I love the comments that "freedom of speech is dead" because they miss the entire point and are themselves wrongheaded. The freedom of speech is alive as it can be. Watson spoke his mind, and so do those that oppose his comments. How much more free can it get? What you really means is that anyone who disagrees with you should not reproach you. That position truly is the end of free speech.

I also love the armchair geneticists who start off something like: "If evolution is true, then maybe there are subhuman species." Oh yeah, maybe tehre is! The trouble is that there is NO GENETIC EVIDENCE FOR SUCH POSITIONS! So please stop getting all excited about being "superior" to other humans.

Here's another moronic moment: "It has become a crime to think that there are innate differences amoung [sic] the races and sexes." It has? What country do you live in? Oh, it says in the "USA." Wake-up call--thinking is not a crime in the US. You should try it!

D, FD, USA

Fantastic theory........Proves that the white race has the intelligence. Just what my farther was trying to prove in the late 30's and early 40's.

Adolfus Schmit, Frankfurt, Germany

Now that it has been determined that Dr. Watson has 16% African genes, I think that he has proved his point!

Chin, Johannesburg, South Africa

Venezuelan woman of European parents, US citizen, housewife and professor, here is my take. Some of the factors to consider about Dr. Watson's opinions are:
1. Does skin color does not determine race in his opinion? If higher melanin is a sign of inferior intelligence, how does that square with the fact that the darker skinned Dravidians of Southern India created the first Indian civilization? and with the fact that dark skinned Ethiopians had one of the first African civilizations?
2. My experience is that Black people from Barbados and Trinidad, trained in the British school system, are better prepared and more intelligent that most white Americans.

Maria Mayer, Alhambra, USA

Many people will come and go, making statements such as this. As a black man, I know that our history and destiny has been manipulated by colonization, slavery and destruction of our culture and arts by superior fire power and at present, poor political leadership.
Imagining that the gloomy economic situation of Africa is a result of low intelligence would mean that North Koreans, for example, are of lower intelligence than South Koreans. The Saudis would be more intelligent than the Hungarians and Polish.
Africa has her challenges but she is coming round. This is inevitable.

Peter Marangu, Whitehorse, Canada

Log on to AOL Black voices & hear how we Africans rebut this bigot!
Google "Aol BV, then BV blog, then search James watson

African, Boston, USA

I can't see what is scientifically wrong with the respected Dr. Watson's statement. Going by the evidence available there is a clear difference in average intelligence between the populations of different geographical locations. It is a demonstrable fact and that was all he said. "Different" not "superior". and he's right, period!
For the record I am of 100% Black West African origin.

Yaw, London,

I am neither a Nordic Male nor an African.But I feel strongly against the way Mr Watson is being cornered.I must point out that science is about finding the way things are in nature,whether it goes down with the prevailing sensibilities or not. Won't the people have felt the same about Galilieo or Copernicus for their "blasphemous" idea? Sure, it was so "good" to have the earth as the centre's of God's universe, isn't it?People must bear in mind that Mr Watson is no biased Nazi scientist prevailed on by his masters to fake his findings about race. All he pointed to is the differences between different geographical populations.And the findings may or maynot be what we like to think of!!

Arjun Chowdhury, Bhubaneswar, India/Orissa

Christian, UK: No, it is *you* who cannot understand contradiction.

You wrote: <quote> First he says:

all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours whereas all the testing says not really

then he says:

To all those who have drawn the inference from my words that Africa, as a continent, is somehow genetically inferior, I can only apologise unreservedly......That is not what I meant.

For someone so intelligent, he obviously can't grasp the concept of contradiction! <unquote>

Cite EXACTLY where the contradiction is, or withdraw your assertion. His first statement is concerned with whether the intelligence is the same or not. SAME. Do you understand this word? The second sentence rebuffs the ignorant accusations that he said INFERIOR. In what tiny part of your brain - and all those with you - does NOT THE SAME = INFERIOR. He didn't say that, only you did.

The question is why do people like you choose to do so?

Laura Roberts, London, UK

Found Dr.Watson comments shocking and intriguing... we urgently need more research in this area, instead of dismissing the opinion of such a distinguished scientist.

