here is a brief article from thisday

American Nobel Prize-winning scientist, James Watson, stirred controversy last week when the Sunday Times of London quoted him as suggesting that black people were less intelligent than whites. He was quoted as saying he was “inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa” because “all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours – whereas all testing says not really.”,

hxxp://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=92823

what do you think are black really less than white? if not why is our society still the way it is?

sorry guys i might have to paiste the full article here THisday could be funny at times and remove it



Are Black People Less Intelligent?
American Nobel Prize-winning scientist, James Watson, stirred controversy last week when the Sunday Times of London quoted him as suggesting that black people were less intelligent than whites. He was quoted as saying he was “inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa” because “all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours – whereas all testing says not really.” After an outrage, Watson, who won the Nobel in 1962 for his joint work on the discovery of the molecular structure of the DNA, has denied those comments, saying: “I cannot understand how I could have said what I am quoted as having said… There is no scientific basis for such a belief.”
Whether or not he said it, there is no denying the fact that this argument has always existed in one form or the other. Some white scientists have written essays and made propositions in the direction that blacks are less intelligent than whites. There are those who believe that the Caucasian whites are the most intelligent in the human race. And they do not stop at that: they place the blacks at the lowest level among all the races. Political correctness would not allow many to voice this out openly, but it is a feeling of superiority that manifests in an attitude which could be condescending or even patronising.
As a black man, if you ask if blacks are less intelligent than whites, my instinctive answer would be a capital NO. I wouldn’t think twice before saying that – and it would be based more on emotions than an attempt to argue with verifiable facts. I should be proud that I am black, except I am Michael Jackson. Personally, I do not believe I am intellectually inferior to any white person. A white man could be more intelligent than I am but that would not be because of the colour of my skin. It would be because human beings are generally gifted differently. After all, the IQ of all white people is not the same; therefore, one person will always be more gifted than the other, and that has nothing to do with pointed nose. All white people are not equally gifted; all black people are not equally gifted.
Let’s say that is an emotional argument. There is a scientific way IQ is tested. IQ tests are intended to determine the speed of thought, soundness of reasoning and sense of organisation. It is a very good test of mental capability and creative ability. Thus, maybe scientists should perform the “race experiment” once and for all so that we can have a scientific conclusion. For such an experiment to be performed, however, the samples must not enjoy one advantage above the others. If you are going to test 50 black persons and 50 white persons, it would make sense to test people who grew up in similar environment under similar conditions, exposure, temperature and humidity. Then conduct similar tests on their intelligence. These tests should be conducted across social classes, sexes and geographical locations.
In fact, let a white boy be born in Ajegunle, drink Ajegunle water, eat Ajegunle food and go to Ajegunle school. Compare him with a similar Ajegunle boy and let’s see the result. I have a feeling they are likely to rank on a similar scale. This would tend to support those who argue that intelligence is a related to “nurture” and not “nature”. Intelligence is not genetically determined, this school of thought argues. The Watson argument – though denied by him – suggests that intelligence is related to “nature”.
But my Ajegunle experiment may not work. In reality, the entrenched social order tends to make black people believe that they are inferior. It is somehow embedded mentally and physically. I don’t know if it has to do with hundreds of years of slavery. Whatever the reason may be, the black person typically defers to the white person. Therefore, the Ajegunle black boy and the Ajegunle white boy may still have different mentalities, reinforcing prejudices and keeping intact the established social order which places blacks at the bottom of the ladder.   
Our people often argue that Nigerians, and black people, do well in Western schools. Many of them come tops in their classes. However, this is not strictly intelligence but brilliance, although the borderline is very thin. Intelligence, as distinguished from brilliance, is “creative”. Brilliance is more of an ability to reproduce what intelligence has created. For instance, someone came up with the theory of gravity. That is intelligence at work. Someone else studies the theory, takes an exam in it and scores 100 per cent – that is brilliance. You cannot be intelligent without being brilliant but you can be brilliant without being too intelligent. I may be wrong with the way I have tried to distinguish between the two, but that is the best way I can think of now for the purpose of this article.
