The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life
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- Author：Richard J. Herrnstein
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Reviews
Brian
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It was fair in terms of acknowledging both sides （or more than one side） of an issue。 Always interesting whether I came to the same conclusions as the authors or not。
Peggy
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Thought provoking book。 Interesting to see where we are 25 years after its publication。 Overall， scholarly work。 Well researched。 Worth the read。 Although some aspects are controversial， some do mirror where we are， living and working， today。
Ens_Actu
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Incredible work by Herrnstein and Murray。 This book was probably one of the first 'red pills' I encountered in my teenage years and radically changed the way I view the world。 The authors in this book stick to uncontroversial facts that are not disputed by any serious scientist。 Hopefully one day the scientific community will be able to uncover enough information about homo sapiens to show even the most stubborn libtard the uncomfortable truth that surround conversations about race and IQ。 Read Incredible work by Herrnstein and Murray。 This book was probably one of the first 'red pills' I encountered in my teenage years and radically changed the way I view the world。 The authors in this book stick to uncontroversial facts that are not disputed by any serious scientist。 Hopefully one day the scientific community will be able to uncover enough information about homo sapiens to show even the most stubborn libtard the uncomfortable truth that surround conversations about race and IQ。 Read at your own risk 。。。more
Maria Svigos
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Way more than what it is pawned off as being。 Very much worth the read。 Not a fun read， but interesting and realistic
Micah
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Well-written， but I'm not convincedI wanted to read this book because it is often so debated， but apparently not as often actually read by detractors。I was unable to get through this book， despite it being well-written and helpfully supplemented with executive summaries at the beginning of every chapter。Murray's claims are profound and， in some cases， disturbing。 But given the magnitude of his claims， I did not feel that he had sufficient evidence。 Oh， yes， there were a lot of citations and stud Well-written， but I'm not convincedI wanted to read this book because it is often so debated， but apparently not as often actually read by detractors。I was unable to get through this book， despite it being well-written and helpfully supplemented with executive summaries at the beginning of every chapter。Murray's claims are profound and， in some cases， disturbing。 But given the magnitude of his claims， I did not feel that he had sufficient evidence。 Oh， yes， there were a lot of citations and studies he points to - but Murray seemed to regularly leap to conclusions -particularly the conclusion that certain studies and tests can be proxies for IQ， or g。 It feels like there is an awful lot of data flattening going on as he seeks to drive his points home。I don't think Murray should be condemned for the claims he makes; I believe he should be challenged on the basis of the data， and the many assumptions that he makes in how he reads data， which I am not convinced hold up under examination。I'm still waiting to find an expert reviewer who will really evaluate Murray's claims in print on a detailed， academic level。 Unfortunately， most of the reviews and responses to this book amount to little more than "Murray's book is racist！" I think a book of this magnitude deserves a more robust response， and I hope to read one at some point。 。。。more
Joshua Halsband
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Pure crap
Jason Carter
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Oh， man。 If you want an emotional reaction from someone， attack the validity of a religiously-held belief。 For Americans， the supremely held religious belief is at the same time one of the most preposterous statements ever written: "all men are created equal。"If by that statement， one means what Jefferson meant when he penned it: that all men share equally inalienable rights， no problem。 If， however， one means that all men are born in an equal state of potential with respect to intelligence， phy Oh， man。 If you want an emotional reaction from someone， attack the validity of a religiously-held belief。 For Americans， the supremely held religious belief is at the same time one of the most preposterous statements ever written: "all men are created equal。"If by that statement， one means what Jefferson meant when he penned it: that all men share equally inalienable rights， no problem。 If， however， one means that all men are born in an equal state of potential with respect to intelligence， physical ability， and general propensity for success， it is patently absurd。And everyone knows it。But， see the first paragraph。 Contradicting a religiously-held belief brings out the worst in people， despite any and all evidence in support of the contradiction。 So much social ill is born out of the mistaken， utopian notion that the only causes of unequal outcomes are the unequal environments into which children are born and raised。 Trillions of dollars have been wasted attempting to implement "solutions" born out of this faulty assumption， when in fact substantially heritable traits （notably cognitive ability） have much more explanatory power。 And a public policy recognizing this incontrovertible truth might actually make progress towards improving these same social ills。