Enrique , Broens, Brazil

It is OBVIOUS that Watson did NOT say that African blacks are less intelligent. He said that their intelligence is not the "same as ours". He made no comparison whatsoever. He didn't say that their intelligence was better, worse, higher, lower etc. He only said it was different. That's like someone saying men and women are different and everyone assuming that "different" means some pejorative comparison. It DOES NOT!
He explained that the next day and said he understood how clumsily he made his point and how easy to misunderstand his meaning.
People, let's drop the hysteria for a bit to see what actually happened.

Thom Walsh, Providence, Rhode Island

I know standardized tests like IQ tests and SATs are racist and all because blacks on a whole score the lowest, and hispanics score higher than blacks but lower than whites, and asians score highest - so James Watson is definitely racist for agreeing with that "evidence."

Nathan, philadelphia, usa/PA

Sad that thought police are everywhere and that a person cannot anymore think what they wish.
Its a shame that peoples sensibilities are so fragile that they must be protected with legislation.
Shades of Orwell's 1984
Beware having your own opinion folks.
Something is lost when people are denied even the right to their own opinion.

Michael, Washington DC,

lol racism
A celebrated biologist may not be an expert on economics, social policy, or institutional change. An individual is not a group it belongs to, ethnic or any. Even though genetic traits like intelligence and skin tone are independent, one group of people may 'accidentally' have a greater number of intelligent people than another: this is chance. Sometimes environmental pressures explain chance. Environment and social factors play an important role in shaping people. Intelligence hardly predicts success. A people's success depends more on their resources and ability to organize.

Luis Marsano, Prospect, KY

Furthermore, to the obviously uneducated people saying that if one looks at the state of Africa now it is obvious that people there are not intelligent. I would advise bearing in mind the fact that, African crops which could constitute a massive amount of world food consumption if it were not for U.S subsidies and protectionist agricultural policies adopted by european countries. Furthermore, the fact that Africa was sliced up into non-congruous sections based on the wims of colonial powers is a huge reason for many of the civil wars still being fought. Most of these countries have been independant for less than 50-60 yrs yet to really stablise a country and allow them to progress will a lot longer......how long did it take the U.K to recover after Roman rule?? hmmmmm, makes you think!!

Christian, London, U.K

First he says:

all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours – whereas all the testing says not really

then he says:

“To all those who have drawn the inference from my words that Africa, as a continent, is somehow genetically inferior, I can only apologise unreservedly......That is not what I meant. More importantly, there is no scientific basis for such a belief.”

For someone so intelligent, he obviously can't grasp the concept of contradiction! Anyway, taking his retraction at face-value , the people who are saying the scientific evidence is there should read the part where Watson says there is no scientific basis.
Anyone thinking along the lines of no great civilisations coming out from Africa.....Egypt amoungst many others is a shning example....great pyramid of Giza is perfectly aligned to the cardinal points, each corner closer to a perfect right angle than most skyscrapers...hardly unintelligent work 4000yrs ago!

Christian, London, U.K

You know, this supposed "intelligence" of whites from Europe and North America and apparently the Republic of South Africa, as per the recent comment from Poland, is really very fascinating. When you talk about inventions, are you referring specifically to the atomic bombs that fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? When you talk about written language, are you referring to Mein Kempf? When you talk about great ideas, maybe it was the ingenius system of the concentration camps, or was it the brilliant reservation system in South Africa? Yes, all of this intelligence came from people who felt themselves biologically superior. Such intellectual achievements just blow the mind, so thanks person from Poland and others, such as Watson, who are so enlightened. If only we could all have such depth of thinking and such a capacity to see compexity, the world be such a better place.

Robin, from Canada

Robin Durnford, Edmonton, Canada

James Watson put his predjudice out for the world to see...how intelligent was that? As for the comment you've never heard of blacks inventing anything. Maybe you should use a search engine, you would be amazed and shocked at the many inventions by Blacks that are used around the world everyday. The other comment about their ability to speak english, get a life, Africans speak several different languages. These comments perpetuate the racism that appears to be on the rise not only in America but around the world. People use these kind of findings to make themselves feel better about themselves.

