On reflection, I think I have an obligation to stick my neck out and address some issue of potential dangerous knowledge that really matters, rather than the triviality (to us anyway) of heliocentrism.

Suppose (worst case) that race IQ differences are real, and not explained by the Flynn effect or anything like that. I think it's beyond dispute that that would be a big boost for the racists (at least short-term), but would it be an insuperable obstacle for those of us who think ontological differences don't translate smoothly into differences in ethical worth?

The question of sex makes me fairly optimistic. Men and women are definitely distinct psychologically. And yet, as this fact has become more and more clear, I do not think sexual equality has declined. Probably the opposite - a softening of attitudes on all sides. So maybe people would actually come to grips with race IQ differences, assuming they exist.

More importantly, withholding that knowledge could be much more disastrous.

(1) If the knowledge does come out, the racists get to yell "I told you so," "Conspiracy of silence" etc. Then the IQ difference gets magnified 1000x in the public imagination.

(2) If the knowledge does not come out, then underrepresentation of certain races in e.g., higher learning stands as an ugly fact sans explanation. Society beats its head against a problem of supposed endemic racism for eternity, when the real culprit is statistical differences in mean IQ. Even though - public perceptions be damned - statistical IQ differences should have all the moral weight of "pygmies are underrepresented in basketball."

Knowing about (potential) racial IQ differences is dangerous; so is a perpetual false presumption of racism resulting from ignoring those differences if they exist. Which one generates the most angst, long-term? I don't know. But the truth is probably more sustainable than a well-intentioned fib.