Why must we consistently degrade each other?

What ever happened to united we stand, divided we fall?
Now, it seems we have this Machiavellian philosophy of divide and conquer, and books like The Bell Curve are substantial proof.

The Bell Curve, throughout a good portion of the book, basically implies that African Americans, Hispanics, and whites within the lower socio economic class are inferior where intelligence is concerned. It drives its point across with "so called" scientific research; However it seems to overlook all of the opposing evidence; for example, the fact that although certain aspects of intelligence are inherited, others are developed over time and according to experience and the environment in which one is subjected to. Also, the fact that intelligence can be measured on so many different levels, including academic (which measures the knowledge one has acquired over time), and according to age: spatial, The rate at which one processes information, problem solving skills, pattern recognition, and artistic ability. All cognitive functions which are developed and affected by external stimuli and experiences.

So, for arguments sake, taking a tribal person who has never been exposed to our lifestyle or received our level of education, and basing scores of their intelligence upon that very lifestyle would be nothing more than ethnocentric, and by that same concept, taking a person out of a lower income environment, which has its own subculture, and juxtaposing them to a higher class is also a biased method of measurement. One must consider the functions of intelligence that are valued and needed within a certain lifestyle. An intellectual lifestyle would value vocabulary, academic knowledge, and articulation. A working-class lifestyle would more likely value strength, social skills, and perhaps loyalty. A more concise measurement of ones intelligence would be best determined by comparing them to an average estimate of intelligence skills that lie within their culture. A person's inclination to utilize certain functions pertaining to intelligence is very much influenced by the culture and environment in which they've been disposed to. We’ve seen that measurements of intelligence can change with the acquisition of newly learned
skills, knowledge, different experiences, changes in environment, mood, and interests.

Bottom line, even if certain aspects of intelligence are inherited, the fact that the mind can be re-conditioned and is susceptible to environment is a good indicator that depriving a class of people from a good education based on test scores is not only unethical, but damaging to society. After stripped of its guise to be shockingly informative, one can see that this book is nothing more than a veiled attempt at keeping the socio economic classes stratified; possibly because pride and power are so inherent to human nature, that one will always stake claim to superiority. It is also inherent to human nature to dream and strive.

Lets also not forget that a good portion of those that are homeless and/or living in poverty are
mentally ill. And mental illness is definitely not correlated with intelligence. Neither is
laziness.

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I crave cocoa when the wind hits my door; classic conditioning.

You should try not to live too much, you could end up dying.