Wall Street Journal 1-27-07 China’s Gift

Wall Street Journal 1-27-07 China’s Gift

Mr. Stephens’ piece in the Jan. 22 WSJ (p. A18) is the reason this blog exists. The key to his (America’s?) ambition to dominate in nuclear war space is found in the last two sentences,

“And if the militarization of space is inevitable, whom would we prefer as its dominant power? China?”

My book asserts that the data one must consult to understand why America has become incomparably more vulnerable to nuclear threats than it was 50 years ago, is IQ data. That is, North Korea, a country incomparably inferior to America in economic and material assets; and China, a country still much inferior to America economically, can threaten America with nuclear technology because they have really gifted engineers. The key then is to understand that China  is able to destroy America roughly as quickly as America can destroy China, because they can each put very gifted engineers into the destruction game. IQ data predicts that. We see in China’s sophisticated nuclear program the change that a school system has created in China. And remember, universal education for boys is probably less than 80 years old in China. Chinese boys score at least as well as American boys in quantitative IQ tests. This promises that neither the US or China can do what Mr. Stephens thinks can be done in space. “Dominance” is not possible for either China or the US.
The real threat that militarizing space represents is that both the US and China might decide to place offensive weapons there, and place both China and America minutes from destruction. Mr. Stephens’ column recites the familiar history of failed attempts at arms control. It does not use the term “IQ.” There is no way to rationally discuss what has happened with nuclear weapons in China, or the prospects of “dominance” in space without consulting IQ data.

r peppe

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