifles innovativeness and initiative.
Keep up the good work, Luke. As to your personal happiness, I offer the following personal philosophy: Considering everything, you are doing quite well, Most people in this world are living in the mud. But also remember this – “considering everything” is the cause of much grief.
