Prompt Cast
The Dangerous Legacy of Flawed Science: How a Bad Study Led to Eugenics and Nazi Propaganda
TLDR A psychologist named Henry Goddard categorized children into different levels of intelligence, including a category he invented called "morons," and used the story of Emma Wolverton's family to promote the idea of eugenics. This flawed science influenced Nazi propaganda films and immigration laws, highlighting the dangers of allowing fears and prejudices to shape scientific research.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Scientists got it really wrong when they supported a bad study that had terrible consequences, which started over a hundred years ago at the Vineland Training School in New Jersey.
04:06
Emma's mother sent her to the Vineland Training School, a school for special needs kids, where she met Henry Goddard, a psychologist who wanted to study intelligence and used IQ tests to categorize the children.
08:00
Henry Goddard categorized children into different levels of intelligence, including a category he invented called "morons," and believed that feeble-mindedness was genetic, using Emma Wolverton's family as an example.
12:26
Henry Goddard believed that feeble-mindedness was genetic and used the story of Emma Wolverton's family, which he published in a book called The Calacac Family, to illustrate his point and raise awareness about the rising tide of feeble-mindedness in America.
16:29
Henry Goddard's book, The Calacac Family, was influential in promoting the idea of eugenics and led to the passing of laws allowing for the sterilization of "morons" in the United States.
20:39
The story of the Calacac family was used by the Nazis in propaganda films and also influenced immigration laws in the United States, making it harder for Jewish people to escape Nazi persecution.
25:29
The story of the Calacac family, which supported eugenics and influenced Nazi Germany, was ultimately debunked as a myth by David Smith, an academic who uncovered the true identity of Deborah Calacac and found that the story was complete nonsense.
30:08
The story of the Calacac family and the flawed science behind eugenics and anti-immigration laws demonstrates how even the smartest people can be influenced by their own fears and prejudices, and raises the question of whether we would have recognized the truth if we were living in that time.
