The Genetic Lottery: DNA demystified with Kathryn Paige Harden

In *A Terrible Thing to Waste*, Harriet A. Washington explores how environmental racism affects the cognitive development of children in marginalized communities, particularly African Americans. She argues that IQ is a flawed metric but useful for tracking cognitive damage caused by exposure to toxins and pollutants. The book delves into the effects of heavy metals, neurotoxins, and other environmental factors on intelligence and health, challenging the notion of inherited intelligence and highlighting the need for systemic change.

In 'A Theory of Justice,' John Rawls develops a moral theory of justice as fairness, which is an alternative to utilitarianism. The theory is based on the social contract approach and uses the concept of the original position and the veil of ignorance to derive two principles of justice. The first principle, the greatest equal liberty principle, ensures that each person has an equal right to the most extensive total system of equal basic liberties compatible with a similar system of liberty for all. The second principle, which includes the difference principle and the equal opportunity principle, states that social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are to the greatest benefit of the least advantaged and attached to offices and positions open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity. Rawls's theory aims to reconcile liberty and equality in a well-ordered society.

In *The Cult of Smart*, Fredrik deBoer critiques the current education system for fostering a class structure based on intellectual ability. He argues that the system cannot provide equal opportunities due to inherent differences in cognitive talent and instead advocates for a shift towards equality of outcomes. DeBoer challenges the notion that intelligence is the sole measure of human worth and proposes radical reforms to dismantle the existing meritocratic model.

The Mismeasure of Man is a critical examination of the statistical methods and cultural motivations underlying biological determinism. Gould challenges the traditional concept of intelligence as a single, measurable quantity and critiques the historical use of psychometrics and IQ tests. He argues that these methods are flawed due to reification and ranking, and that they have been used to justify social inequalities and racist ideologies. The book also includes a critique of Samuel George Morton's craniometry and later editions address Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray's book The Bell Curve.