According to a report by "The Economist", many scientists allege that President Donald Trump has politicized science. On February 19, hundreds of scientists assembled at Copley Square in Boston and vociferously accused him of hindering their work.
If these scientists look in a mirror, then they will see a hypocrite. Many scientists also politicize science.
Consider the case of Dr. James D. Watson, who won the Nobel Prize in medicine. In 2007, he asserted that Africans are less intelligent than Europeans due to genetic differences. Afterwards, he was forced to resign from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, according to report 1 and report 2 by the "New York Times".
If scientists were not political, then they would have immediately conducted a study of the assertion that Watson made. The results of the study would speak for themselves.
Instead of taking a rational approach toward addressing a scientific topic (i.e., differences in intelligence due to differences in genetics), many scientists -- including the management of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory -- immediately and emotionally condemned Watson. They humiliated a man whose medical achievements would significantly advance the treatment of diseases.
The hard truth which many scientists try to avoid or hide (via political tactics like feigned anger) is that differences in culture and genetics produce differences in behavior among ethnic and racial groups. According to one report by "The Economist", differences in genetics produce differences in intelligence. According to another report by the same journal, differences in culture produce differences in work ethic.
Of course, differences in culture and genetics have produced stark differences in national development. For example, Japan is a prosperous nation with a low rate of violent crime. By contrast, Guatemala (which is a typical Hispanic nation) is economically poor and has a high rate of violent crime.
2 comments:
Overall genetics doesn't play a significant effect on intelligence unless there is inbreeding, which has been studied well. However, moral and ethical upbringing can develop useful humans that work well together. If the children are left to fend for themselves, are not taught civility, rationale, charity and social interests, they will become lackluster in accomishments, lazy, unproductive and perfect targets for socialists, communists and anarchists. Proper training by parents is the base line for an evolving culture. All useful cultures are based upon religions that emphasis the needs of their neighbors and morally efficient conduct that is motivated by empathy. Without this certain cultures are piles of gibbons.
Mr. Verderber may well be correct in all respects. However, scientists, like nonscientists, especially when discussing matters far from their primary expertise, are more or less as vulnerable error as everyone. And the proper rebuttal to those errors is not humiliation and banishment, but proof of the error.
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