On 23 Apr 2004 09:23:26 -0500, [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Herman
Rubin) wrote:

> In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
> Richard Ulrich  <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
[ snip, previous topic]
RU> > 
> >IQ, merely for the parts important for living and school, 
> >incorporates at least 6 dimensions which have been rather 
> >well demonstrated as independent 'talents' that use different
> >parts of the brain.
HR> 
> Yes and no; it has even recently been shown in articles in
> strong science journals (NOT psychology or education) that
> some aspects require the use of both sides simultaneously.
> MRI was used to find out what is happening.
> 
The MRI evidence is statistical and still in its infancy.
An accident can selectively kill off one ability.  A gene
defect can do the same.


> But this does not change the point; I still question whether
> there is any remotely fair reason to adjust scores on anything
> to resemble a normal distribution.
RU> > 
> >Well-measured IQs below about 80, I once was told by specialists,
> >demonstrate trauma or genetic defect.  So there is (approximately)
> >a normal zero for humans, if you want to think of it that way.
HR> 
> "Genetic defect" is genetic variation, not the absence of a 
> key gene, or the presence of a bad one.  On the usual normal 
> IQ scale, about 9% are below 80.  It goes much lower.

Please offer your guess as a guess; which in this case has a 
tendency towards the racist (sorry):  That was my citation of
my experts, who (I wanted to be sure) were speaking of named-
defects such as trisomies; and defective structures that may be
associated with congenital holes in the heart, etc.  We were 
also speaking of careful, appropriate IQ tests, administered
one-on-one, by experts, for diagnostic purposes.  

I know that there are tests that offer a wider range of scores, 
for other purposes, but I *think*  the various psychologists 
have in mind that same anchor at the bottom.

> 
> BTW, if there are individual genes which can make substantial
> differences, the entire basis for normality, the assumption
> that enough factors are added for the central limit theorem
> to be an excellent (not just good) approximation is destroyed.
> 
As you should see now, I was pointing to 'substantial differences' 
that do fall off the curve, at the bottom.  

[snip rest for later]

-- 
Rich Ulrich, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.pitt.edu/~wpilib/index.html
.
.
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