Dawn Menoleon, Denver, USA

Now I realize how darwinism was inspired by racist atittuded to oppress others and continues to perpetuate racism. Futhermore, I now question their fragmentary and ambiguous evidence for evolution.

Hilton Harrell, Jr, Gates County, NC

Freedom of speech is dead. It has been replaced by freedom of sensitivity. Nobody wants to accept the harshness of reality so everything must be dumbed down. Everyone is equal, no one person is smarter than someone else, no one culture is superior to another, etc...Communism anyone?

Tony, Hinsdale/Chicago, Illinois, USA

If evolution is fact and true, then Watson could be right. Why do others, who are looking for transitional life forms (or believe they exist), get stunned when Watson essentially says that other groups of people in the world are the more advanced transitional form? But now people want Watson to jettison his evolutionary premises and act that all are equal, like in biblical creationism. You can't have it both ways!!! Either Watson could be right based on evolutionary principles, or evolution is now in question. It is hillarious to watch the evolutionary double-speak people self-destruct and consume their own for the sake of immediate political advantages. And these morons think they're so smart!!! Instead of being fired, the guy and his idiotic evolutionary faith should be mocked.

Russ, Atlanta, USA

Dr Stuart Russell from Grantham, if truely you are a dr. i will assume you know how to do research. If you have done any research on this topic, i asume you have not done it right. There are more geners of music from sub saharan africa than the whole world put together (gospel, blues and others not yet translated to the english language exist).where do you think Elvis got his songs from? On art, investigate the knokk culture and art. On literature, there are more documented folk tales and tales told under the moonlight which teach value and morality and are aslo pleasant to listen to than you'll ever know.On civilization ask about the kingdom which existed where Ghana currently is. Like watson it'll be best if you do your research thouroughly and not just rely on your limited knowledge. Your qualification gives you knowledge in a field of study it doesnt make you super human or provide you the answer/ understanding to what life is all about. Learn from Watson and better ur knowledge

Gbola, London, England

Chinese geneticist, Dr Bruce Lahn found a genetic mutation that occurred in human beings about 6,000 years ago and is believed to be an important contributing factor in intelligence.

Scientists who have researched this mutation have found evidence that it was geographically dispersed in Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Sub-saharan Africa was geographically isolated by comparison, so the mutation occured there at a much lower incidence. This is not simple IQ sampling on racial lines - it's statistical data examining for the presence of a precise genetic trait that scientists believe to be connected to the brain's size and function.

This research appeared in one of the leading peer reviewed journals a year ago:

"Ongoing adaptive evolution of ASPM, a brain size determinant in Homo sapiens. Science, 309:1720 (2005).

John, Auckland, New Zealand

Last time i checked, there are whites, asians, and arabs in africa. Therefore, in theory, he would be "offending" them too. Also, when Dr. Watson said “all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours", the "ours" refers to either the USA or the entire world (except africa). last time i check, there were whites, blacks, asians, jew, indians, arabs, etc.

Like Dr Watson, I dont understand how people were able to have drawn the inference from his words that Africa, as a continent, is somehow genetically inferior. He never mention raced.

Dan, Berkeley, CA, USA

we blaks are so inferior respected scientists have to abuse their positionh to create lies to justify white supremacy.The tragedy is that because of the good work with DNA some might be tepted to believe him.Pigmentation may be a biological accident !!

davidson,scotland.

davidson chademana, kirkcaldy, fife/uk

He is certainly right as far as intelectual capabilities of blacks and their sex drive are concerned. I have spent almost twenty years in the Republic of South Africa and know the subject. I have never heard of any invention by blacks.
The written languages of blacks were created by white people.
Most of blacks in the RSA know the English language on level not higher then of Polish school children.

Lenartowicz, Warsaw, Poland

I think intelligence is a European concept as it is being understood in the present context. It is a common sense notion and different cultures have different common sense. Certainly there is an explanatory principle but it occurs in Darwin for modern science and Darwinism has unfortunately be hijacked by eugenicists. The explanatory principle in Darwin is obscure therefore but it is the principle of world intersubjectivity, pity it is lost at present.

To say that one race is more intelligent than another is a 'sweeping generalization', and how intelligent is it to make 'sweeping generalizations' when after all this is a logical fallacy. Watson is a great thinker and great man but I bid you look at Darwin's 'proposal to explain' not just the explanations to follow.

Joe, Westerly, RI

We will come to rue the day that we let political correctness trump science. This may well be the beginning of the end.

Dave_D, Newport, NC/USA

Dr Watson is certainly correct - just look at the IQ stats AND the obvious difference between the contribution of sub Sahran Africa to civilisation, art, great music literature etc. and that by European civilisations. Nobody complains that the IQ tests show white people to have LOWER average IQ than East Asians. Surely, people like Dr Watson are too valuable in their jobs to be gtatuitously cast aside for spurious politically correct reasons.

Dr Stuart Russell, Grantham, UK

omg ppl give it a rest, he is who he is and he has a habit of saying off the wall stuff. You teach older folk by example not by forcin them to think the new way. and besides there could be truth in what he says, but if there is by my exprenance its not by much lol, god get a grip

renee vandiver, dothan, usa

fire him because of what he said? they must be crazy...

Lee, CA, US

Freedom of expression is commonly suppressed these days.

Roger F., London, Engl.

im not a scientist so i cant speculate on whether his comments r correct or not, im sure hes not rascist, but theres such a thing as free speech, nd also the fact that hes an expert in his field, so as long as he backs his comments up wit some kind of facts then the theory should remain alive to be tested and challenged, like all other theorys, he shouldnt lose his job.
I think people are just so worryd about political correctness these days, nd im not even white!

abdul, birmingham,

The only crime this guy has committed is to say what white people say in private about the black people. It's very unfortunate that racism is also changing with the changing times. It's also sad that people that are supposed go be advocates of abrogation of racism still support racism in their minds.

TheDonald, Toronto, Canada

Dr. Watson does not seem to understand the difference between intelligence and a trained intellect. He has a highly trained inttellect but that does not guarantee intelligence.

Siva, Hampton, USA/VA

The proof is in the pudding, look at Africa today, they have never evolved into present times. We have been helping these people forever, and to no avail.

Arlon Hill, fort worth, tx

I am really very dissapointed at learnig what Dr Watson said. It is very unfortunate. Somebody who is perhaps one of the greatest discoverers of our time. It is a sad moment for mankind.

Dr Saikat Das, vellore, India

Here's a question: since it is postulated that the ancestors of all living humans came out of Africa in the first place, did some brains mutate and evolve, in the course of a few tens of thousands of years, to become vastly more intelligent because of differences in ... latitude and longitude? Or did the great leap forward occur with the rise of a civilisation in Europe..a couple of thousand years ago, give or take a few hundred years. And then were the Viking races more intelligent than the Celtic, they were certainly whiter. Are northern Europeans brighter than the southern? The Victorians sometimes thought so.

And another one: the distribution of skin colour over the current human population comprises a rather wide range, with the largest numbers occupying a somewhat middle ground (given the populations of India and China), do we then propose a sort of ascending (or descending) scale of intelligence based on exact skin tone and shade?

Mishka, Cambridge, England

What great civilizations has Africa produced?

Egypt
Kush
Axum
The Iron Age South of the Sahara
Ghana
The Almoravids
Mali
Songhay
The Hausa Kingdoms
Kanem-Bornu
The Forest Kingdoms
The Swahili Kingdoms
Great Zimbabwe / The Mwenemutapa Empire

Norman Peacock, birmingham, england

This is abosolutly discusting, (never mind the misspelling)

If this guy was to say that black people where more inteligent than whites it would be completely different.

If the evidence is there its there and he is just publishing hes findings. It is not detriment to the black culture in any way what so ever. He is obviously an intelligent person who knows a thing or two about what he is doing.

He doesnt tell the people who complained about this how to sweep the floor so i would suggest not to telll him how to do hes job, and if the eveidence is there not to tell him he is wrong.

