Lecture 6

Feb 19, 2018

readings 2018-02-19

1. pp 272-277 ONLY of: Spearman, Charles. "" General Intelligence," objectively determined and measured." The American Journal of Psychology 15, no. 2 (1904): 201-292, ( available at https://web.archive.org/web/20140407100036/http://www.psych.umn.edu/faculty/waller/classes/FA2010/Readings/Spearman1904.pdf )

2. Gould, Stephen Jay. The mismeasure of man. WW Norton & Company, 1996. ONLY pp: 280-2, 286-288, 291-302, 347-350.

3. Freedman, David A. "Linear statistical models for causation: A critical review." Encyclopedia of statistics in behavioral science (2005). ( available at https://www.wiley.com/legacy/wileychi/eosbs/pdfs/bsa598.pdf )

Discussion

Causation and "Co-relation" (Galton 1888-12-05)

Examples:

• Hereditarians v environmentalists
• The Freedman examples

Reification

Science, Engineering, and "effective models"

• ranking and circularity
  • intelligence
  • higher ed
• prediction
  • and causality
• significance
  • and causality
• (later: decision making)

the audacity of applied mathematics

• confusing excellent math for excellent modeling

Capability + Politics

• Eugenics

  • e.g., Spearman, Terman (senior), Galton, Goddard (xlator of Binet to English)

• Career

  • e.g., Spearman vs IQ testers

• Who might be motivated to reify $g$ for their ends?