Mzungu mchagga
aimless wanderer
Oh, you are killing me guys. There is no argument, except from Reinaert, that there are differences between races in colour of skin, facial features and other easy to spot physical attributes. But somehow it cannot effect the structure of the brain?!
There is also no argument that there are differences in structure of brain between man and woman, and yet we can be equal. Now when it comes to structure of brain between races, then we have a big no no. Because what? It would effect equality between race? Is this the only reason?
Surely the external stimuli are very important to fully develop brain. Close a child in a room with no brain stimulation, just feed it. The final effect will be always a moron, no matter what genetic predisposition the child would have.
Compare apples to apples, yes. But don't jump into conclusions that all people are born clean slate with same abilities.
You all went to schools and you noticed that even though you were from same city district or village, you progressed in school differently. How come? You probably noticed that generally kids of successful, well off parents, were doing much better than kids of parents from so called margins of life. Food was mostly the same for all kids from Europe and North America, air the same, teachers the same, roughly the same environment. But somehow the product was so different. The only logical explanation was the genetics. The smarter kids inherited the better predisposition to do better in school. Mostly a better memory, logical thinking, maybe working harder gens.
Now when it comes to races, of course there is no difference, right?
If you want a real life experiment. Adopt a child from mothers known to belong to poor, disadvantaged families. Raise it and try to mold it the way you are, give it all the advantages. Good luck, you are going to need tons of it!
Once again I have to stress that I believe that all people should be equal, and treated alike. I just can't deny that there are differences among races, that's all.
I'm following what Marianne said, nothing to add!
What makes comparisons between brains of people so difficult is the following: When you are born with a certain skin color you'll keep it all life through, you have no influence on it. When you were born with a long nose, you'll keep it all life through, influence is impossible (never mind surgery...). But with your mind, IQ and emotions, they can change. Actually they can change all the time due to environment and experience of life. Of course there is a certain genetical predetermination in what range the IQ will sway, but the exact point is hard to tell due to merely infinite possibilties that can occur in a life.
And as it is impossible to observe all people in the world under excactly the same living conditions -and the differences in cultures are partly imense- I think it is a little early to present differences in IQs between races as a scientific fact.