REDHUGO Reading 2-1

         In keeping with The Bell Curve's theme, Herrnstein and Murray use the latter half of the book to start tackling its main contentions with full force. With the noticeably increased use of data, graphics, and less convoluted arguments, the authors have begun the main course of this work in classic sociologist fashion. By laying out the bread and butter in the former half, the authors can finally begin to get into the weeds of what initially made this work so controversial for its time. The so-called "radical notions" that The Bell Curve is known for among mainstream social scientists are unraveled in Part III, as Herrnstein and Murray use all the context that they spent several hundred pages building in order to finally take a stronger, more unorthodox stance. As such, they naturally are forced to support such enthusiasm with a more outstanding approach to argument-building, doubling down on the use and analysis of data, which they now have to validate more carefully than ever.
          The authors, however, refrain from simply throwing lobs of complex, eye-straining graphs and charts at the reader. Instead, while they certainly attempt to satisfy the reader's statistical appetite, Herrnstein and Murray take meticulous steps in their persuasive methodology, as they are well aware of the ilk of their arguments. While 1994 may seem like a point in the distant past in comparison to today's advancements, the social climate is not nearly so different as ours is now. With this in mind, the authors clearly understand that they must choose their words carefully and reinforce not only their arguments but also their evidence in a way that evokes as least criticism as possible, as their claims themselves will have already done enough in that regard.