Instead we get the opposite。 An education system built on this faulty assumption inevitably "dumbs down，" resulting in a failure of our cognitively elite to reach their full potential。 Further， the dumbing down of higher education results in the credentialing of those otherwise incapable of reaching the previous heights， and the creation of a so-called expert class that is anything but。This book was controversial when it was released in the 90s and remains so today insofar as it is discussed at all。 And yet the data speaks for itself。 Because we all want to "follow the science" except when it contradicts our religion。I finished this book and write this review on July 4th， when Jefferson published those pernicious words。 Perhaps we should look elsewhere in the Declaration of Independence for our incontrovertible truths: "That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends， it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it， and to institute new Government， laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form， as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness。" Happy Independence day。 。。。more
mark propp
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i didn't read the entire book。 instead i read the one hour summary posted by murray on the aei website。 it's a perfectly good substitute for the moment， since it's far too hot and i'm too old and tired to be taking on an endlessly long book on iq。https://www。aei。org/spotlight-panels/。。。i think charles murray is one of the most unjustly villainized people of the last 30 years， & anyone reading this summary will find nothing racist or objectionable。 just the opposite: the words are fair and measur i didn't read the entire book。 instead i read the one hour summary posted by murray on the aei website。 it's a perfectly good substitute for the moment， since it's far too hot and i'm too old and tired to be taking on an endlessly long book on iq。https://www。aei。org/spotlight-panels/。。。i think charles murray is one of the most unjustly villainized people of the last 30 years， & anyone reading this summary will find nothing racist or objectionable。 just the opposite: the words are fair and measured and reasoned。his book coming apart， along with putnam's 'our kids' has influenced my thinking on social issues more than anything else i've read in the last 5 years。 highly recommended。 。。。more
Eddie
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A probable segue to Freakonomics thinking， first there was the Bell Curve。 You've heard about it countless times， maybe you were even subject to a supportive educator's resulting grading process （whether knowingly or unknowingly）。 Either way， to truly understand the thinking behind The Curve and the sometimes difficult to accept associative data， read the book。 Not for everyone， even though literally every American plays a role。 A probable segue to Freakonomics thinking， first there was the Bell Curve。 You've heard about it countless times， maybe you were even subject to a supportive educator's resulting grading process （whether knowingly or unknowingly）。 Either way， to truly understand the thinking behind The Curve and the sometimes difficult to accept associative data， read the book。 Not for everyone， even though literally every American plays a role。 。。。more
Guy Grindlay
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A great many of the comments on here were clearly written having either misunderstood the book and it’s core positions or， I suspect， without having actuality read it at all。 Most criticisms are launched from an ideological standpoint， rather than in response to actual content。 Read it， read it all， and read it with an open mind。
Teddy
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Didn't finish the book so won't set a ratingThe authors are biting off waaay more than they can chew。 Statistics is a tricky science even when trying to support basic claims。 The authors are trying to paint really broad strokes saying that "blacks" are less intelligent than "whites" from a statistical standpoint。There are whole series of books dedicated to the analysis of each topic of intelligence testing， statistical methods， genetic diversity。 To make really broad assertions that one color is Didn't finish the book so won't set a ratingThe authors are biting off waaay more than they can chew。 Statistics is a tricky science even when trying to support basic claims。 The authors are trying to paint really broad strokes saying that "blacks" are less intelligent than "whites" from a statistical standpoint。There are whole series of books dedicated to the analysis of each topic of intelligence testing， statistical methods， genetic diversity。 To make really broad assertions that one color is more intelligent than another and then go on to make policy implications is more than you can do in one book。 I'm sure there are probably some correlations between certain types of genetics and certain types of intelligence， but to separate them away from all of the cultural bias in testing， （dis-）advantages due to racial discrimination， definitions of what intelligence even is or how to measure it， is a bridge much too far。 。。。more
Lady V。
