Do we need a homeland for the White people?: Race and intelligence: an even more inconvenient truth

This article is intended as an introduction to arguments regarding racial differences in intelligence. Often called ‘Racial Realism’ this article outlines the view that the average level of intelligence is not the same amongst different racial groups.

What do IQ tests tell us about race and intelligence?

The most widely used method for testing racial differences in intelligence has been IQ tests and when IQ tests have been performed the average IQ of various racial/ethnic groups tends to look something like the table below:

Race/Ethnic group : Average IQ score
Ashkenazi Jew : 107-115
East Asians : 105
Whites : 100
Blacks : 85

The Ashkenazi Jewish IQ advantage has been observed ever since the first IQ tests were administered. As has the Black-White IQ gap which, whilst narrowing during the 20th century, has remained at about 15 IQ points since the 1970s.

This IQ score pattern, with Ashkenazi Jews at the top, followed by East Asian, then Whites, and with Blacks at the bottom is observable across the globe in a wide range of countries.

In the book IQ and the wealth of nations Richard Lynn and Tatu Vanhanen calculated the average IQ score for 81 countries and found that average IQ is correlated with national GDP per capita to 0.82:

For 104 nations were no studies were available Lynn and Vanhanen estimated national average IQ by using the average IQ of surrounding countries, compiling their results into the following map:

In a second book by Richard Lynn, Race Differences in Intelligence: An Evolutionary Analysis, Lynn used 620 studies, with a total of over 800,000 tested individuals to estimate the average IQ of the indigenous populations of various nations. The map below illustrates his findings:

Whilst it is highly fashionable to dismiss IQ tests as not really measuring intelligence, in reality they are very good at doing exactly that and IQ tests are known to correlate with, amongst other things, educational achievement, job performance and income.

IQ tests are also known to correlate with reaction times (p. 244) with high IQ individuals tending to also have faster reaction times. The explanation for this being that reaction time tests measure the brain’s efficiency and ability to process information accurately and quickly.

Are IQ tests culturally fair?

Some argue that with IQ tests being the product of White men they are culturally biased in their favour. However, IQ tests may have been designed by Whites but East Asians and Ashkenazi Jews score higher. Also, IQ tests are equally able to predict the academic achievement, job performance, and reaction times (p. 245) of Blacks.

Are IQ differences caused by genetics or environmental factors?

The heritability of IQ is usually given as somewhere between 0.4 and 0.8 (p. 325), although studies of twins raised apart, and therefore in different environments, have found a heritability of IQ at 0.70 and sometimes higher.

To begin, studies have found that the brain has been evolving since humans left Africa, with genes involved in brain functioning and size having been strongly selected for.

Studies using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have measured the human brain and found a correlation between brain size and IQ of 0.40 with the explanation for this being that larger brains have, on average, more neurons and synapses which in turn make them more efficient. Estimates from twin studies indicate that genes contribute from 50 to 90 percent of the variances in brain size. Racial differences in brain size are observable from birth: a study in the US found that Asian American children have, on average, the greatest cranial capacity, followed by whites, and then blacks. Supporting this, studies on cranial volume from the 1840’s to the 1990’s have all found the same thing, East Asians have on average the largest brains, followed by whites, followed by blacks (Rushton and Jenson 2005 p. 253).

The Minnesota Transracial Adoption Study examined the IQ scores of 130 black and mixed half-black half-white children adopted by white families. With the aim of trying to determine the role of genetics in poor Black test scores the study found that the degree of African admixture was linked to test results. On average, children with 2 White parents scored highest, children with 2 Black parents scored lowest, and the mixed raced children scored in-between the two.

Regression to the mean is a phenomenon whereby children of high IQ parents tend to average higher IQ scores than the general population, but lower than their parents. Likewise children of low IQ parents tend to average lower IQ scores than the general population, but higher than their parents. This is because whilst parents pass on their genes to their children, the chance of them also passing on the specific combinations of genes which cause their own exceptional intelligence (or lack of) is low. Relating this to race, under this regression to the mean principle we can predict that Black children will regress towards the Black population average of 85 whilst White children will regress towards the White population average of 100. Studies have found this prediction to be true with Black children born to high IQ, wealthy Black parents averaging IQ scores 2 to 4 points lower than White children born to low IQ, poor White parents (Rushton and Jenson 2005 p. 263).

