Bell curve?

Question

what are the pros and cons of useing the bell curve

Answer 1

It isn't a pro or con type of issue.  If your data is sampled data from a finite distribution, then under the Central Limit Theorem, the data should approximate the bell curve, also called the Normal Distribution or the Gaussian Distribution.  If it is not from a finite distribution or if it is from a known distribution because of how it was sampled, such as a Poisson distribution or a Chi-square distribution, then it is inappropriate to use, but it is inappropriate because of how the data was collected or exists in nature, not because the normal distribution is wrong.

The "bell curve," is natures way of distributing data.  If the requirements of the central limit theorem are met, then it is illogical to use any other distribution since any other distribution will not model the data as well.  If it fails to meet the requirements of the central limit theorem, then there are tests and principles to use to determine an appropriate statistical distribution.

Answer 2

The Bell Curve is a controversial, best-selling 1994 book by the late Harvard professor Richard J. Herrnstein and American Enterprise Institute political scientist Charles Murray. Its central point is that intelligence is a better predictor of many factors including financial income, job performance, unwed pregnancy, and crime than parents' socioeconomic status or education level. Also, the book argued that those with high intelligence, which it called the "cognitive elite", are becoming separated from the general population of those with average and below-average intelligence and that this was a dangerous social trend. Much of the controversy concerned Chapters 13 and 14, in which the authors wrote about the enduring racial differences in intelligence and discuss implications of those differences. The authors were reported throughout the popular press as arguing that these IQ differences are genetic, and they did indeed write in chapter 13 "It seems highly likely to us that both genes and the environment have something to with racial differences." The introduction to the chapter more cautiously states, "The debate about whether and how much genes and environment have to do with ethnic differences remains unresolved."

The book draws heavily from mainstream science research. However, their analysis is their own. Though Richard Herrnstein had a strong background in psychology, co-author Charles Murray was not an expert in intelligence testing.

The book's title comes from the bell-shaped normal distribution of IQ scores. The normal distribution is the limiting distribution of a random quantity which is the sum of smaller, independent random phenomena. The message in the title is that IQ scores are normally distributed because a person's intelligence is the sum of many small random variations in genetic and environmental factors.

Shortly after publication, many people rallied both in criticism and defense of the book. Some critics denounced the book and its authors as supporting scientific racism. A number of critical texts, including The Bell Curve Debate, were written in response to the book.

Answer 3

The pros: its a very accurate description of nature and many natural phenomena. because of this, it can be used to predict future outcomes with great accuracy.

The cons: because more and more people are begining to understand the mathematics behind the bell curve, they try to use its power to explain away their own shortcomings as part of nature and not personal choice.

but for the most part, its just a tool.