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I listened to the abriged audiobook by the author（imagine reading 900 pages of racist pseudo-science）， and it is so painfully neatly fits into the history of phrenology and scientific racism it is bleak。 The same old tautological success = intelligence = success， dubious data and fraudulent mathematics。 The guesswork at the start really sets the stage for how all such reductive attempts at science are doomed to do anything *but* science， the lack of definition for intelligence， the ridiculous su I listened to the abriged audiobook by the author（imagine reading 900 pages of racist pseudo-science）， and it is so painfully neatly fits into the history of phrenology and scientific racism it is bleak。 The same old tautological success = intelligence = success， dubious data and fraudulent mathematics。 The guesswork at the start really sets the stage for how all such reductive attempts at science are doomed to do anything *but* science， the lack of definition for intelligence， the ridiculous suggestion that people would not be racist if they knew iq to not be a pseudo-science， coupled with his allusions to an america that never existed， all about sum up exactly what makes this white supremacist propaganda。 。。。more
Fadi F Hayek
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I just finished reading this book and the thought came to my mind of how Galileo reviled by the church when he said that the earth is round。 The Bell Curve still provides， even after 27 years of its publication， a refreshing view on society and the role that intelligence plays in shaping its realities。 The book unbuttons the straight jacket that the dogmatic religion of political correctness has imprisoned modern thought。
Jon
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I seem to recall a while back that a president of Harvard University got into some trouble by quoting from this book， but I could be mistaken。 The ideas presented by its authors would certainly be regarded as controversial， if not downright inflammatory in some circles。 Hernnstein and Murray performed a statistical analysis of a long term study following thousands of young people through their lives， called the National Longitudinal Study of Youth， NLSY， trying to determine the effects of IQ， or I seem to recall a while back that a president of Harvard University got into some trouble by quoting from this book， but I could be mistaken。 The ideas presented by its authors would certainly be regarded as controversial， if not downright inflammatory in some circles。 Hernnstein and Murray performed a statistical analysis of a long term study following thousands of young people through their lives， called the National Longitudinal Study of Youth， NLSY， trying to determine the effects of IQ， or cognitive ability， on life outcomes。Intelligence among the general population when placed on a graph， forms a statistical distribution called a bell curve， with the bulk of people in the middle， and a very small percentage at both the lowest and highest ends， hence the title of the book。 When the authors talk of "low" or "high" intelligence， they're talking about the ends of the bell curve， not the great mass of "average" people in the middle。The authors claim that in nearly all measures of success or failure in society， cognitive ability has an influence。 It's obvious that those who test higher in intelligence have a better chance at getting a good education， and also rising to higher levels of education。 But it's perhaps little known that students at the top end of the bell curve have been increasingly skimmed off the top to attend ten of the most elite universities in the country， and the people who graduate from those universities go on to run our industries and government， mostly。Job performance in nearly all fields is affected by intelligence， as well。 "It may be said conservatively that for most jobs， based on most measures of productivity， the difference in productivity associated with differences in intelligence diminishes only slowly。。。The cost of hiring less intelligent workings may last as long as they stay on the job。"While the authors make the point that "you cannot determine what a given person will do from his IQ score"， they also say that high cognitive ability is "generally associated with socially desirable behaviors， low cognitive ability with socially undesirable ones。" and "。。。the brighter young people in the NLSY are also the ones whose lives most resemble a sometimes disdained stereotype: They stick with school， are plugging away in the workforce， and are loyal to their spouse。"By the way， for the first half of the book， in order to take away the subject of race from the discussion， the authors used only the data from the white youths studied。 So all of the results of low intelligence they discuss are with respect to caucasians。Poverty is also strongly correlated with intelligence。 They say it's actually better to be born smart than to be born rich。 Interestingly， in 1939， half of the US population lived below the poverty line， but increases in productivity after WWII began to lower that rate， up until the mid 60s， when it leveled off around 10% and has remained ever since。 Poverty actually began to be systematically studied in the mid 1800s， and it was believe that the poor fell into two categories， "deserving" and "undeserving"。 Some were poor because of circumstances beyond their control， and others were poor as a result of their own behavior。 Whatever happened to that line of thought？Hernnstein and Murray also link criminal behavior with intelligence。 In contrast to theorists who offer a sociological explanation of crime's causes， such as poverty and unemployment， they say that more serious or chronic offenders generally have lower IQ scores than casual offenders， and that high IQ scores provide some protection against lapsing into criminality for people who have lived in environments regarded as risk factors for criminal behavior。 One good quote， "Many people tend to think of criminals as coming from the wrong side of the tracsk。 They are correct， insofar as that is where people of low cognitive ability disproportionally live。"In the second half of the book， the authors begin to look at the issue of race or ethnicity and intelligence。 I believe this is where that Harvard president got into trouble。 