Sunday, August 26, 2018

The End of South Africa: Prepare Yourself

Note: At two points in the below clip, Stefan Molyneux makes the claim that there are differences in the intelligence level of various ethnicities. I am far from an expert on this matter but I suspect that intelligence is much more complex than that which is measured by IQ tests. It might even be the case that different ethnic groups may have different capabilities in different areas of intelligence. But, I emphasize I have not done deep study in the area and  make no firm scientific claims. And few have studied the area deeply who can provide insight, given the politically correct world we live in and the career dangers of attempting to understand the topic.

That said, for most of the below clip, Molyneux's focus is on what is going on in South Africa and his perspective with deep historical background appears sound, important and one which I have not seen presented elsewhere.

 

-RW  

12 comments:

  1. My guess is that the typical African is way more clever than the typical first worlder. There's no coddling in africa. The idiots don't last long. The morons get filtered out real quick. Americans are insulated from their shortcomings, Africans are not. Africans are poor because they were isolated for so long, not because they're stupid.

    Stephan alternates between insightful and laughable. His mommy issues alone should cue anyone to have plenty of salt ready when listening to him.

    An IQ test is just as arbitrary as a piano playing test. Some people are good at it, some aren't. It's just a random snap shot of a particular skill set at a particular moment. It doesn't give you a full picture. I've taken a few is tests before. I don't recall any secti9ns that seemed to emphasise the skill sets of a hunter-gatherer or a goat herder. Those people probably wouldn't do so well.

    Similarly, lots of people who score high on the test probably don't know much about navigating by stars or animal husbandry.

    Stephan is just dressing up and playing scientists with all this IQ drivel.

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    1. I dont think IQ is the only parameter at stake here either. I spoke with a civil engineer who volunteered in Africa, I forget which country though. People were dying left and right from diseases we simply dont suffer from. They had a dead cow floating in the water hole that they shared with their livestock and didn't understand how this is probably a big factor causing people to die, including kids.

      If your society is at that point, it has a long way to go.

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  2. What fascinates me about this race / IQ issue is how useless it is. Even if it were irrefutably true that one race is statistically stupid compared to another, I would have no interest in knowing it. There is something very irrelevant and therefore very fishy about the whole issue.

    The whole business of weighing groups against groups is useless except to collectivists playing "Who's the Oppressor?" Both race and IQ are stupid subjects. I define a racist as whoever brings up the subject of race first in a conversation. I'm going to define stupid as whoever first brings up the subject of IQ.

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  3. Well, IQ, oppression, racism, etc etc. So what? Put up or shut up. Can you farm the land? Proof's in the pudding. Color be damned. "Can you do it?" is all the proof needed.

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    1. Re: The Lab Manager,

      There's no such thing as 'race' and IQ doesn't measure intelligence, the same way GDP doesn't measure economic performance.

      The culture thing is slightly more convincing but is not as compelling as you think. Culture is simply the sum of all things you know. Cultural differences reflect only different things people know, not something inherent in each person. That doesn't mean people cannot learn new things and incorporate them in their culture. Case in point is Christianity, in Roman times a sect from the Middle East that grabbed a foothold and convinced millions of the existence of a God of Love. Many things are discovered by one people and passed or exported to other people through trade and exchanges. People learn new things all the time. Culture is not unchanging.

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    2. What you mean "matter"? Matter for what? When it comes to the question of the appropriateness of violence, the.only question libertarianism is concerned with, race, IQ and culture definitely do not matter at all.

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    3. "Race, IQ, and culture matter. "

      Nope, they don't. Not only has Zimbawe surpassed Rhodesia on any metric ever invented by whyte raycist patriarchal homophobic Westerners, the big Z will continue to do so forever, after it takes over the universe.

      Yup, yup, double yup.

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    4. The irony of course is IQ argument has statist roots. It was developed by the French government after the Franco-German war in 1870 as a way to have an assessment test for those going into the French army.

      The main proponent of IQ in America was Henry Goddard who was in favor of state enforced eguenics.

      Anyone interested in the nefarious background of IQ and eugenics in America should consult Thomas Leonards' Illiberal Reformers: Race, Eugenics, and American Economics in the Progressive Era

      https://www.amazon.com/Illiberal-Reformers-Eugenics-Economics-Progressive/dp/0691175861

      How 'libertarians' can play footsie with such nonsense is rather eye opening

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    5. Just because a eugenecist used it doesn't mean it's bad. It is just a misuse that people likely didn't understand at one point. Also, just because it is a useful measure to some degree doesn't mean it is perfect, like GDP. There are a lot of factors that determine IQ.

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    6. Let's try some science!


      What is the margin of error on an IQ score?

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    7. Races do not exist (they are arbitrary lines drawn on a smoothly gradient range).

      IQ is deeply irrelevant and scientifically very questionable.

      Culture is a vague, undefinable, statistical abstraction.

      They only matter to collectivists pitting one mental collection against another - a mental game of no profit or purpose other than getting attention.

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