Of Reading and Intelligence

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“It’s no longer reasonable to debate whether the problem exists,” said Sunil Iyengar, director of research and analysis for the endowment. “Let’s not nitpick or wrangle over to what extent is reading in decline.”

-- Motoko Rich for The New York Times

A new study links the decline in test scores to a decline in time that people spend reading. And we are now just talking about reading for pleasure, not just time spent on high-end reading.

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Of Reading and Intelligence

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“It’s no longer reasonable to debate whether the problem exists,” said Sunil Iyengar, director of research and analysis for the endowment. “Let’s not nitpick or wrangle over to what extent is reading in decline.”

-- Motoko Rich for The New York Times

A new study links the decline in test scores to a decline in time that people spend reading. And we are now just talking about reading for pleasure, not just time spent on high-end reading.

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Iran: For Country or Allah?

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Andrew Sullivan and Norman Podhoretz are in an Internet tussle.

Can Iran be trusted with nuclear weapons? That is, would Iran be deterred from using nuclear weapons with the promise of retaliation? Podhoretz has the more hawkish position and does not believe that Iran is constrained by worldly-rational prudence.

A couple of statements from Iranian leaders suggest not, and that it's messianic spirit may rule.

Ayatollah Khomeini's statement:

We do not worship Iran, we worship Allah. For patriotism is another name for paganism. I say let this land [Iran] burn. I say let this land go up in smoke, provided Islam emerges triumphant in the rest of the world.

Former President Rafsanjani's statement:

If a day comes when the world of Islam is duly equipped with the arms Israel has in possession . . . application of an atomic bomb would not leave anything in Israel, but the same thing would just produce damages in the Muslim world.

Both statements are disputed.

I'm afraid we may get the answer to this question, as the West, including America, lacks the will to squelch Iran's nuclear ambitions, willing to rely on good faith that Iran will act prudently and maintain the peace.


(source: Norman Podhoretz at Commentary)

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Iran: For Country or Allah?

♠
Andrew Sullivan and Norman Podhoretz are in an Internet tussle.

Can Iran be trusted with nuclear weapons? That is, would Iran be deterred from using nuclear weapons with the promise of retaliation? Podhoretz has the more hawkish position and does not believe that Iran is constrained by worldly-rational prudence.

A couple of statements from Iranian leaders suggest not, and that it's messianic spirit may rule.

Ayatollah Khomeini's statement:

We do not worship Iran, we worship Allah. For patriotism is another name for paganism. I say let this land [Iran] burn. I say let this land go up in smoke, provided Islam emerges triumphant in the rest of the world.

Former President Rafsanjani's statement:

If a day comes when the world of Islam is duly equipped with the arms Israel has in possession . . . application of an atomic bomb would not leave anything in Israel, but the same thing would just produce damages in the Muslim world.

Both statements are disputed.

I'm afraid we may get the answer to this question, as the West, including America, lacks the will to squelch Iran's nuclear ambitions, willing to rely on good faith that Iran will act prudently and maintain the peace.


(source: Norman Podhoretz at Commentary)

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B.I.T.C.H.

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“My advice for Hillary Clinton? Take it as a compliment. I'm a bitch and proud - a Babe In Total Control of Herself.”

-- Sherry Argov

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B.I.T.C.H.

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“My advice for Hillary Clinton? Take it as a compliment. I'm a bitch and proud - a Babe In Total Control of Herself.”

-- Sherry Argov

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Race and IQ

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Last month, James Watson, the legendary biologist, was condemned and forced into retirement after claiming that African intelligence wasn't "the same as ours." "Racist, vicious and unsupported by science," said the Federation of American Scientists. "Utterly unsupported by scientific evidence," declared the U.S. government's supervisor of genetic research. The New York Times told readers that when Watson implied "that black Africans are less intelligent than whites, he hadn't a scientific leg to stand on."

I wish these assurances were true. They aren't. Tests do show an IQ deficit, not just for Africans relative to Europeans, but for Europeans relative to Asians. Economic and cultural theories have failed to explain most of the pattern, and there's strong preliminary evidence that part of it is genetic. It's time to prepare for the possibility that equality of intelligence, in the sense of racial averages on tests, will turn out not to be true.

-- William Saletan for Slate.com

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Race and IQ

♠
Last month, James Watson, the legendary biologist, was condemned and forced into retirement after claiming that African intelligence wasn't "the same as ours." "Racist, vicious and unsupported by science," said the Federation of American Scientists. "Utterly unsupported by scientific evidence," declared the U.S. government's supervisor of genetic research. The New York Times told readers that when Watson implied "that black Africans are less intelligent than whites, he hadn't a scientific leg to stand on."

I wish these assurances were true. They aren't. Tests do show an IQ deficit, not just for Africans relative to Europeans, but for Europeans relative to Asians. Economic and cultural theories have failed to explain most of the pattern, and there's strong preliminary evidence that part of it is genetic. It's time to prepare for the possibility that equality of intelligence, in the sense of racial averages on tests, will turn out not to be true.

-- William Saletan for Slate.com

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