On 8 June 2011 David Hogberg drew attention to an article alluding to this paper: "The Mismeasure of Science: Stephen Jay Gould versus Samuel George Morton on Skulls and Bias." http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.1001071
Lewis et al write: "Gould reanalyzed Morton's data [on sculls] and in his prize-winning book *The Mismeasure of Man* argued that Morton skewed his data to fit his preconceptions about human variation. Morton is now viewed as a canonical example of scientific misconduct. But did Morton really fudge his data?... We investigated these questions by remeasuring Morton's skulls and reexamining both Morton's and Gould's analyses. Our results resolve this historical controversy, demonstrating that Morton did not manipulate data to support his preconceptions, contra Gould." This reminds me that Gould's *The Mismeasure of Man* was not universally well-received, as Bernard D. Davis noted: "The Mismeasure of Man, received many glowing reviews in the popular and literary press, and even a National Book Critics Circle award. Yet the reviews that have appeared in scientific journals, focusing on content rather than on style or on political appeal, have been highly critical of both the book's version of history and its scientific arguments." http://www.cpsimoes.net/artigos/art_davis.html Allen Esterson Former lecturer, Science Department Southwark College, London allenester...@compuserve.com http://www.esterson.org -------------------------------------------------- From: David Hogberg <dhogb...@albion.edu> Subject: Gould questioned in his measurements Date: Wed, 8 Jun 2011 21:48:39 -0400 see: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/sciencefair/post/2011/06/stephen-jay-gould-mismeasured-skulls-in-racial-records-dispute/1?csp=Tech See comments following article as well. DKH -- David K. Hogberg, PhD Professor of Psychology, Emeritus Department of Psychological Science Albion College Albion MI 49224 Tel: 517/629-4834 (Home and mobile) --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@jab.org. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=10924 or send a blank email to leave-10924-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
