# this is for all racists **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 7, 2013, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-for-all-racists/652267 "2013-03-07T06:23:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-for-all-racists/652267/41 "2013-03-07T19:36:46Z")
My first response to this is: Who cares? Even if we assume that the claim is accurate, which as others have pointed out doesn’t seem likely, what is it supposed to prove? I’m assuming this is an attack on those who claim that blacks are less intelligent than other races, but pointing out a single extreme example doesn’t tell us anything useful about the population as a whole. Also, assuming the 198 IQ is using the typical 15 points per standard deviation, that’s roughly 6.5 standard deviations above the mean. That’s going to be ridiculously close to zero and, as a result, almost impossible to measure with any sort of reasonable accuracy. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-for-all-racists/652267/42 "2013-03-07T20:37:09Z")
So, let’s sum up: -We have no idea if the report is true - if this guy exists, if he took this IQ test, or if he scored a 198. -If it IS true, it’s highly doubtful that the IQ test is meaningful, or that a score of 198 is technically possible on that test. -If he DID score a 198 on this test, we don’t actually know that he’s black, or Middle Eastern, or whatever. Basically, we’re assuming he’s one of the foreign-type colors, because he has a funny-sounding name. -If he truly IS a genius of your favorite oppressed racial group, that doesn’t really mean anything, because one individual tells us exactly nothing about what your favorite oppressed racial group as a whole is like. -Even if this DID mean that your favorite oppressed racial group is way smarter than the rest of us, that wouldn’t actually matter to racists, because they’ve never been interested in facts. Does that about cover it? Great thread, thanatic. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-for-all-racists/652267/43 "2013-03-07T20:44:15Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > So, let’s sum up: > -We have no idea if the report is true - if this guy exists, if he took this IQ test, or if he scored a 198. > -If it IS true, it’s highly doubtful that the IQ test is meaningful, or that a score of 198 is technically possible on that test. > -If he DID score a 198 on this test, we don’t actually know that he’s black, or Middle Eastern, or whatever. Basically, we’re assuming he’s one of the foreign-type colors, because he has a funny-sounding name. > -If he truly IS a genius of your favorite oppressed racial group, that doesn’t really mean anything, because one individual tells us exactly nothing about what your favorite oppressed racial group as a whole is like. > -Even if this DID mean that your favorite oppressed racial group is way smarter than the rest of us, that wouldn’t actually matter to racists, because they’ve never been interested in facts. > > Does that about cover it? > > Great thread, thanatic. Don’t forget: -Jello Puns ---
**Author:** ![thanatic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/97f17d/32.png) [@thanatic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thanatic)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-for-all-racists/652267/44 "2013-03-07T20:52:03Z")
you guys think this whole thing is BS… is 198 really unreliable score? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-for-all-racists/652267/45 "2013-03-07T21:31:30Z")
> [@thanatic](#): > > you guys think this whole thing is BS… is 198 really unreliable score? Yes. On any standard intelligence test. It would be like scoring a 2. Of course, anyone can set up an arbitrary scale for their own tests which goes up to whatever they want, but that is exactly like asking just how much louder it is if you just had special knobs made which go up to 11. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-for-all-racists/652267/46 "2013-03-07T21:31:56Z")
Last time I took an IQ test, I _broke the fuckin test_. So there. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-for-all-racists/652267/47 "2013-03-07T21:35:21Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Last time I took an IQ test, I _broke the fuckin test_. So there. \*\*Kayaker \*\*doesn’t sound like a white name to me. Racism is defeated! Wait - is ‘kayaker’ one of them ‘Palin’ names? ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-for-all-racists/652267/48 "2013-03-07T21:38:05Z")
He’s just one of the good ones. I am going to continue to be racist against his people until the rest of them get good test scores too ---
**Author:** ![thanatic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/97f17d/32.png) [@thanatic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thanatic)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-for-all-racists/652267/49 "2013-03-07T21:50:00Z")
we dont even know if this guy is black though ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-for-all-racists/652267/50 "2013-03-07T21:51:41Z")
> [@thanatic](#): > > we dont even know if this guy is black though We don’t even know if this guy even _exists_. edited to add: Would it be too much trouble for you to capitalize the beginning of the sentence and end it with a period? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-for-all-racists/652267/51 "2013-03-07T22:05:26Z")
> [@thanatic](#): > > we dont even know if this guy is black though But at least we know nothing about the alleged test. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-for-all-racists/652267/52 "2013-03-07T22:05:46Z")
> [@thanatic](#): > > we dont even know if this guy is black though You’re right. He could be white! That’ll show those racists. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-for-all-racists/652267/53 "2013-03-07T22:30:48Z")
Maybe he’ll have a son named Oran. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-for-all-racists/652267/54 "2013-03-07T23:33:08Z")
> [@bup](#): > > \*\*Kayaker \*\*doesn’t sound like a white name to me. Racism is defeated! > > Wait - is ‘kayaker’ one of them ‘Palin’ names? I’m kinda pink. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-for-all-racists/652267/55 "2013-03-08T00:42:27Z")
> [@bup](#): > > \*\*Kayaker \*\*doesn’t sound like a white name to me. Racism is defeated! > > Wait - is ‘kayaker’ one of them ‘Palin’ names? From what I understand ‘kayak’ is a Palin drone - draw your own conclusions! ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-for-all-racists/652267/56 "2013-03-08T03:22:04Z")
The OP has asked what we think. But what does he think? He hasn’t really said if he believes this, just keeps giving us info. ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-for-all-racists/652267/57 "2013-03-08T03:41:05Z")
I thought: “finally a thread where racists can come and discuss their socially-unacceptable views!”, but no just another dig at the much-maligned racists. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-for-all-racists/652267/58 "2013-03-08T03:58:33Z")
> [@Asympotically\_fat](#): > > I thought: “finally a thread where racists can come and discuss their socially-unacceptable views!”, but no just another dig at the much-maligned racists. You sounded … taller … on the Internet. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-for-all-racists/652267/59 "2013-03-08T04:06:26Z")
I just checked the following chart to see if it’s even possible for someone to have an I.Q. of 198: [http://www.iqcomparisonsite.com/iqtable.aspx](http://www.iqcomparisonsite.com/iqtable.aspx) As you can see, there are two different ways of reporting an I.Q. score if you use the standard deviation definition of I.Q. If you use the method of letting 15 points be one standard deviation, then someone with an I.Q. of 198 is someone who is the smartest person in a group of 30,938,221,975. Since there are only around 7 billion in the world at the moment, it’s not possible to say that anyone has such an I.Q. by comparing them with everyone in the world. The most you could say, if you examine the chart, is that they have an I.Q. of 195, and then they would have to be the smartest person in the world. It’s estimated that there have been about 100 billion people in the entire history of the world. So an I.Q. of 198 means that they are one of the three or four smartest people in the history of the world. If you use the method of letting 16 points be one standard deviation, then someone with an I.Q. of 198 is the smartest person among 2,196,908,409 people, so they would be among the smartest three or four people presently living. In any case, this is all likely to be utter nonsense. We don’t even know if Abdesselam Jelloul ever took any I.Q. test, let alone what he scored on it. ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-for-all-racists/652267/60 "2013-03-08T04:09:00Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > We don’t even know if Abdesselam Jelloul ever took any I.Q. test, let alone what he scored on it. He did, I saw him. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-for-all-racists/652267.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-for-all-racists/652267.md?page=4)