Talk:Francis Galton

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Contents 1 darwin 2 Histerionics 3 Comment 4 Famous Experiment: Galton and the ox 5 intelligence and head size 6 Should go for GA

[edit] darwin

I have the Darwin family tree done in PowerPoint. Please post on my talk page to request changes or email me to get a copy of the PowerPoint.Cutler 21:21, 3 Mar 2004 (UTC)

In my editing on 3 Jun 2005, 17:34, I'm pretty sure I did not inadvertantly take out anything already on the article. I'm sure it's all there, but some things may be disputed.--AI 03:41, 4 Jun 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Histerionics

What does word refer to? Is it a misspelling of "histrionics"? Does it refer to "historiometry"? Would a different word be better? -Willmcw 23:43, August 11, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Comment

"He was a proponent of the idea of selective breeding amongst humans in order to halt what he saw as the decline of the British race."

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I think the comment may be referencing the June 18th 1909 letter to The Times (Deterioration of the British Race). First, he quotes someone else who said "...it was impossible to believe in the supposed deterioration of the British race." Galton responds, "It is not that deterioration is so general that men of remarkable fine physique have ceased to exist-for they do; thank God -- but the bulk of the community is deteriorating..."

That exchange appears to be the genesis of the previous quote. I don't know if it is fair to say that was his primary goal, but it appears he was cognizant of some sort of decline.

[edit] Famous Experiment: Galton and the ox

Francis Galton, while visiting the annual West of England livestock fair in 1906, came upon a weight-judging competition. An ox had been on display and members of the gathering crowd were lining up to place wagers on the weight of the ox. Eight hundred people tried their luck; they were a diverse lot, many 'non-experts'. When the contest was over and the prizes had been awarded, Galton borrowed the tickets and ran a series of statistical tests on them. He added all the contestants' estimates and calculated the mean of the guesses. Galton thought the average guess would be way off the mark but he was wrong. The crowd thought the ox would weigh 1,197 pounds. It actually weighed 1,198!

I think this should be added..... it´s one odd and most impressing experiment i ever met

[edit] intelligence and head size

From Heredity, historiometry and eugenics:

Galton's study of human abilities ultimately led to the foundation of differential psychology, the formulation of the first mental tests, and the scientific study of human intelligence. Many of his insights have taken many decades of research to verify; for example, his study of reaction time as a measure of intelligence was only vindicated a hundred years later, as was his assertion of a relationship between head size and intelligence (MRI measures are now known to correlate at approximately 0.4 with I.Q.[citation needed]).

That last sentence is a pretty specific and direct claim that needs to be supported. I deleted this once before but it was restored with a note that another article has the citation. Is there any way to get that citation now?--Media anthro 18:53, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

It's a bit difficult to keep track of all that goes on due to the constant edit warring. I added a general reference. A more specific one should be floating around somewhere, but I don't really feel like finding it as I'm growing ever tired of carrying water to the sea. Besides, I'm sure you could find it if you wanted to. --Zero g 19:52, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

I suppose I could, but the obligation to do so rests with the person making the claim. Especially when it's that specific.--Media anthro 20:11, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

You've got a point there, though the burden of evidence seems a contradiction to WP:FAITH. Feel free to call me an idealist ;) --Zero g 20:18, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Should go for GA

I just rated this article as class B for the history of science Wikiproject. It strikes me that it could easily make GA if someone were to go to the trouble of adding a bunch of inline citations. They are particularly important for someone like Galton who worked in a number of controversial areas.Rusty Cashman 10:05, 24 March 2007 (UTC)