Although it's extremely unpopular to say it these days， there are - in the aggregate - differences between ethnic groups。 The authors talk a bit about the whole issue of cultural bias that is assumed to make it nearly impossible to test a person's IQ accurately if they've come from a different cultural background than the population the IQ test is allegedly written for。It turns out that there are some tests available that have a strong correlation with cognitive ability scores， which appear to have no way to be culturally biased。 One of these， called digit span， involves repeating a string of numbers spoken to you， either forwards or backwards。 Whites， blacks， and asians perform differently on these tests。 Another one involves placing your hand on a button， depressing it。 Lights of different colors are arranged around the button in a wheel。 When certain lights turn on， certain actions are required， such as touching the light to turn it off， or perhaps a more complex action with multiple lights。 Again， different ethnic groups score differently。 It's difficult to imagine that either numeric values or flashing lights can be culturally biased。One standard test that's been used for many years to test cognitive abilities is the ASVAB。 It's taken by all people who enter any of our armed forces。 Strangely， scores on the ASVAB actually do a very good job of predicting success within various MOS's。 Even more strangely， given assumptions of cultural bias implicit in intelligence testing， the ASVAB does a good job on predicting outcomes for whites， blacks and asians alike。The authors go on to make some predictions about what the future may hold， and offer some ideas for helping to solve today's pressing social problems， based on their understanding of the underlying causes。 I think they're on a lot more shaky ground with predictions than on their data-based conclusions about IQ and outcomes， but this is really an interesting and thought-provoking read。 。。。more
Stephen Chase
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 The greatest book about the USA and our allies！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！
Kevin Stumpf
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Wow。 That was A LOT of information， and a lot to think about。 I was introduced to this book while reading， How Children Succeed， and Whatever It Takes， both by Paul Tough。 These are not easy issues/subjects to address。After reading a few reviews both before and during my reading of this book， I have decided two things: （1） some people are not going to like this book because of the difficult subject matter and how uncomfortable the content may be， （2） some people obviously did not read the book b Wow。 That was A LOT of information， and a lot to think about。 I was introduced to this book while reading， How Children Succeed， and Whatever It Takes， both by Paul Tough。 These are not easy issues/subjects to address。After reading a few reviews both before and during my reading of this book， I have decided two things: （1） some people are not going to like this book because of the difficult subject matter and how uncomfortable the content may be， （2） some people obviously did not read the book before their reviews。 Are there difficult， uncomfortable， gut wrenching， pieces of information shared - absolutely。 Is it difficult to read and comprehend - absolutely。 Are there many issues both inherent and externally that have and impact - yes again。BUT just because the “fix” was not provided， does not mean the thoughts are incorrect。 After having dealt with adults in the business world on every imaginable distribution along the IQ scale， there was NOTHING I could do to help some of the associates I worked with。 While others， I could not believe how quickly he/she progressed。 These were not college educated people， they were every day citizens from all walks of life and a variety of SES， home life situations， family structures。Do I have all the answers？ No。 But after reading this book it has helped me understand people that I interact with on a daily basis on a different level。 A different environment can be helpful。 A two parent household can be helpful。 A higher SES situation can be helpful。 But none are a cure all。 。。。more
Sharlene King
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If you think this is a good book， read the The Tyranny of Metrics next。 The question of whether this book is racist or not is how well you understand measurement and what influences it。Anyone with a lick of scientific background and understands how samples and data can be polluted by influence won't have much use for this book except to understand how racists twist facts and figures to suit their views instead of changing their views based on data。 If you think this is a good book， read the The Tyranny of Metrics next。 The question of whether this book is racist or not is how well you understand measurement and what influences it。Anyone with a lick of scientific background and understands how samples and data can be polluted by influence won't have much use for this book except to understand how racists twist facts and figures to suit their views instead of changing their views based on data。 。。。more
Henry Merrilees
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Pseudoscience for those who want to confirm their already-held beliefs on Black inferiority。
Alyssa
