Speaker refutes Bell Curve arguments

The infamous Bell Curve was rebutted in a lecture given by Associate Professor of Biology at Arizona State University Joseph Graves, Jr., OC'77. "Science impacts people's lives," he said. "This debate is a scientific debate." And unlike Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray, the authors of The Bell Curve, he studied it as such.

The Bell Curve, published in 1994 linked Intelligence Quotient (IQ) with race and used the connection to explain the socioeconomic system in America. The book created a media splash that landed the topic of race and IQ on the covers of Time and Newsweek magazines.

Graves spoke to an enthralled audience at Afrikan Heritage House Tuesday. "He gave a lot of insight," first-year Matou Rahid. "He had a lot of background on what he said."

Graves said, "I suggest you read the book. Don't buy it. But go to the library and read it. There is absolutely nothing new or intelligible in the book."

Graves presented an array of studies that systematically toppled the thesis introduced in Chapter 13 of the book. Graves said the book was sent before publication to a few scientists known to agree with the race/intelligence debate but otherwise was not peer reviewed.

"Using his expertise in genetics, Joe Graves was able to illustrate with numerous examples methodological imperfections and errors in interpretation present in Herrnstien and Murray's [book]," Professor of Biology Dennis Luck said.

Over half of the research funding used in The Bell Curve was provided by The Mankind Quarterly, a journal founded by white supremacists, Graves said.

"Relationship between motive and methodology should never be lost sight of," Graves said. Graves said the book was released "to eliminate the argument for affirmative action."

Graves said Herrnstein and Murray used methods of analyzing data that had never been used before. Historical IQ studies used included those made in the Jim Crow South throughout the century.

Graves dedicated months of research to tracking the studies and methodologies used in The Bell Curve. He has written two journal articles on the subject and has a book coming out entitled Pseudo Science and the Education of African Americans.

Graves showed groupings that considered physical traits such as fingerprints, body shape and head size rather than race. In each grouping, different sets of people could then be interpreted as being their own "race." Graves used this type of proof to say there is no such thing as race according to genetic studies.

"Very small amounts of genetic diversions cannot explain differences between American-Indians and Asians," Graves said. "[IQ] is a cultural phenomenon."

Using these physical characteristics, or anthropometrics, to group humans into races yields incorrect human groups, Graves said. For example, if IQ were a determining factor in defining a group, American Indians and Asians who are practically identical genetically would not be grouped together.

"Anthropometrics give incorrect groupings," Graves said. Anthropometrics groups by outwardly expressed traits. IQ is an outwardly expressed trait, which explains why IQ data cannot be correlated to races correctly, according to Graves. He used this argument to further disprove the methods used in The Bell Curve.

"Environment can have powerful effects on the development of the human brain." Mortality rates and lead levels in black children indicate drastically differing environments from average white people.

Graves criticized Herrnstein and Murray for explaining IQ differences between races with genetic arguments. As a geneticist, Graves said, "You can never infer a process from a pattern."

Graves' visit was sponsored by Multi-cultural affairs. He gave a lecture for the Biology department on Monday which outlined his research with fruit flies investigating the link between genetics and aging.