Challenging the genetic view, many claim that when Jews first migrated to the United States they scored very low on IQ tests. According to Charles Murray this is simply untrue.

Others point to a study of half-black half-white children born to German mothers after World War II which found the half-black children had an average IQ of 97, very close to the White average. In challenging this study Rushton and Jenson (p. 261) argue that firstly, 20-25% of the ‘Black’ fathers were actually North African who have higher average IQ’s, and secondly that at the time the US army enforced strict IQ entry requirements, with the rejection rate being 3% for Whites and 30% for Blacks.

Some argue that poor IQ scores are not caused by lack of intelligence but rather by certain groups having a lower status or caste position in society. To illuminate this Wikipedia provides a table showing that in the US for example, Whites score above Blacks, Asians above Latinos and East Asians above Southeast Asian. However, oddly, the table omits the fact that Ashkenazi Jews and East Asians score above Whites in White societies.

Why have certain groups adapted to be, on average, more intelligent?

In Race Differences in Intelligence: An Evolutionary Analysis Richard Lynn argues that when humans left Africa they encountered areas of the world at higher latitudes which had cold winters. With no plant foods available during winter humans were forced to hunt, often big game, and also overcome the task of keeping warm, all of which selected for intelligence.

Supporting this, another study by Lynn found that Northern Europeans tend to be more intelligent and have larger brains that Southern Europeans, with cold weather being given as the reason for this.

Concluding notes – Personal thoughts

This article has not and could not cover every study, issue or argument regarding this topic. There are contradicting studies and counter arguments with some saying there is not enough evidence to judge either way. However, logically speaking the principles of evolutionary biology tell us that when organisms adapt to environments they develop differences in all characteristics for which there is genetic variation. Why would the human races evolve different hair, skin colour, facial features, height, musculoskeletal traits, susceptibility and resistance to various diseases and so on, but not evolve different brains or levels of intelligence?

Average differences in intelligence should not lead to certain races being discriminated against. Everyone should be treated as an individual. I am a white person, I do not expect Ashkenazi Jews to discriminate against me because the average IQ of a white person is up to 15 points lower than that of an Ashkenazi Jew. Likewise, I would not discriminate against a Black person for the same reasons.

Finally, often racially realistic arguments get caught up in debates over racism, nationalism and immigration and people like to shrug these arguments off as coming from ‘racists’, but such discussion on ‘values’ distracts us from the scientific endeavour to determine the ‘facts’. In my opinion (and if compelling new evidence comes to light in future I will gladly accept I am wrong and change my mind) the argument over racial differences in intelligence is over and whatever your values you must accept the facts. Be you a liberal, marxist, socialist, nationalist, or other, you must work with the world as it is, not how it ought to be.

References and further reading

Thirty Years of Research on Race Differences in Cognitive Ability - J. Philippe Rushton and Arthur R. Jensen:

http://psychology.uwo.ca/faculty/rushtonpdfs/PPPL1.pdf http://www.news-medical.net/?id=9530

The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life - Richard J. Herrnstein and Charles Murray:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bell_Curve
http://www.vdare.com/sailer/bell_curve_10yr.htm
http://vdare.com/pb/bell_curve_10yrs.htm
http://www.udel.edu/educ/gottfredson/reprints/1997mainstream.pdf

IQ and the Wealth of Nations - Richard Lynn and Tatu Vanhanen:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IQ_and_the_Wealth_of_Nations
http://www.amazon.com/IQ-Wealth-Nations-Richard-Lynn/dp/027597510X
http://www.vdare.com/Sailer/wealth_of_nations.htm
http://www.vdare.com/sailer/lynn_and_flynn.htm

The Global Bell Curve: Race, IQ, and Inequality Worldwide: Richard Lynn:

http://www.amazon.com/Global-Bell-Curve-Inequality-Worldwide/dp/1593680287
http://www.vdare.com/rushton/080616_lynn.htm

Race Differences in Intelligence: An Evolutionary Analysis - Richard Lynn:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_Differences_in_Intelligence
http://www.amazon.com/Race-Differences-Intelligence-Evolutionary-Analysis/dp/159368021X
http://www.vdare.com/sailer/060423_lynn.htm
http://www.vdare.com/rushton/060322_iq.htm

Race, Evolution, and Behavior: A Life History Perspective - J. Phillipe Rushton: