Found in 2 comments on Hacker News
slphil · 2017-11-26 · Original thread
Because it's factually wrong. Biology matters, and I'm not trying to bring in concepts like race (which is a total intellectual disaster, since the term refers to multiple concepts that mean radically different things). Many studies do not account for simple heredity, when adoption studies have already shown that traits like IQ and even personality are heritable to some degree (1). There are genetic correlations with intelligence, aggression, etc that are difficult to untangle but undeniably real.

Humans are incredibly unique animals, but you are still a biological machine and your brain is not a piece of magic pixie dust. Without getting into the free will debate, biology does not determine behavior but does influence it heavily.

Edit: I'm not denying the existence of culture or social norms. These matter, but are also undoubtedly linked to the biological machinery of the human animal. Human society is an evolutionary result (2).

Second edit: It's very easy to find evidence that the social evolution of humans is a biological process. Here is one of my favorite papers on the self-domestication of the human species (3).

1: https://www.amazon.com/Blank-Slate-Modern-Denial-Nature/dp/0...

2: https://www.amazon.com/Before-Dawn-Recovering-History-Ancest...

3: http://resources.seattlecentral.edu/faculty/jwhorley/Gracili...

rm999 · 2016-07-25 · Original thread
>There was a huge movement, especially post-WW2, to scientifically "want" to find that all humans were the same and therefore "equal" ... The Chinese obviously have little need to adhere to US political correctness

I also love following the human origin story (it's probably the scientific topic outside my field of study I read up on the most), and I have to admit I really don't like the way you framed your comment. You are following the pattern of many other anti-academics who paint a strawman of simple-minded scientists who miss obvious conclusions for some ulterior purpose. I'm sure you're not purposefully doing it, but you have to understand that 1000s of people have devoted their life to studying this topic, and there isn't some conspiracy to hide the truth.

It's been known for years that modern humans have bred with other hominid species, and the theories have been changing to reflect this. A lot of evidence of early human settlements are 20 feet under water today, so it's a surprisingly tough study of topic. You're right that genetic testing has been changing our understanding of things, but this is a recent development. No one is trying to hide anything or avoid topics of study; everything is widely written about, including in pop-literature like this excellent book (which has a very candid chapter on variations in human intelligence, btw): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/014303832X