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Essays from the original Genetics and Human Agency site, rebuilt as a searchable local Markdown archive.
Behavior Causes Genes!
In his new book, Blueprint, and elsewhere in his recent writings, Robert Plomin has repeated a striking claim about the causal properties of DNA, in the form of polygenic risk scores:
Applied Ethics Of Polygenic Scores – Director’S Cut
(Longer version of article published at: https://leapsmag.com/the-shiny-and-potentially-dangerous-new-tool-for-predicting-human-behavior/) Posted here with permission)
The Genetics Of Aphasia
Charles Murray and I were going back and forth yesterday about the future of polygenic scores, especially as they might be applied in the schools. Murray, as always, looks to a future (now moved back to 2030) in which…
Charles Murray’S “Human Diversity”
Charles Murray’s new book, Human Diversity, is out today. I will write a few blog posts about it over the next few weeks.
More On Murray: What Is Biological Determinism?
Reactions to my post yesterday about Human Diversity mostly involved my invocation of the idea of genetic determinism, henceforth GD.
Loneliness and the Future of GWAS
Last week, after the publication of EA3, Cecile Janssens tweeted about another GWAS she had come across.
Robert Plomin’s Use of My Ideas in “Blueprint”
I have been planning to spend a week or so blogging about Robert Plomin’s new book, “Blueprint.” The first post was going to be about the title, but that is going to have to wait for a day or two because I need to…
The Blueprint Metaphor
I have more to say about Plomin’s use of my ideas in Blueprint, but for now I want to start at the beginning and write about the book and the ideas in contains. The obvious place to begin is the title. It is safe to say…
French Citizenship and Race
Posted at 15:16h in Uncategorized by Eric Turkheimer 0 Comments
Origin of Race Differences in Intelligence is Not a Scientific Question
Race Differences in IQ: The Limitations of Empirical Evidence
Applied Ethics of Polygenic Scores – Director’s Cut
Posted at 17:12h in Uncategorized by Eric Turkheimer 2 Comments
The Ethics of GPS
First, a note from Twitter. Several people (eg Michel Nivard and Ruben Arslan) thought I was being a little “misleading” in my characterization of what GPS can do as opposed to twin and family studies. That may be; I…
Smith-Woolley, Plomin et al. on Genetics and Educational Outcomes
Emily Smith-Woolley, along with Robert Plomin and his team, just published an article entitled, “Differences in exam performance between pupils attending selective and non-selective schools mirror the genetic…
EA3 (better formatting)
The new EA3 study is out today. Or I should say it is unembargoed today, the basic findings have been floating around the genomics community in one form or another for quite a while. I should add that it is first…
p-hacking in GWAS
Last year I wrote a response to a an article in Current Directions in Psychological Science by Robert Plomin, John DeFries, Valerie Knopik and Jenae Niederhiser titled, “Top Ten Replicated Findings from Behavioral…
Within- and Between-Family Prediction in TEDS
Posted at 12:56h in Uncategorized by Eric Turkheimer 1 Comment
Jayman on the Three Laws of Behavior Genetics
Posted at 16:29h in Uncategorized by Eric Turkheimer 1 Comment
Does IQ measure cognitive capacity?
