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Shockley's Thesis
Collection StructureFiring Line broadcast records > Episode guide > Shockley's Thesis
Item Title Shockley's Thesis
Guest Atkinson, Johnie
Guest Atkinson, Paul
Guest Loesch, Juli
Guest Shockley, William (1910-1989)
Host Buckley, William F., Jr. (1925-2008)
Date CreatedJune 10, 1974
Description

Mr. Shockley's current fame, or notoriety, came not in his official field, but rather in a field of more recent interest to him, eugenics. Like, say, Arthur Jensen and Richard Herrnstein, Mr. Shockley was widely reviled for talking about the heritability of certain traits. Unlike them, he was promoting something that, post-Hitler, had become, as WFB puts it, "unspeakable." Mr. Shockley was suggesting a "voluntary sterilization bonus plan": "the amount of the bonus would be dependent on various factors. For example, income-tax payers would be offered no bonus. For all others, regardless of sex, race, or welfare status, ... the bonus would depend upon best scientific estimates - and that's a very important qualifying phrase ... -of any genetically carried disabilities, such as arthritis, hemophilia, Huntington's chorea. And if there is a genetic predisposal to heroin addiction, this should get a big bonus. Then I go on to say, furthermore, add $1,000 for every point you score below 100 on an IQ test." An often heated but illuminating discussion with a man who was seldom allowed to be heard.

Language(s)
Country of Origin
Place RecordedErie, Pennsylvania, United States
DimensionsDuration: 60 minutes
FormatMoving Image
Medium television programs
Aspect Ratio
4:3
Color
color
Soundtrack
sound
Hoover IDProgram S0145
Record Number80040.386
NotesVideo available through Amazon.
RightsCopyright held by Stanford University. This copy is provided for educational and research purposes only. No publication, further reproduction, or reuse of copies, beyond fair use, may be made without the express written permission of the Hoover Institution Library & Archives on behalf of Stanford University.
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