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PaperclipPerfector  1yr ago (text post)   29421 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of July 31, 2023

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It looks like he's beginning to believe HBD but is trying to retroactively justify his earlier highly egalitarian beliefs anyway

Freddie's an odd one in that he's an absolute believer that IQ is mostly genetic and that believing this doesn't remotely imply any other beliefs about the dignity and worth of a low-IQ person - and yet, he is rabidly opposed to any suggestion that there might be IQ differences between ethnic groups, and thinks that believing there are to be an irretrievably racist stance. If you're having a hard time understanding how someone could hold both beliefs in their head at the same time - well, join the club with me and Scott, who describes how Freddie used to send him angry (and completely private) emails attacking Scott for his apparent endorsement of HBD.

He might simply deny that genetic differences between ethnic groups are that substantial. Remember he is mentally ill and dependent on treatment. Logicking himself into strange and contra-reality beliefs is probably just the sort of thing he does every now and then regardless of how smart he is.

If you're having a hard time understanding how someone could hold both beliefs in their head at the same time

My only working hypothesis is that it's a defensive mechanism. Freddie is either afraid of making the final conclusion because it contradicts his prior convictions or knows that saying it outright will turn him into a pariah, so he sticks to credo quia absurdum.

Agreed. Freddie is usually a very clearsighted writer, which makes the blindspots where he refuses to follow arguments to their obvious conclusions (HBD, the trans debate) all the more glaring.

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