I was informed from Steve Sailer’s blog that Arthur Jensen died last week.
How did I not know? Because there was a complete blackout by the mainstream media, even though he was the preeminent researcher of human intelligence.
With Jensen and J.P. Rushton both dead, this may also be the death of HBD research.
UPDATE
Jensen finally gets his NY Times obituary on November 1, 10 days after his death.
Jeez, a bad month for HBD researchers! Jensen continued publishing papers till the end and outlasted most of his opponents.
Researchers like Flynn & Scarr who hoped to prove him wrong nonetheless had huge respect for him.
I'd recommend the book with Skeptic Editor Frank Miele "Conversations with Arthur Jensen" to get a better idea of what made Jensen tick. The front page blurb "The work of an honest, courageous man interviewing an honest, courageous man." EO Wilson (back page blurbs from geneticist James Crow, Robert Plomin, Thomas Bouchard and Jon Entine).
http://www.amazon.com/Intelligence-Race-And-Genetics-Conversations/dp/081334008X
Also, from Sailer's review of the book:
:Among specialists, fortunately, Jensen's reputation is different. A 1998 edition of the technical journal Intelligence was devoted to a tribute to Jensen from 13 leading experts. It was issued under the title "A King among Men: Arthur Jensen." Editor Daniel Detterman of Case Western Reserve University wrote:
"When I first met him personally, I wondered what his biases and prejudices really were and tried to identify them for many years. My effort was wasted. I finally came to the conclusion that he just doesn't have any. I think this may be a point that is impossible for his critics to understand. On the other hand, it is the very reason he has stood up so well against his critics. He has invested himself in pursuit of the truth, not any particular set of ideas. … He would gladly know the truth even if it proved him wrong."
Whether Jensen will ultimately be proved right or wrong, he is a role model for scientists everywhere.
A lifelong student of Mahatma Gandhi, Jensen told Miele:
"One of the tenets of my own philosophy is to be as open as possible and to strive for a perfect consistency between my thoughts, both spoken and published, in their private and public expression. This is essentially a Gandhian principle, one that I have long considered worth striving to live by."
http://www.unz.org/Pub/VDare-2002dec-00002
Posted by: Kiwiguy | October 29, 2012 at 02:24 PM
As I wrote on HBDchick's blog a day or two ago, there's still not a single google-news hit for "arthur jensen" (other than a link to his wikipedia page). As of just a minute ago, that still hadn't changed. Why is there not even a minor mention of this in, for example, the NYT? They publish great-pyschologist obits all the time.
Posted by: BullyWully | October 29, 2012 at 02:32 PM
"Why is there not even a minor mention of this in, for example, the NYT?"
I hope this is not a serious question.
Posted by: JHP | October 29, 2012 at 03:24 PM
***Why is there not even a minor mention of this in, for example, the NYT? They publish great-pyschologist obits all the time.***
I guess they would have to mention why some of his research was controversial and he needed security for a while at UC Berkeley. Then people would want to know if he had been proven wrong and they can't really say he has been.
Posted by: Kiwiguy | October 29, 2012 at 03:30 PM
@JHP "I hope this is not a serious question" - it completely is. NYT is not as IQ-shy as you imply; they go there sometimes, and as I mentioned they run scientists' obits all the time. And I do think that AJ's obit will appear in the NYT soon; if I'm delusional than so be it.
Posted by: BullyWully | October 29, 2012 at 04:38 PM
La Griff du Lion,
http://www.lagriffedulion.f2s.com/
Linda Gottfredson,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Gottfredson
Richard Lynn,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Lynn
Those are giants of HBD research, to my very un-educated opinion.
Charles Murray is absolutely great, see especially
http://www.mega.nu/ampp/murray_income_iq.pdf
but he decided to move from IQ subjects properly.
Posted by: Florida resident | October 29, 2012 at 04:54 PM
Regarding the non-coverage of his death, as far as the MSM is concerned he is an Unperson and his work as been consigned to the Memory hole. I have to admit though I am a bit surprised that even the big "respectable" nationally oriented organs of the MSM, like the NYT and WP didn't have anything at all, after all even Rushton's death warranted a modicum of coverage by their Canadian opposite numbers. Maybe bringing it up during the full bore of ideological trench warfare going on now during the election stretch run might show the left how far they have departed from sane and sensible disagreements over the last generation. Regardless, Orwellian thought is alive and well in the Fourth Estate, case in point.
Posted by: NuclearSummer | October 29, 2012 at 05:03 PM
Yes I agree this is probably the end of the field. I can't imagine there are a lot of new people going into this area of study and even if they are, they don't get funded or promoted by the universities.
