Are african (descendant) people less intelligent

[Minimii]

I had an argument with a guy (over internet) where he claimed that black people are the least intelligent race compared to caucasians and asians. I of course was saying that he is just being racist and should shut the hell up and was explaining the poor condition of african nations with colonialism, racism and all that stuff. However i realized that there is actually no evidence (at least anything im aware of) proving that black people are equal with white or asian people in terms of intelligence.

Even if we humans think that everything should be fair, that's not how evolution works. There is no reason to assume that people who are geographically separated should evolve the same way intellectually. There is difference between the musculature of black and white, for example, so it's possible that also brain evolved differently because of different natural selection and/or chance.
However there is some evidence which indicates that black people are less intelligent.
We can look at african nations today and world's history. Whites came up with most, if not all, relevant modern inventions (eg. electricity, gun powder), they conquered the globe and dominated everyone else for few centuries. While african countries even today are still poor while China, for instance, which was european-dominated in the past will probably be the biggest superpower in the near future. South-Africa, which is led by whites, is one of the few developed countries in Africa (if we ignore the human-right violations).
Even the "black" areas in the rich developed countries are worse than that. Blacks also continously score lower IQ points in tests even if they were born in USA or Europe.

Im not saying that we are stupider than whites because i dont want to believe in it (yet) but is there actually any other reasonable explanation to all this? Only explanation ive found anywhere has been smth along the lines of:
"Stfu you racist ashhole everyones equal because god gave everyone the same intelligence !!!" People dont want to discuss about this rationally because there is always emotional outbursts so if anyone is willing to discuss about this try to keep it rational.

[ImANoob]

well judging by your avatar, you're pretty stupid too!

[SoldierShady]

You're an idiot.

[BigBoss]

So you're asking if niggers are tards

[Just Silver]

lol good luck having this stay opened Lock this shit

[kennethk]

"Man, why do black people gotta be the only ones who can't evolve
Cause you in the streets acting like a neanderthal"

Hopsin - Nuff said.

[SliK]

Asians invented gunpowder you moron.

IQ tests are very culturally biased and shouldn't be taken at face value though. But yeah, I'd say it's certainly possible.

[LK5]

I don't think that people should be divided by races or regions they live in. Every individual is different. There are many whites that are dumb and many blacks that are smart.

[SliK]

I don't think that people should be divided by races

There are many whites that are dumb and many blacks that are smart.

[kennethk]

The whole race thing it's self is retarded. Most white people aren't actually white and most black people aren't actually black etc.... Now days race doesn't even matter, it's more how you show your personality towards who you are. it's just easier for humans to categorize people by the way the looks/act.

[NextEpisode]

From an analytical standpoint, this is quite interesting. Whilst most members would regard the theory OP has presented as wrong/patronizing/racist etc., most would also be quite hesitant to answer the specific points made, i.e. about material living standards, inventions, and technological progress.

Reponses like "Idiot!", "Lock!" etc. reflects the moral which most of us possess, nothing wrong with that. BUT, my view is that it is important to address these arguments, for whilst most would discard them, some would leave slightly convinced that "Ah, man he's got a point".

@OP, Yes, African countries today do lack material living standards, technological innovations etc, but so did China, India, Russia, and large parts of South America (etc.) 50-75 years ago. For example, the average American used to be more than 20 times richer than the average Chinese. Today it’s just five times, and quite soon it will be 2.5 times.

Instead of focusing on race, the broader question one should pose is; why did country X become so much more productive and innovative, whilst country Y did not?

It's funny, because the same people [Adam Smith, John Locke] you pointed out as not being relevant today in the other thread [Conservative/Liberal], are exactly the people you should study to found the answer to this issue. Why did China see stagnation in the period 1930-1970, then start to evolve & grow at an unprecedented rate in the following decades. Coincidence? Most intellectuals would point to the reforms China initiated in the late 70s/80s.

