Do you consider it racism?

Question

Do you consider it racism to believe there are mental differences between races? Most people would agree there are physical differences of all kinds(whites have more hair, blacks are more likely to have sickle cell anemia, etc) so what is wrong with claiming mental differences?

Answer 1

No because as a whole species we have the same brain capacity everyones genes determines the same brain

black people are more protected to UV rays due to high density of melanin. Melanin is the color brown and it filters out UV rays

white people are less protected to UV rays due to low desity of melanin.Their skin can absorb more Vitamin D than black people but are more prone to skin cancer and early skin aging to black people

WTF has melanin protection from UV rays or allowance for Vitamin absorbing have anything to do with intelligence

Answer 2

I could claim you're racist when you look at someone different than you. This really can boil down to a petty shouting match.

Answer 3

Yes it is racism.

And intelligence is subjective, he can call it G, b, d, IQ, but it is still a subjective measurement and has no scientific basis.  All it can test is a person's ability to take that test, nothing more.

--And there are so many confounding variables, even if you could come up with a test for true intelligence, then there is no way you could say there is a genetic link.  Even Monozygotic Twins studies have many confounding variables that can not be eliminated (Which is what most people use to state there is a correlation between genetics and Intelligence) .

Answer 4

Yeah, I can kind of understand where you are coming from!

But, remember you can't generalise all from that race into a category - then you will be being racist!

I know what you mean that some races are smarter, and some are better at other things, but I would def. not say that as a general rule !

Answer 5

This topic is undeniably a 'touchy' subject. Even if you are saying it perfectly innocently without a bias such as racism, you could still be interpreted as racist.

It seems acceptable to say that Blacks, in general, are much better athletes than Whites, especially in running. But what is the difference between noting the differences in physical capabilities to noting them in mental?

I'm confused too :)

Answer 6

It's a tricky question, since it's extremely un-PC to claim this. There are statistically significant differences between races on IQ tests, but the explanation is always that the IQ test is biased, not that the races actually have unequal intelligence.

For now, it is racist because unlike the physical differences (e.g. curly vs straight hair), you're pronouncing a value judgment --you're not just saying that the races are different, you're ranking them and saying one is better than another.  IQ is extremely difficult to measure objectively, and until we have a truly objective means of measuring IQ, it is unfair to claim this.  (I assume you're talking about IQ when you say "mental differences")

Answer 7

Yes it is..cause in every race there is a dumb people and smart people

Answer 8

because i know what you getting at

you're probably talking about IQ and race

how asians are the smartest right? *sarcasm*

IQ supposedly measures someone's intelligence. i think it's inaccurate because it basically says there is only one kind of intelligence.

there are some people with fantastic memories, some with mathematical minds, some with musical genius, some with mechanical expertise, some with good vocabularies, some good at seeing analogies, some good at synthesizing, some at unifying, etc

so basically, there are different types on intelligence and the IQ only tests SOME kinds of intelligence.

some people excell in different types of intelligence so why would they make a test that only tests some or probably ONE kind of intelligence.

it makes no since

EDIT: but what exectly is GENERAL intelligence? different people excell in different intelligence. you also have to look and the culture and environment difference. what TYPE of education are each of these people receiving now? what is the CONDITION of the schools for the children? etc

all these things and more play a much bigger part as to why their "general intelligence" as you call it, is the way it is

Answer 9

I believe that culture and your surroundings plays a big part in mental differences, not sure if that falls into the same category though. But..

Intelligence (the ability to learn/speed of learning, not amount of knowledge) is like everything else genetic, If a group of people who are part of the same "race" as you say split up and went in different/separate areas, I guarantee you that their will be a difference in intelligence just between the two groups, as whoever pushes their mental limits will develope more over time. Diet also plays a factor in intelligence and growing.

Since that can happen within a race, its not logical for a "race" to be smarter than another, it is logical for a group of people to have higher standards for learning and better standards of living.

Answer 10

Yes, that's racist. You can't lump them all together like that. I've met idiots of all races.