Posted by: anonymous | October 29, 2012 at 05:09 PM
The 100 Most Eminent Psychologists of the 20th Century The published article can be found in Review of General Psychology, 2002, 6, 139-152.
Jensen comes in 47th place.
http://htpprints.yorku.ca/archive/00000064/00/eminence.pdf
Posted by: M Steinberg | October 29, 2012 at 06:08 PM
HS, you didn't know because you haven't been reading Kanazawa's new blog: http://bigthink.com/e-pur-si-muove/modern-day-galileo-j-philippe-rushton-1943-2012
BTW, these evolutionary psychology folks are the new standard bearers for HBS research. Lots of interesting things being done in the field.
Posted by: Hank the plant | October 29, 2012 at 06:25 PM
Re death of HBD, what about still-alive Gottfredson, Jelte Wicherts, Garret Jones? There are many more who are finally finding the "comfort zone" between "HBD" and mainstream research...
Posted by: BullyWully | October 29, 2012 at 09:21 PM
Here is his obituary.
It would be appropriate to put it in the comments section of the New York Times article about too many Asian at elite public high schools.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/record-bee/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=160674984#fbLoggedOut
"Arthur Jensen Arthur Jensen, a distinguished professor of psychology and prolific author, passed away on October 22, 2012 at his home in Kelseyville. He is preceded in death by his wife, Barbara, and leaves behind his daughter, Bobbi Morey and her husband, Joe, of Colusa. Arthur was born and raised in San Diego, California and received his PhD at Columbia University. He and his wife, Barbara made their home in Orinda, CA, while he was a researcher and Professor of Psychology at University of California Berkeley. They found a summer home in Kelseyville and eventually retired to Lake County. During his career, he won many awards and was noted as being one of the top 50 eminent psychologists of the 20th century. Arthur had a love for classical music and at one time considered becoming a conductor. He passed on his passion and knowledge of music to his daughter and son-in-law. When he was a child his family would always call him Little Prof. He touched many lives with his work, and will be remembered by people all over the world. At his request, no services are to be held. Please share your memories by signing the guest book at www.record-bee.com."
Posted by: not too late | October 29, 2012 at 09:49 PM
"With Jensen and J.P. Rushton both dead, this may also be the death of HBD research."
I have read that it is alive and well ... in the more open and tolerant academic environments of Asia.
Posted by: Bernie | October 29, 2012 at 10:08 PM
@ BullyWully,
Also, Rindermann. Haplogroups as evolutionary markers of cognitive ability
https://lesacreduprintemps19.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/haprinderm.pdf
Posted by: M Steinberg | October 29, 2012 at 10:10 PM
Murray's degree is poli-sci (like James Flynn), Herrnstein was the psychologist. Like someone at Sailer's, I'd say Ian Deary is one of the most important psychometricians working today even if he doesn't (as far as I know) write about race.
Posted by: TGGP | October 29, 2012 at 10:38 PM
I take it that HS lives above 34th street and that his interest service provider does not use servers in NYC. I noticed that all of the Gawker websites are down late Monday/early Tuesday.
Posted by: superdestroyer | October 30, 2012 at 12:45 AM
"Re death of HBD, what about still-alive Gottfredson, Jelte Wicherts, Garret Jones?"
With respect to Wicherts, a lot of his publications can be found on his homepage.
http://wicherts.socsci.uva.nl/
Posted by: Erik | October 30, 2012 at 09:04 AM
I met Jensen a few years ago. Even then he was, to some degree, a prisoner in his own body. It slowed him down, but didn't stop him from continuing his work.
Posted by: MoreSigmasThanYou | October 30, 2012 at 01:38 PM
Just speaking of Rushton, Jensen & Murray here is a a pic of the three men together (presumably from one of the International Society for Intelligence Research conferences).
http://www.charlesdarwinresearch.org/Charles%20Murray%20Arthur%20Jensen.jpg
Posted by: Kiwiguy | October 30, 2012 at 02:23 PM
NY Times obituary for Jensen (I actually emailed their editors earlier in the week & cc'd Detterman & Flynn, so maybe they respond to citizen suggestions after all?).
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/02/science/arthur-r-jensen-who-set-off-debate-on-iq-dies.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&hpw
Posted by: Kiwiguy | November 02, 2012 at 12:53 AM
Nice obit from LA Times. Charles Murray, Flynn and Frank Worrell offer some thoughts.
http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-arthur-jensen-20121102,0,5349939.story
Posted by: Kiwiguy | November 02, 2012 at 06:12 AM