OPEN MIND

To the Editors of The Crimson:

The editorial for 16 March misrepresents, if not misquotes, my comment on the pointlessness of a debate with Professor Lewontin. Professor Lewontin has, to my knowledge, so far published only one paper on the heritability of I.Q. In it, he acknowledges that the existing data show the value to be in the range of .6 to .8. That has been approximately my estimate also, as well as that of virtually every other estimate in the technical literature. I see no value in debating a point not in dispute.

On the other hand, Professor Lewontin may have now changed his mind. I trust he will share his new assessment with the scholarly community. Then, perhaps, there will be something to debate about. Or perhaps not, for he may convince me to change my mind too. R.J. Herrnstein