The Mismeasure of Man

Reviewed by: Henry E. Neufeld

Gould, Stephen Jay; Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company; (June 1996) ISBN: 0393314251

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This book, by the prolific and intensely readable Stephen Jay Gould of Harvard University, is primarily about the measurement of intelligence and the attempt to make intelligence a single, measurable, heritable factor. As in many of my reviews, I am not going to attempt to evaluate the quality of Dr. Gould's arguments. This isn't my field, though I am very interested in it as a layperson.

What I found most intriguing in this book is the story of the role that prejudices on the part of a researcher can play in determining the results of a study. Data which appear to support the researcher may, in fact, have been unconsciously varied. Dr. Gould cites many cases in which data were adjusted, generally unconsciously, in support of prior biases. There were even more cases in which the interpretation of data showed the clear bias of the researcher; cases in which the conclusions did not derive from the evidence but were rather read into them. This should caution us all to consider conclusions carefully, to examine evidence for ourselves, and to avoid our own prejudices to the extent that we can. Yet we should also recognize that we will not manage to be totally objective.

People in my own field of Biblical studies are, of course, just as much subject to such prejudices, but are not subject to the same level of control by the empirical studies of others. Thus, what Dr. Gould is saying in this book applies much more vigorously to us, especially to those who hold that conclusions of Biblical studies hold some type of validity for controlling the actions and lives of others. Can we really sustain our conclusions about various passages to an extent that would justify this?

There is much in this book which the average reader will find difficult, but the majority is clearly presented. I think this is a critical contribution to thinking by Dr. Gould which extends well beyond his own field. It should lead all of us to think more carefully, and to recognize our own weaknesses.