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Abstract
It is often claimed that race is a social construct and that scientists studying race differences are disruptive racists. The recent April 2018 “Race Issue” of the widely distributed National Geographic Magazine (NG) provided its millions of readers with a particularly illustrative example of this position. As discussions of race issues often recur, in both scientific and lay literature, stir considerable polemics, and have political, societal and human implications, we found it of both scientific and general interest to identify and dissect the following partly overlapping key contentions of the NG race issue magazine: (1) Samuel Morton’s studies of brain size is reprehensible racism (2) Race does not relate to geographic location, (3) Races do not exist as we are all equals and Africans, (4) Admixture and displacement erase race differences as soon as they appear, and (5) Race is only skin color deep. Also examined is the claim that Race does not matter. When analyzed within syllogistic formalism, each of the claims is found theoretically and empirically unsustainable, as Morton’s continuously evolving race position is misrepresented, race relates significantly to geography, we are far from equals, races have definitely not been erased, and race, whether self-reported or defined by ancestry, lineage, ecotype, species, or genes, is much more than skin color deep. Race matters vitally for people and societies. We conclude that important research on existing population differences is hurt when widely respected institutions such as NG mobilize their full authority in a massively circulated attempt to betray its scientific and public readership by systematically misrepresenting historical sources and scientific positions, shaming past scientists, and by selectively suppressing unwanted or unacceptable results–acts included as examples of academic fraud by the National Academy of Sciences (US, 1986). Any unqualified a priori denial of the formative evolutionary aspects of individual and population differences threatens to impede the recent promising research on effects of genome wide allelic associations, which would lames us in the vital quest to develop rational solutions to associated globally pressing societal problems.
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Pietschnig J, Voracek M. One Century of Global IQ Gains: A Formal Meta-Analysis of the Flynn Effect (1909-2013). PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2017; 10:282-306. [PMID: 25987509 DOI: 10.1177/1745691615577701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 137] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The Flynn effect (rising intelligence test performance in the general population over time and generations) varies enigmatically across countries and intelligence domains; its substantive meaning and causes remain elusive. This first formal meta-analysis on the topic revealed worldwide IQ gains across more than one century (1909-2013), based on 271 independent samples, totaling almost 4 million participants, from 31 countries. Key findings include that IQ gains vary according to domain (estimated 0.41, 0.30, 0.28, and 0.21 IQ points annually for fluid, spatial, full-scale, and crystallized IQ test performance, respectively), are stronger for adults than children, and have decreased in more recent decades. Altogether, these findings narrow down proposed theories and candidate factors presumably accounting for the Flynn effect. Factors associated with life history speed seem mainly responsible for the Flynn effect's general trajectory, whereas favorable social multiplier effects and effects related to economic prosperity appear to be responsible for observed differences of the Flynn effect across intelligence domains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakob Pietschnig
- School of Science and Technology, Middlesex University Dubai, United Arab Emirates Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Martin Voracek
- Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Austria Georg Elias Müller Department of Psychology, Georg August University of Göttingen, Germany
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Beaver KM, Schwartz JA, Connolly EJ, Nedelec JL, Al-Ghamdi MS, Kobeisy AN. The genetic and environmental architecture to the stability of IQ: Results from two independent samples of kinship pairs. INTELLIGENCE 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2013.06.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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Bai J, Abdul-Rahman MF, Rifkin-Graboi A, Chong YS, Kwek K, Saw SM, Godfrey KM, Gluckman PD, Fortier MV, Meaney MJ, Qiu A. Population differences in brain morphology and microstructure among Chinese, Malay, and Indian neonates. PLoS One 2012; 7:e47816. [PMID: 23112850 PMCID: PMC3480429 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0047816] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2012] [Accepted: 09/17/2012] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
We studied a sample of 75 Chinese, 73 Malay, and 29 Indian healthy neonates taking part in a cohort study to examine potential differences in neonatal brain morphology and white matter microstructure as a function of ethnicity using both structural T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). We first examined the differences in global size and morphology of the brain among the three groups. We then constructed the T2-weighted MRI and DTI atlases and employed voxel-based analysis to investigate ethnic differences in morphological shape of the brain from the T2-weighted MRI, and white matter microstructure measured by fractional anisotropy derived from DTI. Compared with Malay neonates, the brains of Indian neonates' tended to be more elongated in anterior and posterior axis relative to the superior-inferior axis of the brain even though the total brain volume was similar among the three groups. Although most anatomical regions of the brain were similar among Chinese, Malay, and Indian neonates, there were anatomical variations in the spinal-cerebellar and cortical-striatal-thalamic neural circuits among the three populations. The population-related brain regions highlighted in our study are key anatomical substrates associated with sensorimotor functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan Bai
- Department of Bioengineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | | | - Anne Rifkin-Graboi
- Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Yap-Seng Chong
- Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Kenneth Kwek
- Department of Maternal Fetal Medicine, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Seang-Mei Saw
- Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Keith M. Godfrey
- Medical Research Council Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit (University of Southampton) and Southampton NIHR Nutrition Biomedical Research Centre, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | | | - Marielle V. Fortier
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Imaging, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Michael J. Meaney
- Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore, Singapore
- Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology & Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Anqi Qiu
- Department of Bioengineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
- Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore, Singapore
- Clinical Imaging Research Centre, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
- * E-mail:
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Genetic and environmental contributions to the association between anthropometric measures and iq: a study of Minnesota twins at age 11 and 17. Behav Genet 2011; 42:393-401. [PMID: 22139438 DOI: 10.1007/s10519-011-9521-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2011] [Accepted: 11/16/2011] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
Associations of height and head circumference with IQ are well documented, but much less is known about the association of IQ with other anthropometric measures or the mechanisms behind these associations. We therefore analyzed the associations between IQ and several anthropometric measures using a twin-study design. Twins born in Minnesota were assessed at either age 11 (756 complete pairs) or 17 (626 complete pairs) and analyzed using genetic modeling. Head circumference and height showed the most consistent positive associations with IQ, whereas more detailed anthropometric measures were not significantly better predictors of IQ. These associations were mainly due to common genetic factors. Our results suggest that the same genetic factors have an effect on physical and cognitive development. Head circumference and height capture information on children's physical development, which is partly associated also with cognitive development.
