Responds to "The Bell Curve" by arguing that IQ is merely a statistical fiction, an artificial construct not corresponding to any real entity. Discusses the "seductive statistical trap of factor analysis" as it relates to IQ tests, multiple intelligences, content and bias of IQ tests, lack of validity of IQ tests for individual cases, and…

Criticizes "The Bell Curve" for its lack of understanding of the philosophical nature of intelligence (and mind). Points out that various philosophical attempts to analyze the concept of intelligence are routinely ignored by empirical workers in the field of IQ testing because such philosophical work makes obvious the lack of connection between IQ…

Hernnstein and Murray raise the specter of a cognitively stratified society that is resistant to change because of heredity and that serves the interests and perpetuates the advantages of the cognitive elite. The authors' policy remedies that focus on the individual and local community can do little to promote genuine equality and social justice.…

Social research resembles moral theology: both discover nothing but, rather, rediscover truths of social life and use stories to help people understand them. "The Bell Curve" and Wells'"Time Machine" have similar "story-lines" about intelligence and social stratification. Academics should turn away from "The Bell Curve" because it involves little…

Like the "scientific" approaches of craniometry and eugenics, Herrnstein and Murray's methods and arguments reveal an ideological position not only on African Americans but also on the role of women. Points out their focus on women in discussions of "illegitimacy," birth control, and parenting, and their targeting of poor women, purportedly of low…

Criticizes Herrnstein and Murray for their lack of respect for the truth, displayed throughout "The Bell Curve"; their willingness to encourage disharmony between groups they identify as cognitively different and to foment fear and distrust of an alleged underclass portrayed as dangerous and beyond help; and their lack of interest in questions of…

In response to "The Bell Curve," notes that the effects of IQ on crime and delinquency are mediated by gender and age in a fashion that is not readily explained by a reduction to genetic differences. Discusses possible interrelationships among IQ, delinquency, and school performance, and suggests that the causal link between IQ and delinquency may…

Argues that Herrnstein and Murray's cognitive stratification is not intrinsically ominous, since context determines its meaning; their "intelligence" data actually measures educational achievement; environmental effects are underestimated; and analyses and social policy recommendations are bound to the U.S. context. Concludes that education for…

Commentary on "The Bell Curve." Points out that Herrnstein and Murray do not acknowledge their politically conservative funding sources. Discusses bias and inadequacies of IQ tests, lack of evidence of intergenerational reproduction of occupational classes, current underemployment of highly educated people, and the authors' recommendation to…

Reviews controversies over intelligence and intelligence testing, focusing on impacts on Canadian society in the past century. Discusses eugenics movements and related immigration policies. Suggests that both "tails" of "The Bell Curve" (cognitive elite and underclass) are influenced by inaccurate methods, and that the middle of the curve must…

Response to "The Bell Curve." Argues that correlations between IQ and U.S. social problems are created by the IQ selection process; in addition, emphasis on testing and innate abilities has produced lowered expectations of what students can achieve through hard work and learning, resulting in lower mathematics achievement among North American…

Claims in "The Bell Curve" that Head Start and other early intervention programs are a failure and a waste of funds depend on a notion of cognitive ability reduced to IQ. They ignore other studies that demonstrate the success of such programs and that, consistent with Piagetian views, recognize the interrelationships of cognitive, social, and…

Calls for careful but unemotional criticism of "The Bell Curve." Notes that: three chapters that deal with the IQ-race relationship have received most critical attention; genetically based racial categories do not exist; disadvantaged minority-group students have achieved success in Catholic schools with high expectations of students; and social…

"The Bell Curve" claims that most human differences and almost all social injustices can be traced to intelligence, and that distribution of intelligence should influence distribution of educational resources to allow students to find their proper and inevitable place in society. Applied to educational policy, this vision of the world would…

In a letter to her children, Denise O'Brien discusses her and her husband's experiences farming in Iowa and her role as a farm activist. Stresses the importance of changing farm policy in order for her children to have the opportunity to experience the satisfaction of rural farm life. (LP)