Race and Intelligence: Science’s Last Taboo

Intelligence tests have a darker past than you might think. Throughout history, below average results on such tests could lead to forced sterilisation, while scientific field of eugenics aimed to artificially improve the quality of the human genome. However, even in the modern day it seems that such harsh classification of people based on tests has not fully disappeared. In this episode from the series Race: Science's Last Taboo, the directors visit several countries in order to change our black-and-white perspective of the world. The journalist and writer, Rageh Omaar, is not afraid to ask scientists about the various approaches to determining differences in intelligence between races, and discusses the still painful topic of racism in society and science during dialogues with professionals. The documentary Race and Intelligence: Science's Last Taboo proves that our social definition of race has little in common with biological definitions, yet despite this they continue to influence our lives. Can we change our definitions then? As one scientist says, the evidence that indicates we are living in a racist society itself reveals the presence of the question, asking why one race is better than the other. (Academia Film Olomouc)