The Indian, the IQ Test, and “Cummanittosis”

The Indian, the IQ Test and “Cummanittosis” ⊗ Frank Waabu O’Brien, Ph.D. Aquidneck Indian Council Newport, Rhode Island http://www.docstoc.com/profile/waabu © July 10, 2009 …[T]here is evidence that the rise of great civilizations has often been preceded by a mingling of two or more racial stocks (A. Anastasi, Differential Psych., 3 ed., 1958, p. 579). Studies of race and intelligence (IQ) are numerous. The research literature is summarized in the textbooks by Anastasi and a masterful general work, Introduction to Psychology (E.R. Hilgard). On the whole, as one would imagine, the American Indian comes out depressed in the statistics. Anastasi (chap. 17) also reports that early 20th century studies of American Indians showed increases in measured intelligence when admixture with white blood was evident. Thus, the more White the more bright; the less White the more blight. For example, I suffered from this categorization throughout my early school years. As a child I was diagnosed with an intelligence level at the 27th percentile. That’s pretty low. No wonder I was treated so shabbily in school and by the Courts. By comparison, the average college graduate is at the 90th percentile and the average Ph.D. is at the 97th percentile of measured intelligence (Hilgard). An IQ level of about 90 is associated with occupations that require only “some judgment” such as: Laborers; Gardeners; Truck Drivers; Janitors; Garbage Collectors; Upholsterers; Farmhands; Miners; Factory Packers and Sorters; Convicts. Such a below-average endowment also means one is more likely to drop out of high school, more likely to be jailed, and more likely as adults to live in poverty compared to people higher on the brain scale. The early classification of my “intelligence” would not forecast my achievements of a Ph.D. from Columbia, Mensa, holder of US Patents, author of 9 books, and other badges of merit. The inventor of calculus and famous scientist Isaac Newton was at the bottom of his class in grade school (Anastasi). He worked 7 days a week, 18 hours a day on mathematics, physics, The Indian, the IQ Test and “Cummanittosis<>O’Brien<> Aquidneck Indian Council<> © July 10, 2009 astronomy, instrumentation, theology and alchemy. 2 Remember Charles Atlas (nee Angelo Siciliano), the 97-pound weakling who had sand kicked in his face by bullies on the beach? This bag of bones became “the world’s most perfectly developed man” in his time. The moral of these stories is—don’t underestimate anyone. What you see is not always what you get. Psychology and related human science disciplines have made significant contributions toward alleviating the burdens of racism, discrimination, and prejudice in our society. School integration, and the civil rights movement, was brought about through the courts partly by the research of psychologists. American Indians have benefitted from the efforts of social scientists. Anthropologists, historians, genealogists have assisted tribes to achieve Federal Recognition. Linguists have helped bring back indigenous languages from the dead. But too many practitioners in these fields use the aura of scientific mysticism to achieve adverse political and legal ends; for example, the social scientist who claimed she conducted a survey among Mashpee Indians for the 1976 Cape Cod trial and determined “scientifically” that the Mashpees were not Indians at that time. She had no understanding of basic issues of test reliability or validity! The Court allowed this unchallenged, causing much anguish among an ancient historical tribe of indigenous peoples who had to fight three more decades before being declared Indians since first contact. Nowhere is this more evident than the myth that IQ is primarily genetic— that the 2 or 3 digit number that brands us along the Gaussian distribution is akin to a natural law like E = mc 2 . If you are “smart” you were born that way goes the epic story. Indians are branded as “dumb” but stoical and fierce warriors. Out and out fraud has been documented in this area of biogenetics. To offer a different perspective we need to take a hard look at this area of research from a philosophical and scientific viewpoint. The primary method of psychology and other “soft sciences” is based on number crunching—probability theory and mathematical statistics. These areas, in turn, are very small subsets of mathematics—“the queen of the sciences”. The primary focus of social science mathematics is limited to the study of linear “functions” (things either go up and up and up or down and down and down, but not all around). Human beings are anything but linear machines. We are multi-dimensional, nonlinear, and massively parallel in our thinking and doing. analysis simply cannot capture these phenomena. The American Indian is grounded in the Spirit World. Silence and meditation are his essence. Statistical The Indian, the IQ Test and “Cummanittosis<>O’Brien<> Aquidneck Indian Council<> © July 10, 2009 3 Now a curious thing about social science training. The key emphasis is on the statistical analysis part of the “scientific method”. A formula such as 1 2π ∞ −∞ ∫e 1 − x2 2 dx = 1 makes one think God has revealed the nature of the universe before ones very eyes. Who can argue with the beauty and consistency of mathematics and logic? If such certainty is part of my studies I must have the truth. But the problem is that these wonderful set theory and calculus formulas are all based on the same assumption when built into statistical procedures—a random sample has been selected from a well defined population. This premise is almost never met in “scientific” studies of human beings on planet Earth. So we start with garbage, analyze garbage with “gold” and think we get “gold” on the output. No, the philosopher says! “Garbage in Garbage out”. This is the immutable GIGO law. Cummanittosis This brings me to my last item. There is a disease affecting Indian people and many other colored folks. This was first reported in the 1600s when Roger Williams dwelled among the Narragansett Indians. The native peoples were awe-struck when they witnessed the miracles of Anglo civilization. The metal tools, the loaded weapons, and especially written letters & books. How can one communicate without speaking words out loud? In the minds of the Narragansetts the English appeared god-like. Cummanittôo—you are truly a God! Manittôwock—they are Gods! Many full-blooded and mixed-blood Indians still cry cummanittôo. This is the disease cummanittosis I speak of. We must learn to do for ourselves and listen to the dream world as the ancestors did to guide us in our vision of life. A number does not define or limit us. The IQ test has played no small role in infecting us with cummanittosis, the idolatry of the Other. ▲ ◄ ○► ▼ Waabu mesh aûntau The Indian, the IQ Test and “Cummanittosis<>O’Brien<> Aquidneck Indian Council<> © July 10, 2009