National Intelligence and the Emperor's New Clothes

Should scientists study race and IQ? YES: The scientific truth must be pursued

“…A refutation of these analyses would provide an opportunity to advance understanding. Sadly, although these analyses can be refuted, as we and others have done 3 , most of those who scorned Watson never knew they existed.…”

Prediction of national wealth

“…These bold and controversial hypotheses have led to some degree of criticism (Barnett & Williams, 2004;Ervik, 2003;Richards, 2002;Volken, 2003). Many of the criticisms concern the representativeness of the samples, particularly at the lower end of the distribution of IQ means for countries.…”

“…These include differences in the designs of the IQ tests themselves, the numbers of people assessed in the various countries, the composition of the test-takers in terms of educational background and socio-economic status, and dates in which the studies were conducted. Barnett and Williams (2004) described the first of these criticisms, the problem of non-equivalence of measures, in detail. They provide an example of a question about why one should turn off the lights when not in use being appropriate for a British child who has been reminded that this is important because lights left on waste electricity, electricity is expensive, and the generation of it consumes fossil fuels.…”

“…A replacement item for a child in an African village might be about why it is important not to waste water from the water bucket. Barnett and Williams (2004) asserted, without empirical support, that this adaptation of IQ questions would need to be accomplished in the countries included in the analysis.…”

Cognitive Abilities, Democracy and Intellectual Property Rights Protection

“…In this study the author derives a cognitive abilities index for more than 180 nations based on international student assessment tests such as TIMMS 2 , PISA 3 , PIRLS 4 . In addition, the study relies on international intelligence test studies collected by Lynn and Vanhanen (2012) and discussed in Volken (2003) and Barnet and Wiliams (2004). This index ranges from 59 to 105 with an average of 84.…”