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To me， a book that gets many 5-star reviews and many 1-star reviews with an average of 3 like this one is much more interesting than one that has mostly 3-star reviews。 1-star reviews from people that disagree is a good sign of a thought-provoking， well-written， and relevant idea。Many of the 1-star reviews seem like the person didn't even read the book。 Accepting the scientific fact that genetic ethnicity plays a role in cognitive ability is not an inherently "immoral" statement。 What may be imm To me， a book that gets many 5-star reviews and many 1-star reviews with an average of 3 like this one is much more interesting than one that has mostly 3-star reviews。 1-star reviews from people that disagree is a good sign of a thought-provoking， well-written， and relevant idea。Many of the 1-star reviews seem like the person didn't even read the book。 Accepting the scientific fact that genetic ethnicity plays a role in cognitive ability is not an inherently "immoral" statement。 What may be immoral， as the book points out， is using public policy to eliminate ANY environmental differences in cognitive ability， so all that's left is genetic differences。 And then denying people with lower genetic cognitive ability a sense of fulfillment from having a valued responsibility in their community。I will concede that the ability to process complex thought is necessary to understand the book。 If what the book says is true， the authors would need to write a second book that explains their idea more simply to the people with lower cognitive ability。 。。。more
Alexander Manilov
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All valid points， but sometimes repetitive。
Tybo
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Dry， but food for thought
Daniel Loween
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Controversial。。。
A
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This book is loaded with statistics and footnotes。 It is immaculately sourced and researched。 Its authors are extremely civil about their findings and try their hardest to not push any buttons。 Even the book's policy prescriptions are moderated from the findings which come beforehand。 It is the road which passes between the （enforced） consensus and intellectual heresy。In short: The Bell Curve is an essential read to understand modern America。 Intelligence is dividing our society and cognitive li This book is loaded with statistics and footnotes。 It is immaculately sourced and researched。 Its authors are extremely civil about their findings and try their hardest to not push any buttons。 Even the book's policy prescriptions are moderated from the findings which come beforehand。 It is the road which passes between the （enforced） consensus and intellectual heresy。In short: The Bell Curve is an essential read to understand modern America。 Intelligence is dividing our society and cognitive lines in a way which it has not before。 No matter the egalitarian's wishes， the 80% heritability of intelligence by adulthood cannot be changed。 Not by Head Start。 Not by adoption into the wealthiest of families。 Not by spending billions of dollars。 It is so stupid that nearly all sociologists and public policy makers ignore intelligence。 Murray and Herrnstein show their folly and reveal how IQ correlates extremely highly with success in all aspects of life: education， job performance， crime， and more。 What was the authors' sin？ Why have they been carpet bombed in the press？ The answer is that they tried to open the public's eyes to the findings of an esoteric sector of academic research， and that some people did not want them to do so。 So once the cat was let out of the bag， the only hope was to kill it。 But block your ears to the sounds of hysteria; block your eyes to their meaningless name-calling; and open this book to see statistics reveal a world which you have never seen before。 。。。more
Mason Coates
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Some books should be banned。
David
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You don't have to agree with the authors' conclusions to understand that this book represents an argument that is crucial to the understanding of inequality in developed industrial and post-industrial societies。 You don't have to agree with the authors' conclusions to understand that this book represents an argument that is crucial to the understanding of inequality in developed industrial and post-industrial societies。 。。。more
Radu
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An excellent and daring read for anyone interested in the science of human intelligence and behavioural patterns。 Despite the book's age， The Bell Curve continues to court as much controversy as it did when it was first published， which is honestly unwarranted as the book states repeatedly that society viewing a person's IQ as a measure of their worth is neither productive or fair， in addition to deferring any possible political solutions to the issues of race relations and wealth distribution t An excellent and daring read for anyone interested in the science of human intelligence and behavioural patterns。 Despite the book's age， The Bell Curve continues to court as much controversy as it did when it was first published， which is honestly unwarranted as the book states repeatedly that society viewing a person's IQ as a measure of their worth is neither productive or fair， in addition to deferring any possible political solutions to the issues of race relations and wealth distribution to those better informed on the subject。Simply put， if you believe in science then you have to accept the truth that doesn't deal in morality; science deals only in facts。 。。。more
Teddy Dodger