Steven Broadbent, Mansfield,

Ask yourself why people were not equally outraged and offended when it was reported that the Jews (like East Asians), were found, by the same measure, to be more intelligent (about +0.5 of a Standard Deviation) than White gentiles?

That too has been conjectured to be genetic.

A revealing asymmetry I suggest.

Amy Green, London, UK

The poor chap shouldn't be "relieved of his duties" for telling things as they are.

Throughout every colour and every race, there are people of differing intelligence. If his statement is a scientific fact, why punish him? He's just adding to our knowledge of the human race.

Oh, whoops, maybe this "fact" isn't considered politically correct?

Mankind as a whole is not the most intelligent species in the universe anyway.........

Rosy Knight, Sheffield, UK

to Sadir, from New Delhi India who says 'Actions speak louder than words or scientific theories. What great civilizations has Africa produced? Do not compare only to Europe but Asia too? The Chinese and Indian cultures for example!'

the Moors come to mind....

klara, london, london

An absolute disgrace banning him. If you don't know/don't like/fear/despise/have evidence to slate his argument, then have the confidence to do so in open forum. Banning him from expressing his findings, his opinion or anything else for that matter is a despicable curtailment of freedom of thought.

As for the nutters who banned him: The Science Museum - only if the science isn't controversial obviously. They might as well scrap their entire collection, because at the start you can be assured there were some auto-defensive ignorant bigots who didn't like what the science was telling them. As for the Bristol Festival of Ideas - it's clearly a sham. The Festival of Ideas that they like, that neatly fit into what they agree with. What a scandalous exhibition of supreme idiocy.

Laura Roberts, London, UK

It is scientifically proven that there are biological differences between different races. For example, Afro-Caribbeans are more like to have hypertension because they are more salt sensitive. Caucasian females are more prone to certain illnesses than to Asian ones. No-one queries these facts. So why then is there such uproar to the notion that intelligence may be a factor reliant on genes. I'm not saying Dr Watson's broad generalizations are correct, but what happened to free speech and scientific theories?

Andy, London,

Galileo re-visited.

T J Murphy, Kings Lynn, UK

why do you people seek no answers rather just seek to believe what you want to believe- the science is there. why not just say that James Watson has never been correct and that his DNA work was all rubbish? The truth is its facts and you can't pick and chose what you want to believe. Life is full of hard truths -face them. Stope finding excuses for why we live and act differently- grow some balls. We aren't equal and never will be.

jack, melbourne,

Humans are intrinsically different. Different tribes different habitat different culture create this phenom. To deny is to be a fool. Anemias, diseases, circumstances and diet contribute to many factors in human development. NOW we are finally "melting" into A race. It is a slow process -ask Darwin- hope we can get along together long enough to appreciate each other and come together: Lest we die... God help us

Robert, Suisun, Cali, USA

Actions speak louder than words or scientific theories. What great civilizations has Africa produced? Do not compare only to Europe but Asia too? The Chinese and Indian cultures for example!

Sadir, New Delhi, India

If anyone has studied the Demographic Transition Model they would see how development of a population or race takes lots of generations. In this case, Africa is several stages behind the Developed world, so its natural that when tested on concepts and theories that are commonplace to us they would perform worse. A test comparing either groups would always favour one unfairly, as someone said earlier, so in terms of genetics and science, yes the African population would perform poorly, but this is in no way a test of intelligence. But similarly, to condemn Watson for a moment of inappropriateness which may have been taken out of context (which is his view as well) is a sad turnout for someone who has contributed so much to our society. I wouldn't judge him until I had seen the full interview, including the questions leading up to the comment.

Liv, Hamilton,

There is no doubt that through out the history there were many prejudiced scientists whom interpreted their data in the way of their benefits or others benefit,however, it is difficult to say but I have to say that Dr.Watson is prejudiced one. So he has to regret what he has said and go back to study the environmetal effects. above all i would like to thank him for his efforts on DNA discovery.

karzan, leicester, uk

Even if it were true, which I dont believe it is, what is his purpose in telling us ?. Bit like saying "you are going to die in 20 years" , it is pointless . Anyway intelligence is not everything anyway. If we did not have workers willing to do the menial tasks then the intelligent people would have to do them, therefore we should be thankful we have many levels of intelligence.

