October 30, 2007 - 12:00am
By Ben Birnbaum
It seems you’re never too old to learn new lessons — at age 79, Nobel Laureate James Watson is learning one that former Harvard president Lawrence Summers knows well: If you have something politically incorrect to say — and wish to keep your job and reputation — you have two options: Shut up or shut up.
The man who co-discovered DNA’s double helix is being lynched over his comments on the uncomfortable topic of race and intelligence. Dr. Watson told the Times of London two weeks ago that he was “inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa” because “all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours — whereas all the testing says not really.”