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Big read with a lot of stats， tables， scientific concepts and graphs that I don't feel qualified to analyse （Gould/Taleb have provided good critiques and others have provided good defences， will look more into）。 Murray and Herrnstein do numberphobes like me a favour by having a glossary of statistical terms in the back which I may make use of in the future。 Anyway， taking away the central buttress of the book （that IQ is a measurable and objective measure of intelligence） you aren't left with mu Big read with a lot of stats， tables， scientific concepts and graphs that I don't feel qualified to analyse （Gould/Taleb have provided good critiques and others have provided good defences， will look more into）。 Murray and Herrnstein do numberphobes like me a favour by having a glossary of statistical terms in the back which I may make use of in the future。 Anyway， taking away the central buttress of the book （that IQ is a measurable and objective measure of intelligence） you aren't left with much， but there are a couple of interesting things that make the book an interesting quick read even if you don't buy the central claima） Cognitive stratification。 Smart people 100 years ago were not always going to college， and they'd take jobs which would not isolate them from less smart people。 This changed in the last century， particularly during since the 1950s （not the 60s） which resulted in elites living， working and socialising almost exclusively with other >110IQ people。 The authors present this as a great tragedy for those less intelligent since it means a political elite unworried about their concerns （they even， sort of， predict a populist backlash）。 But I am also becoming increasingly convinced of Peter Turchin's notion of elite /overproduction/， Too many people with MA degrees chasing fewer and fewer degrees in the humanities/think-tank/journalism world is now more likely to produce the next great catastrophe， perhaps alongside cognitive stratification。 Elite overproduction isn't really touched on by the authors even though I am pretty sure it was well under way by 1994b） We aren't blank-slatesPretty obvious really but post-1960s liberal social policy has been a disaster in assuming that， for instance， extra-schooling or government programmes can rectify intelligence inbalances。 Me agreeing with this bit doesn't necessarily mean I think IQ is an objective measure of things but M+H are right。 Above all it's thought provoking， accessible and fairly moderate in the few pronunciations it does make on controversial topics。 。。。more
rya
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im still waiting for white people to realize how absurd of a concept this is
Susan
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My daughter read this a while back， and she references it in conversations all the time。 “It explains everything， ” she said of The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life。I held off reading it; with all its appendices and so on it was almost 900 pages。 But her comments finally got the better of me and I checked it out as my final big 2020 read。IntroductionPeople sometimes deride IQ tests， but “intelligence” is definitely a real thing。 Studies have shown that people who do My daughter read this a while back， and she references it in conversations all the time。 “It explains everything， ” she said of The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life。I held off reading it; with all its appendices and so on it was almost 900 pages。 But her comments finally got the better of me and I checked it out as my final big 2020 read。IntroductionPeople sometimes deride IQ tests， but “intelligence” is definitely a real thing。 Studies have shown that people who do well on one general test will also do well on other tests。 So next time someone tells you they “don’t test well，” that’s probably an excuse。 The quality that people have who do well on tests is referred to as “g，” or general intelligence。 Note that IQ is not synonymous with “human excellence” — it simply measures a person’s cognitive ability。Chapter 1 Cognitive Class and Education， 1900-1990Until the 20th century， people of all intellectual abilities lived together without much stratification。 What changed during this century was that many more people began attending college。 As the century progressed， those attending colleges （particularly the highly elite Ivy Leagues） became the more intellectually-able。 In 1960， Harvard decided to use some basis other than pure intellectual abilities to determine admission， not wanting the college to become “such an intellectual hot-house that the unfortunate aspects of a self-conscious intellectualism would become dominant and the precious， the brittle and the neurotic take over。”Chapter 2 Cognitive Partitioning by OccupationUntil the early 1900s， highly intelligent people were scattered fairly equally across all professions。 But around that time， jobs began to become more grouped by IQ。 These days， a very high proportion of highly-intelligent people are in a handful of professions that are highly screened for IQ: lawyers， doctors， engineers， accountants， and the like。 This does NOT mean that all people in those professions are highly intelligent， nor does it mean there aren’t intelligent people in other professions。 This happened largely because of the rise in college attendance and graduation， which tended to sort out the more highly intelligent from the less so。Chapter 3 The Economic Pressure to PartitionWhat makes someone good at their job？ Much evidence says it’s IQ， regardless of what your job is。 Employers could predict a potential employee’s effectiveness better with an IQ test than even with a test specific to that occupation — although since 1971 it’s been illegal to use IQ tests for employment。 Intelligence/cognitive ability/”g” as they call it in this book， is the best predictor of success at ANY job。A few personal notes here — my oldest daughter noted that a few places she interviewed for work after completing college asked her to take intelligence-type tests， which she found unusual （although it makes total sense after reading this book）。 Another asked for her SAT scores。 SAT/ACT scores are highly correlated to IQ scores， so this may be a way around requesting IQ tests for potential hires。