A reader reveals a fascinating angle to the latest round of the Bell Curve debate:
As a black man, I wish the Race vs. IQ debate were not so taboo; I feel that there are many angles to the debate that don’t get addressed due to the highly charged nature of this topic. For instance, how come there are no studies that look at IQ adjusted for the age of the mother? In my spare time, I scan through census bureau economic data, and some of the analysis I’ve done has me convinced that if any of these IQ researchers actually took the time to adjust test scores for the birth age of the mother, this debate would look entirely different.
There is a strong correlation, across all races, between IQ and birth-age of mother. The birth age of the mother is directly correlated with IQ ranking (Asian>White>Hispanic>Black). Census data also strongly suggests that blacks, who have kids around the same age as white or Asians, do just as well economically. I don’t get why this important information is not even mentioned in the debate. Instead of debating whether certain races are deficient, we might actually start focusing on the real issues – such as policies to reduce the racial motherhood discrepancy – that we can all agree on.
The Dish 