Danny, I doubt this will convince you, but, sadly, The Mismeasure of Man is one of Gould’s worst books. It’s filled with straw-man arguments, ignores the existing evidence, and picks & chooses who he will argue against. For example, Gould omits any mention of the eugenicists of the left, such as Margaret Sanger.

I would recommend Steven Pinker’s The Blank Slate instead.

While the nonscientific reviews of The Mismeasure of Man were almost uniformly laudatory, the reviews in the scientific journals were almost all highly critical (Davis, Bernard D. (1983). Neo-Lysenkoism, IQ, and the press. The Public Interest, 74, 41-59).

- Gould also makes some misleading comments about the early performance of Jewish migrants on psychometric tests. Goddard never found that Jews as a group did poorly, and there is no evidence the tests were used in passing the 1924 Immigration Act (see, Franz Samelson (1975, 1982), Snyderman & Herrnstein 1983).

- Gould overlooks identical twin studies.

- Gould’s factor analysis is incorrect (also see John Carroll’s review Intelligence 21, 121-134 (1995), (also, Jensen Contemporary Education Review Summer 1982, Volume 1, Number 2, pp. 121- 135.) David J. Bartholomew, from London School of Economics, who has writtena textbook on factor analysis, also explains in “Measuring Intelligence: Facts and Fallacies” where Gould goes wrong in this area.

-Gould states that Morton “doctored” his collection of results on cranial size, but J. S. Michael (1988) remeasured a random sample of the Morton collection he found that very few errors had been made, and that these were not in the direction that Gould had asserted.

- The Army actually still uses IQ tests, and more generally, the tests have been shown to strongly predict academic performance.

- Gould largely attacks old tests. Jensen responded to a large amount of Gould’s criticism in Contemporary Education Review
Summer 1982, Volume 1, Number 2, pp. 121- 135.) I don’t think Gould ever replied.

-He attacks Cyril Burt for fabricating his twin studies, but books since Gould’s first edition came out have vindicated Burt (Joynson (1988) and the other by Ronald Fletcher (1991). Further, twin studies since show average heritability from these studies of 75%, almost the same as Burts supposedly ‘faked’ heritability of 77%.

If one doesn’t care about IQ then why would one need to read a book on how it is being misused? I see no logic in it, i just have to point it out.

Jude

Does Mensa Provide Social Interaction?

Mensa meetings are anything but dull! Local groups meet at least monthly. Often it’s for dinner and drinks on a Friday night, or for get-togethers featuring a speaker or a lively, freewheeling discussion. All are with fellow members who share your intellectual interests. Some groups have special get-togethers or activities throughout the month. Others, especially the larger groups, have events nearly every day. Of course, participation in local group activities is always entirely at your option. There are also widely attended annual conventions offering workshops, seminars, and parties, plus numerous regional gatherings are held each year, offering social and intellectual excitement.

Can Mensa Help My Community?

Mensa members find opportunities to contribute to the betterment of society through volunteer activities within their communities. Many Mensa groups offer scholarships for gifted students. The Gifted Children Resource Program compiles and provides information for gifted children at the national and local levels.

hehe… i guess this answers my question. other noteworthy activities in addition to usual social gatherings.

MENSA is an org for people with high IQs. That’s it. They’re not saying that they’re the smartest. Being in the company of people on the same IQ level could be of some benefit to some. No one’s being forced to join the organization against his/her will.

if it’s just an organization for regular social gatherings between high I.Q. individuals then why bother?

I suggest you read SJ Gould’s book The Mismeasure of Man to see how IQ testing is misused.