I think the argument that white supremacists should be making instead is that in PRACTICE, whites have DEMONSTRATED more intelligence than blacks. That can be argued with facts and figures. That is empirically verifiable. But to prove in the laboratory that whites are more intelligent than blacks,  there is not such a chance. Watson himself said it in his rebuttal: “There is no scientific basis for such a belief”. It would be easier to prove that the world is flat than to prove that Africans are genetically inferior to whites. However, it does not take a genius to prove that Africans have shown in practical terms that they are not making use of their intelligence. If I were a white person, I would certainly feel superior to blacks. All I need do is take a look at a country like Nigeria and reach my conclusions. The evidence of retarded intelligence – or misuse of it – is there for all to see. And maybe I can begin to call up a few witnesses into the box now.
One, a Nigerian governor or president travels to London or New York. He sees a very beautiful environment and a system that works. Water flows, lights never blink, roads are smooth, drainages are covered, public transportation is excellent, technology works for everybody. He looks around and says: “Wow, what a beautiful place!” You would expect him to say: “I will go back to Nigeria and replicate this.” But, no, his next statement is: “I will come and buy a mansion here.” Is that the limit of his IQ or should we still be blaming slave trade for that?
My second witness is the Lagos lagoon. They have something very similar to our lagoon in London. It is called Thames. Businesses that generate billions of pounds yearly have been built around the Thames by the British. The London Eye alone is a money spinner. I don’t have the figures, but I can guess that thousands of people make a living selling things at the tourist centres developed along the Thames River. There is also a resort by the sea in Brighton. It is called Brighton Pier. Just like the London Eye, it is a big employer of labour. But what do we have around our lagoon and beaches in Lagos? White garment people shouting “jah jah hura”. Somewhere around Idumota-Ijora axis, people stoop on the bridge to defecate into the lagoon. In fact, there is a legend there: “Shit and pay”! If I were white, there is no way I wouldn’t rate blacks as less intelligent.
Because of time, I will call just one more witness for today before we adjourn. Let’s go to Zimbabwe for this one. A friend who schooled in the country and returned home last year told me this story: “There was a cattle farm Robert Mugabe seized from a white farmer. This was a farm where the man was multiplying cows and selling them large scale, producing dairy products and beef. Mugabe seized the farm and gave it to a black farmer. The black man started eating the cows. By the time I left, nothing was on the farm again.”
I told this story to a senior colleague who laughed and then gave me a local example. “Zimbabwe is too far,” he said. “When I was in the secondary school in the 1970s, we used to have a British principal. We had a cattle farm that was well maintained. The principal managed this farm excellently. We were selling cattle and making money for the school. When the principal left, they brought in our own brother as principal. If his relations were having a party, he would go to the farm and give them a cow! The cows finished in no time.”
Your lordships, if I were a white man, I would actually say something worse than what was credited to Watson. The only difference will be that I will base my own argument on empirical evidence. There is no chance that a lab can support Watson’s supposed argument. It is not about nature. Rather than be angry with the white supremacists, I think this thinking should be a challenge to Africans, especially our leaders. Blacks have demonstrated all over the world that given the same opportunities as their counterparts from other races, they are up to the task. There is a giant within us that is asleep. We need to wake this giant up. We don’t know what we have because of our greed.
Agreed, we are not making as many scientific discoveries as whites. Yes, the best inventions are not made by blacks. But we cannot underestimate the fact that the world order, the social order, is not in our favour. However, for how long are we going to blame slave trade for our woes? Slave trade officially ended 200 years ago. We have to move forward consciously with focus. Other countries suffered slavery, either internally or externally. Israel is an example. Today, you cannot rate Israel as a backward country. Enough of this chip on our shoulders!
I have my own pet hypothesis: if the black race is going to make progress at all, it will be spearheaded by Nigeria. And Nigeria will never make progress when we are ruled by shameless politicians who are less interested in the common good, whose god is their bellies. For as long as education, healthcare and infrastructure – the basic ingredients for development – take second place to looting and politicking, we should not expect any magic. O yes, the Watsons of the white world will continue to propagate their racist ideologies without having to search too deep and too far for empirical evidence.

