The Mismeasure of Man
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Gould's book about the measurement and mis-use the measurement of intelligence, as it has been manipulated and reified to prepetuate social injustice. It's well known, or should be, that cultural knowledge and vocabulary affect results. American intelligence tests were developed by the U.S. army to measure men's intelligence. When they wanted women to score equally well, they had to drop the questions that presumed sports knowledge. Similarly, people from other countries have given the "wrong" answers based on their customs. It would be only amusing, except that those answers were used to refuse entry to immigrants on the ground of "natural inferiority."
In a personal example, Gould mentions how a mistake in recorded IQs affected students' marks at his wife's school. When teachers are told that someone is unusually intelligent, that student gets more attention and more complete answers from the teacher--and voila!--their marks improve, "proving" how intelligent they are.
There's a good review at Amazon.com.
Books by Stephen Jay Gould:
- Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History
- An Urchin in the Storm: Essays about Books and Ideas
- Leonardo's Mountain of Clams & the Diet of Worms: Essays on Natural History
- The Mismeasure of Man
- Bully for Brontosaurus
- Ever Since Darwin
- The Panda's Thumb
- The Flamingo's Smile
- Hen's Teeth and Horse's Toes
- Eight Little Piggies
- Dinosaur in a Haystack
- I Have Landed: The End of a Beginning in Natural History
Books by Lewis Thomas:
- The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher
- The Medusa and the Snail More Notes of a Biology Watcher
- The Fragile Species
- The Youngest Science: Notes of a Medicine Watcher
- Late Night Thoughts on Listening to Mahler's Ninth Symphony
Books by Annie Dillard:
- Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
In a personal example, Gould mentions how a mistake in recorded IQs affected students' marks at his wife's school. When teachers are told that someone is unusually intelligent, that student gets more attention and more complete answers from the teacher--and voila!--their marks improve, "proving" how intelligent they are.
There's a good review at Amazon.com.
Books by Stephen Jay Gould:
- Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History
- An Urchin in the Storm: Essays about Books and Ideas
- Leonardo's Mountain of Clams & the Diet of Worms: Essays on Natural History
- The Mismeasure of Man
- Bully for Brontosaurus
- Ever Since Darwin
- The Panda's Thumb
- The Flamingo's Smile
- Hen's Teeth and Horse's Toes
- Eight Little Piggies
- Dinosaur in a Haystack
- I Have Landed: The End of a Beginning in Natural History
Books by Lewis Thomas:
- The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher
- The Medusa and the Snail More Notes of a Biology Watcher
- The Fragile Species
- The Youngest Science: Notes of a Medicine Watcher
- Late Night Thoughts on Listening to Mahler's Ninth Symphony
Books by Annie Dillard:
- Pilgrim at Tinker Creek