I also found interesting “the requirement for teaching certificates often impedes hiring good teachers in elementary and secondary schools。” I found this very true。 My BS degree is in one field， my MA in another。 My MA is in elementary education， and that required one year of classes。 During that year I was so bored in the classes that I thought many times I could mentally not have handled four years of them， they were so basic and dull。 It’s a shame 4 years of those courses is required for a bachelor’s degree because in my case it would have kept me out of the teaching profession — and we do need intelligent teachers， even at the elementary level。Chapter 4 Steeper Ladders， Narrower GatesIQ has become a major predictor of income， and IQ is largely genetic。 There is always the nature/nurture question， but many studies， including those of identical twins raised separately， show that 40-80% （and most likely nearer the higher end here） of intelligence is hereditary。 People tend to marry others with IQ’s near those of their own （the correlation here is similar to the correlation of IQ’s among siblings）。Chapter 5 PovertyThe book now turns to looking at intelligence and how it relates to social issues。 The age-old question: would you rather be smart or rich？ — should definitively be answered “smart。” Low intelligence is a stronger precursor of poverty than low socioeconomic background。To avoid racial confusion， the authors studied poverty among whites only。 It’s interesting to note that until the late 1930s， half the population lived at the poverty level。 Beginning then， the poverty rate began to fall， and this continued until some time in the ’60s when it leveled off to between 10 and 15% where it remains。 Poverty is strongly tied to poverty， with 6% of those living in poverty in the top 25% of IQ。 With an average IQ of 100， a person has just an 11% chance of falling below poverty-level income。 An intelligent child born into a economically poor home has a very strong chance of living above the poverty level as an adult。A note about IQ testing — such tests are unreliable in children under age 5， up to then corresponding strongly with parental IQ。 By age 10， IQ is fairly “set” and will stay consistent throughout life。Chapter 6 SchoolingThe higher your intelligence， the greater statistical chance you have of completing high school and college。 The inverse is true as well。 The authors looked at the stereotype of the bright but disadvantaged youth denied an education — this held up for 7/10 of 1 percent， a negligible number。 Related is the stereotypical low-IQ child of rich parents。 Statistics show just 5% of children of parents in the top socioeconomic group had below-average IQ’s， and of those only 12% earned college degrees — so that stereotype is very uncommon as well。Chapter 7 Unemployment， Idleness， and InjuryNote that “unemployed” requires that you are looking for work。 “Out of the labor force” means not working nor looking for work。 As you might expect， below-normal intelligence and not working are closely related。 One reason mentioned is that young males may decide not to work， preferring instead to travel or chase women。 While working men might enjoy doing this too， they tend to have more foresight — a trait not as common in those of lower intelligence。Disability is looked at as well。 Interestingly， 7 times more members of the lowest IQ class report being unable to work due to health problems than those of average IQ。 You might be thinking that this is due in part to lower-IQ individuals working in blue-collar， physically-demanding jobs， but studies find the statistics hold up even when this is taken into account。 It is suggested that being accident-prone and having a lower IQ could be related。 Studies have even shown that the risk of car accidents rises as the driver’s IQ falls。 Very interesting， and by now I’m definitely seeing how intelligence does indeed seem to affect everything。Note that even among those with the lowest IQ’s （those described as clinically retarded）， 70% are in the labor force。 This is admirable and I’m impressed by the work ethic of those who are working even with all the obstacles they face。Chapter 8 Family MattersBearing illegitimate children， as you might have guessed， is closely linked with intelligence。 Intelligence is commonly divided into 5 groups — a middle group （which is 50% of the population）， middle/high and middle/low groups （each differing from the norm by one standard deviation） — these each contain 20% of the popular。 Then the highest and lowest （differing by another standard deviation） each contain 5% of the population。 Among white women， 2% in the highest IQ group had illegitimate children， while 32% in the lowest group did。 Various explanations — higher intelligence leads one to think ahead and plan when to have a child， helps encourage self-restraint， etc。 Interestingly， while socioeconomic status was related to the illegitimacy rate as well， it was far less correlated than IQ was。Chapter 9 Welfare DependencyNo specific quotes stood out to me here， but as you might suspect， being on welfare — and more specifically， staying on welfare chronically — are associated with lower IQ scores。 Although family history of welfare dependence plays a role too， the correlation between welfare and IQ is even stronger。Chapter 10 ParentingAs a parent and a teacher， I was particularly interested in this chapter’s findings。 A “disquieting finding is that the worst environments for raising children， of the kind that not even the most resilient children can easily overcome， are concentrated in the homes in which the motheres are at the low end of the intelligence distribution。”Some examples of the type thing that happens in homes of parents with higher IQ’s were given。 