Ok i won't lie i didn't read that lenghty article but in response to ur topic, i don't think black people ar eless intelligent its our lack of unity that makes us seem unitelligent, imagine what we could achieve if we were able to put tribalism and "Africa v Carribean" issues aside

how many times will i run to threads talking about black intelligence? anyways to answer the question, black people i believe are smart but they choose to be dumb at times cuz they are trying to impress their friends or they don't want people to look at them in another light so they act dumb and ghetto. if you stop them and ask them an intelligent question, they will give you an intelligent answer when no one is looking. but put them together, they start to act dumb and they need to stop blaming society for their problem. the whole black movement is over and they need to get over that.

interesting analogy

I think we need to stop looking at the "Black movement" where ever it was as people blaming

chiogo:

No, they're just lazy and don't care about education. I've seen lots of dumb white folks. Just because they go to harvard or yale does not make them smart. They got parents who are in the upper class and stuff. black people don't and most of 'em just think they can't be anybody because of that. now that is mental slavery, hence they quit school and stuff. Even without finishin' school, most of 'em have made names. There're still lots of black celebrities. One thin' i do know about black folks is that they own music. white folks can never take that from them.

Show me what Black people in the world owns music? You show me how many Black people sit on the board of Sony BMG, EMI, Universal, or Warner who control more than 70% of the world market. Black people create music but they don't make the real profits of that music. So they don't own it. They try to get what they can. We have the resources but others make the real money off us.

People, make una leave the Dr. Watson alone. He obviously has no clues who's intelligent and who's not - so just to sound like he's a bright chap (did I spel that right?). . he would just have to spin that controversy on skin colour.

If Watson has used another 'politically correct' assumption, such as that Latinos are (- - - - fill in the blanks) then we would have heard something else. Some would be so generous to say that even among Whites, it is assumed that blondes are far more 'intelligent' people than WHITE folks.

They like to follow d crowd.

they definetly follow the crowd. i don't know about other locations but where i live, i am tired of seeing every black dude with nike boots, the north face jacket and dreads. and girls with individual braids tied to the side with the big thick earings and colorful clothes.

exactly, i wear whatever i like, i don't care if i lool like an espanol, white, or black. as long as i don't look like the average black person. i wear what makes me comfortable. even sometimes my grandmother gets fed up with me cuz i dont "dress up" enough". i like who cares let me just go.

the is the stupid northface jackets that people be pressed about that they go shoting everybody.

people rob, beat, and kill for them. they cost alot of money so maybe that's why they crazy over it. i won't wear one cuz i love life. almost everyone got them, both guys and girls but mostly guys. buts its not mostly a MD thing not everyone down here like them. its only those that live in the DC metro area or come into contact with Dc. i live in the area and i'm literally on the border line of Dc/Md so i see alot of them. even when i was in school. people will break into people's locker just to steal them.

what's' even weird is the fact that the northface is a whiteman's gear for hiking. if you go to thenorthface.com, its nothing but hiking gears and camping gear like tents, and shoes, and clothes/jackets. that's why the black man is killing everybody, black don't even go hiking and they're pressed to even own one. but i ain't going to lie. them things are expensive. they can be as high as even 400 dollars.

What do young White kids wear on their feet then? I thought they wore sneakers too. I agree, that we need to developing more of our own brands, although there is rocawear,phat farm, fubu, sean john etc. Much of the money we all spend goes to White people or other non Black communties. Even if you don't wear sneakers, chances are you buy your footwear and clothing from a company owned by a White person. We really need to wake up a bit.

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Well it depends on who you are around. I see your point though.

londoner:

What do young White kids wear on their feet then? I thought they wore sneakers too. I agree, that we need to developing more of our own brands, although there is rocawear,phat farm, fubu, sean john etc. Much of the money we all spend goes to White people or other non Black communties. Even if you don't wear sneakers, chances are you buy your footwear and clothing from a company owned by a White person. We really need to wake up a bit.

they were flip flops even in the winter.

i'm serious cuz when i go to school in the morning, their dorm building is next to my school and i see them in flip flops with a sweatshirt and some sweat pants that end at their knees. i'm like i know your knee caps are freezin.

[color=#000099]well, it must be the kind of winter which means spring over here because nobody can wear flipflops in our winter,trust me or else u want to die. Right now, it's freezing.

who you telling. its cold like i dont know what. but i still see them in a tee shirt.

i don't know. we're even confused so we stick with midatlantic. technically we are in the south because we are below the mason dixon line but we don't consider ourselves the south that much. the mid atlantic region has about three states: MD, CT, RI. but it is cold, not freezing down here. like maybe around 50-60.

not all parts of the south is warm, it gets warm from like north carolina and down. in virginia they get snow, enough for no school, as well as in MD. even some parts of NC get snow. my cousin lives inGA and she said the last time they saw snow was like seven years ago.

i know. its global warming. i remember last year, in december it was 70 degrees but after that it started to snow but not as much as it used to.