John, Woking, Surrey

If scientific studies have conclusively proved that black people have higher IQ's than white counterparts, then Watson's statement is factually true and trying to persecute him would be a great blunder. What I want to point out is that the conclusions drawn from this statement are what seem like nonsense. Firstly, IQ tests are a reliable indicator of some of the human characterisitics related to intelligence, they don't measure all aspects or different types of intelligence. Secondly, drawing conclusions that those having a higher IQ are "superior" is absurd. Watson didn't say so and I don't understand how anyone can come to such a conclusion! How people have come to this conclusion is a mystery and I would like them to explain what form of "superiority" they are talking about? If they would just open their eyes and look around they would realise that it ain't so in real life!

Ajith, Cambridge, UK

I disagree with Dr Watson, In the world of white there is a fear that if give black a chance to progress beyond expectation, that means the white will have to serve under the black which will never happen in this world. How many big companies have seen black executives earning millions in shares and salaries please give me a break there are lots of qualified black people out in the world that can run this big companies.

Akeem , Sittingbourne, U.K

I am really shocked when I heared the work of Dr.Watson.We are born equal by God. As amatter of fact,I believe that not all the peoples of the world have the same IQ,but it is immoral to
say that black peoples are less intellegent than white.There are intllegent black peoples as there are whites.Thank you!!!

Mitku, Bahar Dar , Ethiopia

"Skin colour as a surrogate for race is a social concept, not a scientific one."

Differing skin colours is a matter of reflected light frequency variation mostly influenced by production of melanin, differences whose source is the geography of the various human sub-groups (races?) and their requirement for vitamin D generated by ultra-violet light absorption and protection from the same. Does that sound scientific enough?

Greg Lorriman, Leatherhead, UK

The problem with Dr. Watson's view, scientific or not, is that it does not reflect social-economic matters.

For example, supreme court justice Clarence Thomas was born into a dirt poor family from Georgia . In several interviews he's ridiculed his older sister for being a 'welfare' mom and lacking self reliance. What made the difference for Clarence was not his superior cortex than his sister's, but an opportunity to be mentored by his successful businessman grandpop who helped instill values of hard work and education.

He along with other successful conservative blacks(i.e. Thomas Sowell) tend to over -hype their self reliant notion instead of acknowledging their beneficiary social climb by a mentor. Perhaps Thomas' sister needed that kind of break.

If Dr. Watson were to population sample generations of poor white communities along the Appalachian mountain regions of northeastern United States, he could see similar low score results.

jean jaures, paris, france

This touches on attitudes that I have always felt to be illogical. In terms of the creation of humans you have two camps – The Creation camp where every one is created equal by God and the Darwin camp where humans are the product of evolution (so logically cannot be all equal unless we all have the same Adam ancestor). Yet those in the second camp say (or the loudest voices) that in intelligence all races must be equal. I fail to see why the required physical characteristics of a hunter-gatherer race and that of a tool-making race should be the same when the requirements to survive are different. Equally the ‘intelligence’ required to survive must also be different.

I would assume that the ‘survival intelligence’ of surviving races is about equal as we have many different races that have survived in many different environments. I would also expect that the ability to survive in any given environment would, over time, bring similar characteristics, irrespective of race, to the surface

David Huckett, Charante Maritime, France

I agree with robert on this one.

That being said, im curious as to how they measured IQ in the Africa experiments. I presume its based on what we regard IQ as.

Why should we be judging the IQ of people from a different continent and culture based on what we (people from first world countries) think IQ is. Clearly we shouldnt be doing that in the first place. I remember doing some work on IQ in psychology at college and how it is contextual. for instance, ask me a bunch of IQ questions based on English and Mathes and ill do well. Ask me questions relating to hunting or surviving in a third world country - im unlikely to do as well. If IQ was judged on the latter - id probably have a very low iq in comparison to someone in africa.