One example was a parent reading to a young child， then asking the child questions about the story and discussing the story’s meaning with him。 “It is no great stretch to argue … that this interaction amounts to excellent training for intelligence tests。” Lower IQ parents might still read to their children， but they didn’t tend to do the extra discussion。 They also tended to give directives （“Don’t do that”） without discussing reasons for them。 Later， as their children reached higher grades in school， they struggled to answer higher-level questions like “What did you like about this story？” or “What would you have done in that situation？”“The reluctance of scholars and policymakers alike to look at the role of low intelligence in malparenting may properly be called scandalous。”Chapter 11 CrimeBy now you can probably predict， correctly， that crime is also tied to IQ level。 I hear you asking， but what about the brilliant criminal who plots his crime and gets away with it？ Yes， those criminals exist， but they’re very rare; that’s why books and movies feature them。Many assume that poverty and unemployment “cause” crime （West Side Story delinquents whined that they were ‘depraved on account of we’re deprived’）， but these issues have not been tied as closely to criminal behavior as IQ has。 Many things work together here — it’s posited that the less intelligent often struggle with school and the ability to find work， thereby leading them to feel they have few options other than to steal and commit other crimes。I had to smile over the observation that “the population of offenders is short of very low-scoring persons — people whose scores are so low that they have trouble mustering the competence to commit most crimes。” What a bummer it would be to lack the intelligence to even commit crime …Chapter 12 Civility and CitizenshipThis chapter looks at civility — referred to as “virtue” by our Founders。 “Brighter children of all socioeconomic classes， including the poorest， learn more repaidly about politics and how government works， and are more likely than duller children to read about， discuss， and participate in political activities。” Interesting。Intelligence is tied to being a good citizen and being civil — the brighter “stick with school， are plugging away in the workforce， and are loyal to their spouse。 Insofar as intelligence helps lead people to behave in these ways， it is also a force for maintaining a civil society。” I would never have thought of higher intelligence and civic engagement as being related， but the more I read here the more I do see that intelligence really is tied to almost every aspect of life。 Higher IQ individuals tend to vote at a higher rate than those with lower IQ scores。Chapter 13 Ethnic Differences in Cognitive AbilityUp to this point， the book has studied whites only， in order to keep racial differences from influencing results。 But here， they add in race。 There are differences in IQ among ethnic groups。 Highest scoring are Jews， specifically Ashkenazi Jews of European origin。 Next are eastern Asians （China， Japan）， whose IQ’s average 103 to Caucasians’ 100。 It’s interesting to note that these Asians that live in America average around 103。 Blacks score about one standard deviation lower than Caucasians， averaging around 85。Although this chapter is controversial， the authors take great pains to show a LOT of documentation。 Really， is it that surprising that races differ in intelligence？ They obviously differ in other ways， like athletic ability。 Why should intelligence be any different？ It’s also important to remember that a high IQ isn’t a compliment — it’s just a fact。 You are probably thinking about the really smart black person you know。 That’s how statistics work: there are many very smart black people， just as there are many dumb whites。 This book is about overall statistics， both the averages and the outliers。Does socioeconomic status （SES） play a role in the test scores of blacks？ This was studied。 It appears that when SES is considered， it comprises 37% of the difference in scores。 So considering SES， blacks score 。76 of a standard deviation below whites。 Another interesting finding is that the IQ’s of blacks living in Africa average 75， or 1。7 standard deviations below whites。 So blacks living in America have higher IQ’s — why is a question for others to explore。Chapter 14 Ethnic Inequalities in Relation to IQHow do differences in IQ among different ethnic groups affect life on a practical level？ A “great American success story” is noted here， since studies have shown that once we compare people have the same IQ， blacks actually graduate from college at a higher percentage than whites （the average IQ for college grads is 114。 50% of whites with that IQ are college grads， while 68% of blacks with that IQ are college grads。 For latinos， the percentage is 49%）。Chapter 15 The Demography of IntelligenceBear in mind with this review that this book was published in 1994。 I’d be very curious to see what has happened since that time。 Anyway， at the time of writing， IQ in the US was declining about 。8 point per generation。 This has sped up lately， due to those at the lower end of the IQ scale having more children than those at the top。Chapter 16 Social Behavior and the Prevalence of Low Cognitive AbilityThis chapter discusses not whether low cognitive ability causes social problems， but the prevalence of low cognitive ability among people who have those problems — note the distinction。 Since most people with societal issue are heavily concentrated in the lower IQ segments， practical solutions should be designed that will succeed in this population。 So when our nation tries to lower unemployment， for instance， we need to judge solutions by their 。。。See the rest at my blog -- https://girlsinwhitedresses。wordpress。。。 。。。more
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