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Abstract
We review the literature on the relation between whole brain size and general mental ability (GMA) both within and between species. Among humans, in 28 samples using brain imaging techniques, the mean brain size/GMA correlation is 0.40 (N = 1,389; p < 10−10); in 59 samples using external head size measures it is 0.20 (N = 63,405; p < 10−10). In 6 samples using the method of correlated vectors to distill g, the general factor of mental ability, the mean r is 0.63. We also describe the brain size/GMA correlations with age, socioeconomic position, sex, and ancestral population groups, which also provide information about brain–behavior relationships. Finally, we examine brain size and mental ability from an evolutionary and behavior genetic perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Philippe Rushton
- Departments of Psychology and Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
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Rushton JP, Jensen AR. James Watson's most inconvenient truth: race realism and the moralistic fallacy. Med Hypotheses 2008; 71:629-40. [PMID: 18656315 DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2008.05.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2008] [Revised: 05/27/2008] [Accepted: 05/29/2008] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Recent editorials in this journal have defended the right of eminent biologist James Watson to raise the unpopular hypothesis that people of sub-Saharan African descent score lower, on average, than people of European or East Asian descent on tests of general intelligence. As those editorials imply, the scientific evidence is substantial in showing a genetic contribution to these differences. The unjustified ill treatment meted out to Watson therefore requires setting the record straight about the current state of the evidence on intelligence, race, and genetics. In this paper, we summarize our own previous reviews based on 10 categories of evidence: The worldwide distribution of test scores; the g factor of mental ability; heritability differences; brain size differences; trans-racial adoption studies; racial admixture studies; regression-to-the-mean effects; related life-history traits; human origins research; and the poverty of predictions from culture-only explanations. The preponderance of evidence demonstrates that in intelligence, brain size, and other life-history variables, East Asians average a higher IQ and larger brain than Europeans who average a higher IQ and larger brain than Africans. Further, these group differences are 50-80% heritable. These are facts, not opinions and science must be governed by data. There is no place for the "moralistic fallacy" that reality must conform to our social, political, or ethical desires.
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Rushton JP. Testing the genetic hypothesis of group mean IQ differences in South Africa: Racial admixture and cross-situational consistency. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2008. [DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2007.10.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Males have greater g: Sex differences in general mental ability from 100,000 17- to 18-year-olds on the Scholastic Assessment Test. INTELLIGENCE 2006. [DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2006.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Balzeau A, Grimaud-Hervé D, Jacob T. Internal cranial features of the Mojokerto child fossil (East Java, Indonesia). J Hum Evol 2005; 48:535-53. [PMID: 15927659 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2005.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2004] [Accepted: 01/21/2005] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The island of Java, Indonesia, has produced a remarkable number of fossil hominid remains. One of the earliest specimens was found in Perning and consists of an almost complete calvaria belonging to a juvenile individual, known as the Mojokerto child (Perning I). Using computed tomography, this study details its endocranial features. The specimen is still filled with sediment, but its inner surface is well preserved, and we were able to reconstruct its endocranial features electronically. The Mojokerto endocast is the only cerebral evidence available for such a young Homo erectus individual. We provide an analytical description, make comparisons with endocasts of other fossil hominids and modern humans, and discuss its individual age and taxonomic affinities. The ontogenetic pattern indicated by the Mojokerto child suggests that the growth and development of the Homo erectus brain was different from that of modern humans. The earliest stages of development, as characterized by this individual, correspond to important supero-inferior expansion, and relative rounding of the cerebrum. The following stages differ from that of modern humans by marked antero-posterior flattening of the brain and particularly antero-posterior development of the frontal lobes, resulting in the adult H. erectus morphology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antoine Balzeau
- Equipe de Paléontologie Humaine, USM 204, UMR 5198, Département de Préhistoire du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, France.
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Rushton JP, Jensen AR. Thirty years of research on race differences in cognitive ability. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2005. [DOI: 10.1037/1076-8971.11.2.235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 262] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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Rushton J. Black–White differences on the g-factor in South Africa: a “Jensen Effect” on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children — revised. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2001. [DOI: 10.1016/s0191-8869(00)00210-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Rushton J, Ankney C. Size matters: a review and new analyses of racial differences in cranial capacity and intelligence that refute Kamin and Omari. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2000. [DOI: 10.1016/s0191-8869(99)00256-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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