ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Samuel George Morton

Samuel George Morton was a man who loved to study skulls. He wanted to understand how different people's skulls were shaped and if that had anything to do with the way they behaved or thought. He looked at a lot of skulls from different places around the world and measured their size and shape.

Morton believed that people who looked different from him, like people with darker skin or who lived farther away from where he lived, had smaller brains and were therefore not as smart or advanced as people like him. He believed that this was just the way things were, and that some types of people were simply better than others.

However, many people disagree with Morton's ideas because they believe that intelligence and abilities are not determined by the size or shape of our skulls. They think that people of all backgrounds can be equally talented and capable, and that everyone should be treated fairly and with respect.

So, while Samuel George Morton was very interested in studying skulls, his ideas about people being superior or inferior based on their physical characteristics are not accepted by many people today.