To:  Mr. H H Sherley

I have never suggested that Jensen should be
dismissed, nor that his books should be aup-
pressed!  I think Professor Jensen himself has
a rather clear idea of my position about his
work, and you might consult him directly whether
he thinks I am trying to suppress it.

I have criticized efforts to present the
problem of black disadvantage as if there were
reliable evidence that this generally has a
genetic basis.  Unlike many of my colleagues
I do not say that it has been scientifically
determined that the differences in performance
are entirely environmental.  So I have pointed
out all the problems of reaching reliable scien-
tific conclusions, and my opinion is that the
, question is undecideable: no kind of evidence
that is likely to be produced in the near fu-
ture is going to shake anyone's convictions
or previous prejudices.

Then I have said that it is vicious to drag
such a vague and undecideable area of genetic
science into the crossfire of racial antagonism.
It will only hncrease the mntual hatred of
blacks and whites, and a scientist ought to be
very cautious about advertising his conclusions
if they are inherently so uncertain, and can
have such a harmful consequence. I do not
criticize I.Q. tests so much as the idea that
we understand the environmental factors tha,t
can influence I.Q. or that we have done enough