June 26, 2014
Metropolitana Cathedral, Mexico City
Source: Shutterstock
In 1972, a massive test of the Irish put them at IQ 87. Recently they have scored at about 100 (which is exactly what you would expect of a population of Eurowhite PVWs). The only way this difference could be accomplished genetically would be by killing off most of Ireland, an event which one would expect to have made the newspapers. But maybe they were distracted by the World Cup or whatever Paris Hilton was doing at the time.
Now, if twin studies prove conclusively that 80% of IQ is genetic, and the Irish example proves conclusively that it isn”t, only one explanation is possible: IQ tests are not measuring what we think they are measuring. QED. I would expect this to cause cognitive dissonance in IQists, but they seem not to be cognitive enough to notice the dissonance.
Again, when a thirteen-point gap vanishes in a very few generations, the change isn”t genetic. Further, note that all of the gap disappeared, showing that none of it was genetic.
Now we come to Mexico, which, by chance, is alleged to have exactly the 87 IQ of the Irish, apparently based on one study (see the table) in 1961 of 520 Mexicans. What could be more convincing? But before proceeding, a minor zoological excursion.
When I mention Mexico, I invariably get mail instructing me on the nature of the county and its inhabitants. Everybody seems to know more about Mexico than those of us who live here. I am not talking about the high-wattage race realists, such as Steve Sailer, John Derbyshire, and Jared Taylor, who are very intelligent and thoughtful. Rather, I advert to the nitwit pack of howlers and me-Tarzan-you-Jane chest-beaters who post thunderous comments.
I imagine having the following conversation with these Confidently Vacuous Experts:
Me: “You have, I don”t doubt, lived in Mexico?”
Confidently Vacuous Expert: “Uh, well, uh….”
“But certainly you have traveled extensively, business trips to Mexico City, visits with Mexican friends?”
“Uh, well, uh….”
“You do speak Spanish?”
“Uh, well, uh….”
“A man of your cultivation cannot have failed to read Latin-American authors”Borges, Juan Rulfo, Vargas Llosa, Benedetti, Neruda, Octavio Paz, Carlos Fuentes, Carlos Monsiváis?”
“Uh, well, uh….”
“You can tell me whether Guanajuato is the capital of Toluca, or about an ethnic dish made with nopales, the dialects of Sinaloa, or the name of Peña Nieto’s dog?”
“Uh, well, uh….”
“Yes, I see. Quite. Your mastery commands my astonishment. Now do tell me about Mexico.”
This is not the only question I might raise with these geographic virgins if I were rude, which I decidedly am not. I might ask: “Among IQ tests, can you cite the three major methodological differences between Raven’s Progressive Matrices and Rockwell’s Libertarian Matrices?” Or, “You are familiar with the concept of standard deviation? You can calculate one? Take the mean, the differences from the mean, square them, and so on?”
Just wondering.