Quote:
Economic reforms introducing capitalist market principles began in 1978 and were carried out in two stages. The first stage, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, involved the decollectivization of agriculture, the opening up of the country to foreign investment, and permission for entrepreneurs to start up businesses. However, most industry remained state-owned. The second stage of reform, in the late 1980s and 1990s, involved the privatization and contracting out of much state-owned industry and the lifting of price controls, protectionist policies, and regulations, although state monopolies in sectors such as banking and petroleum remained. The private sector grew remarkably, accounting for as much as 70 percent of China GDP by 2005,a figure larger in comparison to many Western nations[citation needed]. From 1978 to 2010, unprecedented growth occurred, with the economy increasing by 9.5% a year. China's economy became the second largest after the United States and is projected to become the world's largest economy by 2025.
______________________________________________________________________________________

Almost analogues arguments can be made for India, Soviet, South Korea, and South America (etc.).

In other words, it is not the "race" of the people that is relevant, it is - in my view - the
institutions, the laws (specifically the “property rights”), and the systems (political & economic) in a society that shape the landscape in which individuals has the opportunity to innovate and be productive, and consequently increase the quality of material living standards & freedom in general. Capitalism is a necessary but not sufficient requirement for freedom. The correlation between the factors just mentioned, and increase in standard of living is overwhelming.

[Minimii]

So why didnt any of the african nations develop like China? Why dont they have all that which is required to become a "civilized" country considering the vast amount of resources and the huge population. I know that there are more to that but just looking the progress of Africa during the last century is pretty sad.

Neither there has been any great civilizations in the sub-saharan Africa even though there wasnt things like colonialism or eugenics or whatever it is used to explain the situation of Africa today. Of course there is millions of reasons why things happened like they did, Europe could still be like it was during medieval times or Asian countries couldve been the ones to colonize the world if somethings had gone differently but it isnt relevant here.
The thing is, everyone assumes that different "races" are equal in every way even if they dont have nothing they can base their claims on other than it being morally right or their personal feelings. And this isnt about color of anyone's skin, it's about those who left africa some 80 000 years ago and those who didnt. It isnt impossible that those who left were either more intelligent or those more intelligent survived the journey or smth like that.

Asians invented gunpowder you moron.

irrelevant

[Kill You]

We all have the potential to be equally intelligent. It's up to the individual to use that intelligence. Some obvious exceptions are mentally handicapped people...

And what Slik said IS relevant because YOU mentioned it yourself, dumby.

[NextEpisode]

So why didnt any of the african nations develop like China? Why dont they have all that which is required to become a "civilized" country considering the vast amount of resources and the huge population. I know that there are more to that but just looking the progress of Africa during the last century is pretty sad.

Neither there has been any great civilizations in the sub-saharan Africa even though there wasnt things like colonialism or eugenics or whatever it is used to explain the situation of Africa today. Of course there is millions of reasons why things happened like they did, Europe could still be like it was during medieval times or Asian countries couldve been the ones to colonize the world if somethings had gone differently but it isnt relevant here.
The thing is, everyone assumes that different "races" are equal in every way even if they dont have nothing they can base their claims on other than it being morally right or their personal feelings. And this isnt about color of anyone's skin, it's about those who left africa some 80 000 years ago and those who didnt. It isnt impossible that those who left were either more intelligent or those more intelligent survived the journey or smth like that.

Again...

It is not the origin of the people that is relevant, it is - in my view - the ...

1. Institutions
2. Laws (especially “property rights”)
3. Political & Economic systems

... that shape the landscape in which individuals operate, and will determine whether individuals has the opportunity [and incentive] to innovate and be productive. Most of the African continent has problems with all of these three.

[Minimii]

Yes i got that but why you think that African countries have problems with all of these when others dont? Something needs to be done in order to achieve that landscape, it just doesnt happen.
Besides it's not just about the fact that african countries are poorer than most others but there simply is no proof that we would be as smart as whites yet many claim that we are equal based on nothing.

We all have the potential to be equally intelligent. It's up to the individual to use that intelligence. Some obvious exceptions are mentally handicapped people...

No, people vary in terms of intelligence which is just an another attribute just like your build or looks albeit more complex.
Take Stephen Hawking for instance, he isnt just like me or you.

And what Slik said IS relevant because YOU mentioned it yourself, dumby.

i mean it doesnt matter where it was invented, it's not what this thread is about