Nobel laureat DNA discoverer: Blacks dumber than whites

It's really hard to believe anyone would say this today:

One of the world's most eminent scientists was embroiled in an extraordinary row last night after he claimed that black people were less intelligent than white people and the idea that "equal powers of reason" were shared across racial groups was a delusion.

James Watson, a Nobel Prize winner for his part in the unravelling of DNA who now runs one of America's leading scientific research institutions, drew widespread condemnation for comments he made ahead of his arrival in Britain today for a speaking tour at venues including the Science Museum in London.

Most people today agree that performance differences on tests are almost totally attributable to the environment, not to innate intelligence. Furthermore, there's a wide range of intelligence among all races, and the are many, many blacks more intelligent than the majority of whites. So, even if there were some small difference in the group "average," it certainly doesn't make sense to project that difference to everyone in the group. Hell, by the same standards, we might well conclude that whites are dumber than Asians. Maybe it's true, but I don't want to be treated as a second class citizen because of it. There are plenty of dumb white and Asian kids too. Let's make sure we direct our policies to the needs of the particular individuals, not to the members of a race. Some kids, white, black, and yellow need extra help. Let's give it to them. Some kids, white, black, and yellow are super bright and need special handling because of it. Let's give it to them as well. The purpose is to help everyone be all that he/she can be. To classify someone as stupid just because of his/her race is counter-productive, and those who do it ought to be labeled "stupid" too.