An outstanding book on a controversial social issue. Many people may disagree with his opinions, however, you cannot keep a blind eye on this or accusAn outstanding book on a controversial social issue. Many people may disagree with his opinions, however, you cannot keep a blind eye on this or accuse it of pseudoscience. I disagree on many important aspects. A few of them are below. Authors have mentioned that the IQ score improves over generations (in the US as well as in many other countries), This may not be due to genetic changes rather it may be due to environmental/cultural changes. That in turn indicates that the influence of environment/culture has a significant impact on IQ (which is contrary to the main theme of the book). There is not much discussion on this. Also in another chapter authors indicate that the IQ of the US population decreasing over generations due to the low birth rate among educated women. This is contradicting the previous observation. Another thing I disagree with is their opinion that difference in IQ is leading to stratification and class difference. Despite these disagreements, the book discusses many important aspects of social science that most scientists avoid for political correctness. A few points are below. * IQ is in part inborn (part of it hereditary, part random), and part environmental. * Most of the life skills (education, job performance, law obedience, etc) are highly correlated to IQ. This is difficult to believe but his arguments are compelling. * There is a significant difference in IQ between ethnic groups. Very difficult to believe, however they claim that there is ample evidence. It is not clear though if this difference is due to genes or cultural differences. My personal observation is that Asians do better in Science because parents encourage kids in STEM subjects for better employment opportunities. The bar for such controversial claims should be high. * Unequal representation of different ethnic groups in employment or higher education not necessarily due to discrimination.
When they discuss the rationale for affirmative action, I felt one justification left out. It (affirmative action) is like representative participation (a legislative body is not elected based on the best qualification for legislation rather a quota for each region). When you are allocating a scarce resource (college admissions), it has to be equal among different parties as the resource itself has not produced the higher IQ of the applicants. However there is one catch - race and sex are not the only discrepancies, there will be huge discrepancies between urban and rural as well as different regions of the country. I appreciate the authors for the courage to present such a controversial topic also done in a fair way (I think so)....more
I have read it second time. I read it first time in 2000. It is fantastic book if you like philosophy of science. It is very readable without too manyI have read it second time. I read it first time in 2000. It is fantastic book if you like philosophy of science. It is very readable without too many mathematical formulas....more
I was worried of getting bed ridden due to old age or illness. This is a fantastic book if you are thinking about how to end life if quality of life dI was worried of getting bed ridden due to old age or illness. This is a fantastic book if you are thinking about how to end life if quality of life deteriorate (due to age, illness etc)....more
This is an excellent book on post world war II border changes and the subsequent expulsion of Ethnic Germans from Eastern countries (Poland, CzechosloThis is an excellent book on post world war II border changes and the subsequent expulsion of Ethnic Germans from Eastern countries (Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Yugoslavia). Most of the books on the second world war do not cover the border changes and population expulsion. This book discusses at length about the ethical, moral, and legal justifications for expulsion. Was it a collective punishment or revenge on the German people for the Nazi atrocities? Was it done to avoid any subsequent border claims by Germany or internal minority issues within Czech/Poland? Was it to protect Ethnic Germans from the persecution by the native population in Poland/Czech after 1945? It also covers the impact of expelees on the internal politics and foreign policies of Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic. What was the reaction of the Western world towards this population expulsion?...more
This is an outstanding book. If anybody is interested in human evolution, this is a must-read along with Selfish Gene and Righteous Mind. The author pThis is an outstanding book. If anybody is interested in human evolution, this is a must-read along with Selfish Gene and Righteous Mind. The author proposes a new concept (at least new to me) called gene-culture coevolution which looks very interesting. Another concept I learned in this book is the self-domestication of the human species. The author's view on the evolution of religion as a mechanism for enforcing social norms is also very interesting. Another interesting topic is the self catalytic nature (virtuous or vicious circle) of human society....more
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