inkbluesky

pipe dreams

James Watson for those that don’t know is a Nobel Prize winning molecular biologist who was one of the co-discoverers of the molecular structure of nucleic acids or rather the three-dimensional structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (see also Rosalind Franklin and X-ray diffraction images of DNA ). In 2007 Watson was reported to have said that there were inherent genetic differences between races.

“there is no firm reason to anticipate that the intellectual capacities of peoples geographically separated in their evolution should prove to have evolved identically. Our wanting to reserve equal powers of reason as some universal heritage of humanity will not be enough to make it so.”

Watson is something of an eccentric genius and while I would make a poor cheerleader for even the notion of having heroes I’ve always given Watson a high degree of respect for his work. Watson did apologize for his previous remarks, but sometimes apologies just cannot undo the damage done. Its disappointing that given the chance to coorrect the record in 2008 Watson comes out only marginally better.

I don’t think James Watson is a racist. But I do think that he is a racialist—that is, he believes that certain observable traits or forms of behavior among groups of human beings might, indeed, have a biological basis in the code that scientists, eventually, may be able to ascertain, that the “gene” is some mythically neutral space and what it purportedly “measures” or “determines” is independent of environmental factors, variables and influences. The difference, the distinction, between being a racist and a racialist is crucial. James Watson is not the garden-variety racist as he has been caricatured by the press and bloggers, the sort epitomized by David Duke and his ilk, and he seemed genuinely chagrined, embarrassed and remorseful that Duke and other racists had claimed him as their champion…

Even a genius such as Watson can fail at making subtle distinctions. There are certainly genetic differences between people. So obvious that it should go without mention, but Watson is saying that some genetic differences are inexorability tied to race. Watson looks around and sees some intelligent Jews and sees a Jewish intelligence gene. He sees blacks that are good at basketball and sees a basketball gene. Environment – socioeconomics, individual experience and education just don’t seem to factor in to Watson’s take on why the world is the way it is.

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