Now, Im sure they had a pretty sophisticated way of measuring IQ however, Im sure you can see what Im trying to get at.

Tish, Leicester, UK

“all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours – whereas all the testing says not really”,

That seems accurate as the testing is based on our society not theirs- think about Verbal Reasoning-... perhaps The Times will sponsor a test for differences between a random selection in Africa and chldren of our executives setting 'social policy' If the results are the same it will be published and if significanty different no doubt it won't..

DM, Eastbourne,

Be wary when a newspaper decides to use such an inflamatory headline. Truth and context aside, newspapers main interest is selling papers.

There's no doubt the article will help to sell papers, but sadly the other direct result is that James Watson will suffer for a long time. Perhaps his life will end up entirely ruined - unfortunately by that stage he'll be old-news so we'll likely never know.

Nick, Eastbourne, UK

I agree with Steve from Sheffield in the fact that there is a scientific basis on which Mr.Watson would have made the comment. It may not have been uttered in the most neutral manner which one expects from a scientist and this becomes even more "expected" in today's ultra-PC world. Over time, the evolution of human life has not been constant and equal all over the world and this is a fact. We should accept that without being overtly judgmental.

Toby, Calcutta, India

Marageret Heekin has a point,, although remote diagnosis is always problematic. Disinhibition in the elderly can have quite shocking consequences. Yeats, a great poet, once late in life, so shocked a fellow guest at an Oxford dinner with his vehement and exaggerated views that the young man never felt the same about his poetry again.

Dectora, London, UK

James Watson accurately summed up the science: the experts in the field report a 30-point average IQ difference between Africans and other racial groups. This is too big a gap to be explaind by any artefact of methodology. It is another questions as to what this measures, but it measures something; and something to do with the difference between Africa and the rest of the world.
It is political correctness fascism to deny this.

steve moxon, sheffield,

I suspect that this man who has contributed so much to the science of genetics and our understanding of the human genome has become ill. Dementias know no ethnic, educational, geographic, social, religious or racial boundaries. Perhaps it is worth considering that Dr. Watson could be suffering from one of these disorders. Sudden inappropriate behavior and a loss of social inhibitions can be symptoms of brain diseases. If this is not the case, consider that intellectual achievement does not guarantee emotional control. While distinguished, Dr. Watson is still after all ,only a man and humans have been known through the ages to hold incorrect, biased ideas based more on personal preference than scientific fact. Let any of us who has not at least once voiced a biased view cast the first stone. My most profound regret in all of this is that when a person as well known as Dr. Watson makes a remark, there are people who will use this as an excuse to validate their own stilted beliefs.

Margaret Heekin, Parlin, New Jersey USA

Actually, thus ends subjectively-running-your-mouth-instead-of-making-a-proper-scientific-judgement in science.

He may be a man who made great events occur in science, but this wasn't one of those events.

Mishmashmosh, Sheffield,

Have opinions but make sure they are not the "wrong" opinions. Shame is, he has apoligised unreservedly and said that he did not mean what was said. But, no, lets hound him mercilessly and make his life a misery. Lets forget all the good things he's done and nail him on this. What a world.

M James, London,

Dr. Watson is guilty of Political Incorrectness over the race/intelligence question, just as President Summers of Harvard was over the gender/native ability question.

In both cases there is ample scientific evidence that supports their views, but there is an absolute stigma of shame and guilt put on those who are so naive as to think that they can speak freely because what they say is true. No, they lose their jobs.

Now, It has become a crime to think that there are innate differences amoung the races and sexes. But, everyone thinks there are, but the Politically Correct mind police has suppressed our right to free speech.

If this were not true, then how does anyone explain the disproportionate number of blacks on professional basketball teams? No one is offended when they say "white guys just can't jump."

The real crime is punishing those who tell the truth and can suppress those who can think clearly and can find true solutions to the world's problems.

Arthur E. Lemay, Boulder Creek, USA/California

Thus ends freedom in science.

Henry Adams, Manchester, UK,

the guy's 79, he's apologised, if he meant the things he said then he wouldn't have, lets just call it a senior moment.

robert, london,