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Ned Potter is the science correspondent for ABC's "World News with Charles Gibson." He has reported on such topics as space exploration, the human genome and climate change.
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James Watson: Pushback
October 18, 2007 1:31 PM
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on New York's Long Island, home base to James D. Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA, has posted a response to his quoted words about race and intelligence:
"Statement by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Board of Trustees and President Bruce Stillman, Ph.D. Regarding Dr. Watson’s Comments in The Sunday Times on October 14, 2007
“The comments attributed to Dr. James Watson that first appeared in the October 14, 2007 edition of The Sunday Times U.K. are his own personal statements and in no way reflect the mission, goals, or principles of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s Board, administration or faculty. Dr. Watson is not the President of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and was not speaking on behalf of the institution.
"The Board of Trustees, administration and faculty vehemently disagree with these statements and are bewildered and saddened if he indeed made such comments. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory does not engage in any research that could even form the basis of the statements attributed to Dr. Watson." The statement is HERE.
The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, has responded too:
"Professor James Watson’s comments about the genetic inferiority of Africans, and of black people being less intelligent than white people, represent racist propaganda masquerading as scientific fact.
'Such discredited racist theories seek to establish a genetically based racial hierarchy of the human race and have been condemned by leading scientists throughout the world.
"His comments provide a pseudo-scientific rationale for the racist concept of white superiority.
"That a man of such academic distinction could make such ignorant comments, which are utterly offensive and incorrect and give succour to the most backward in our society, demonstrates why racism still has to be fought." The rest of his statement is HERE.
Staffers at Cold Spring Harbor say they're not disclosing how to reach Watson. For the record, the new book he's in London to promote is called "Avoid Boring People: Lessons from a Life in Science."
(AP photo: Watson poses with a model of DNA in 2004.)
October 18, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (7)
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Free speech? What a joke. We have politically correct speech. If you prove some negative behavior is related to race then expect to be denounced.
We are in a cold civil war in the USA. Any political speech deemed not to be PC will be suppressed.
Posted by: Bill H | Oct 18, 2007 3:07:58 PM
Being a gifted scientist is no guarantee
of good judgement. Some might remember
another scientist, Dr. Schockley(spell?)
one of the inventors of the
"transister" which took the place of the
electronic tubes. He advocated for the
ellimination of Black DNA thru sterilization. Sad but true.... `
Posted by: blackie | Oct 18, 2007 3:39:33 PM
Bill H:
What proof? You must really have some serious issues in your life. Race alone do not measure an individual's intellectual capacity. Anyone who thinks that is thinking stupid thoughts.
Is Tiger Woods superior to other golfers because he's part African American? Are Kenyans superior long distant runners because they are Black people? What about senator Barack Obama? Is he smarter, better looking, and more gifted than all other candidates (Republicans & Democrats) because he's African American? Think about those questions.....and then answer them.
This type of thinking and spreading of lies by Mr. Watson brought about in past the rise to Nazism and over 6 million Jews murdered. The foundational doctrine of Darwinism, watered by Friedrich Nietzche, and exploited by Adolf Hitler brought about death and destruction. And you got the nerve to talk "Political Correctness." This is not an issue of being political correct.......White people are simply not smarter than their Black counterparts.....case close.
Posted by: Tony | Oct 18, 2007 4:38:50 PM
Are Blacks physically superior? Can they run faster, jump higher, than Whites? Everyone that's honest, knows this. As a whole, the answer is yes.
There are exceptions, but as a whole Blacks dominate most sports. So, here is the question no one wants to hear. If Blacks are different physically,are they also different mentally? PC is making the discussion on race almost impossible.I wonder how much scientific info gets thrown out because the answers aren't the one the leftist Drs. are looking for.Or the info that is kept secret for fear of being labeled a racist.I would guess that this "we are all equal" nonsence will be right up there with abortion and gun ownership when in 150 years Americans look back and say,"what the hell were they thinking".
Posted by: VaSteve | Oct 19, 2007 9:38:17 AM
I am not even sure that people should waste their time commenting about stupidities. The best way to avoid pronouncing and writing the word Watson is just to award him the "Nobel of Racism" and let him retire in peace.
I know a lot of folks out there think that PhD in Science means that the holder has a global view of the universe - some are even considered semi-gods.
The reality is that Science itself is based of absurd axioms and the way it's taught even makes matters worse.
I explain: 1) The first principle of Science stipulates that what you cannot see does not exist. Unfortunately, humans can only see less than 1% of the universe. Does that mean that 99% of the universe does not exist?
2) The second scientific principle stipulates that only repeatable measurements can be considered scientific.
Here we have a would-be scientist who cannot define what he calls intelligence in the first place, and he cannot show the device that he uses to measure intelligence. And he is still called scientist! How can he let another person verify his intelligence measurement in order to validate his discovery?
University just turns people stupid because they spend their time cramming outdated formulas instead of thinking and re-tooling science in order to increase the human perception of the universe.
Scientific axioms have not changed since its inception and thousands of PHDs are awarded every year all over the globe.. Nobody wonders what those papers mean since they are not improving human perception of the 99% of the universe that we cannot see!
I would rather award Watson a new Nobel of Racism and let him retire in peace.
Posted by: Opteron | Oct 21, 2007 4:12:36 PM
Interesting that the mayor of London says (if I read it right) that people of lower intelligence are inferior. Is that what he meant?
My view is that if one person is more intelligent than another, that does not make them superior. Obviously, there are advantages to intelligence but I'm sure we could easily find many counterexamples, intelligent people that you would want no part of.
Posted by: Wes | Oct 23, 2007 1:24:23 PM
On Watson And Racism
A. Quote from another forum:
"William Saletan wrote a series of articles on Slate late last year indicating that the evidence actually supports what Watson said"
B. There Is No "Cultural Phenotypic Comparative Intelligence"
No matter who William Saletan is and how many articles he wrote on "evidence" re comparative intelligence and where they are printed, There Is No "Cultural Phenotypic Comparative Intelligence". Plain and simple. There is no such thing. There cannot be such a thing.
Every scientist who practices scientism will tell you this. It is elementary biology. Watson simply does not know elementary biology, or is incapable of comprehending it.
Read the following quotation. Read it slowly, carefully and critically. Intelligence, like every "specific" physical property (f.e. specific weight or specific heat etc.,) is a specific cultural phenotype characteristic. It is a characteristic applicable ONLY WITHIN a defined cultural phenogroup. Plain science....
C.
It's Culture, Not Intelligence, Watson...
Watson's statement is not backed by data and is scientifically incorrect. It could have been made by a chemist but not by a biologist. Intelligence and Culture are Biology, not chemistry.
A modern updated biologist can state that the curtain that seperates between USA, China, Russia, Muslim, African etc., cultures is the Phenotypic Cultural Curtain, the primary darwinian striving of each phenotype to survive at all costs...
But it shall come to pass one day that humans will understand their biological nature and biological environments and cooperate rather than fight for survival...
Dov Henis
End quote
(From DH comments from 22nd century)
Posted by: Dov Henis | Oct 23, 2008 3:35:43 AM
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