vining has previously been an editorial board member of the controversial journal "mankind quarterly", and he has argued that america is undergoing a "dysgenesis" because more intelligent people in america are not reproducing as often. he has also asserted that this "dysgenesis" is especially harmful to african americans. his work was cited in the prominent 1994 book "the bell curve", and he has received $197,750 in grants from the pioneer fund, for which he has been criticized as a "race scientist". vining has responded to these criticisms by saying that the media has unfairly characterized him and the pioneer fund. in a 1995 letter to the "new york review of books", he wrote,