Here is a very non-controversial way to frame the IQ Debate: at any given moment, some people have better cognitive functioning than others. That much is obvious, isn’t it? Some people can spell better, some people can…
Fortune’s Favor: An Introduction to Our Project
Posted at 02:01h in Uncategorized by pharden 0 Comments
Correlation, Prediction and Explanation in the Genome
I said yesterday that GPS are basically an extension of twin and family studies, making it possible to use singletons to conduct the kind of research that used to require twins or other family members. Such research can…
Psychiatric Genetics
Evidence-based psychiatric genetics, AKA the false dichotomy between common and rare variant hypotheses Someone on the BGAnet Facebook group posted about this paper (I can’t find a full online copy, the link is just to…
Causation and Mechanism
Posted at 13:14h in Uncategorized by Eric Turkheimer 4 Comments
The Genetics of Aphasia
Posted at 14:35h in Uncategorized by Eric Turkheimer 0 Comments
Turkheimer's Projects: Genetics and Human Agency
In addition to managing the Genetics and Human Agency project, the Turkheimer lab conducts ongoing empirical and philosophical investigations of the role of genetics in the development of complex human behavior. We are…
Charles Murray's “Human Diversity”
Posted at 14:51h in Uncategorized by Eric Turkheimer 12 Comments
Eric Turkheimer – Gloomy Prospect Blog
One of the interesting characteristics of GWAS reporting is how regimented it is. The format of old-fashioned social science research was made up fresh by the investigators every time, and part of the fun of reading it…
Eric Turkheimer
Posted at 15:53h in Uncategorized by Eric Turkheimer 7 Comments
GHA Activities
http://www.geneticshumanagency.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Tabery.m4v
Blogpost: More on Robert Plomin’s, “Blueprint.” Nature Defeats Nurture, 50 – 50!
Posted at 15:36h in Uncategorized by Eric Turkheimer 0 Comments
Heritability
I am getting asked what I think of the recent paper by Polderman et al in Nature Genetics, linked here (firewall). The answer is that I am ambivalent about it, and rather than try to squeeze my thoughts into a Facebook…
Behavior Causes Genes!
Posted at 08:27h in Uncategorized by Eric Turkheimer 3 Comments
The Science and Ethics of Group Differences in Intelligence: Part 1
Posted at 15:05h in Uncategorized by pharden 0 Comments
On Genes as Inherent Merit
Posted at 02:39h in Uncategorized by pharden 0 Comments
Some Personal Reflections on the Genetics of Intelligence
Posted at 18:14h in Uncategorized by pharden 0 Comments
The Heritability of Everything
I am getting asked what I think of the recent paper by Polderman et al in Nature Genetics, linked here (firewall). The answer is that I am ambivalent about it, and rather than try to squeeze my thoughts into a Facebook…
Statistical and Structural Replication
Posted at 12:13h in Uncategorized by Eric Turkheimer 0 Comments
Just another Genetics & Human Agency site
The U.S. has largely embraced the concept of a meritocracy: Advantages that people enjoy are thought to derive from voluntary choices (e.g., hard work), and any resulting inequities in goods, such as wealth, are thought…
pharden
Posted at 18:14h in Uncategorized by pharden 0 Comments
Genetics & Human Agency Second Annual Meeting
Posted at 17:20h in by sarahcarroll 0 Comments
Genetics & Human Agency Annual Meeting
Posted at 19:26h in by sarahcarroll 0 Comments
In Charlottesville
Posted at 17:47h in by pharden 0 Comments
More on Murray: What is Biological Determinism?
Posted at 15:53h in Uncategorized by Eric Turkheimer 7 Comments
Gene × environment interplay and human agency: The role of the person in a genome-sequenced world
Posted at 16:04h in news by Tim Bates 0 Comments
Tim Bates
Posted at 16:04h in news by Tim Bates 0 Comments
jwundisch
Posted at 11:14h in Uncategorized by jwundisch 0 Comments
Excusable Ignorance and Agent-responsibility
Posted at 17:43h in Uncategorized by jwundisch 0 Comments
Genetic influences on performance and distributive justice
Posted at 17:40h in Uncategorized by jwundisch 0 Comments
Behavior Genetics and Agent Responsibility
Posted at 11:14h in Uncategorized by jwundisch 0 Comments
Reply to Criticisms of my Comments on IQ
I recently had the opportunity to contribute a blog at Cato Unbound in reply to an essay by James Flynn, summarizing his new book. I am an admirer of Flynn’s work and found little to argue with in the original part of…
B-B-B-Behavior Genetics and Criminology
So referring again to Callie Burt’s post, here, while failing to adhere to my own strictures about being brief. I see two major issues.
The Tucker-Drob Bates Meta-analysis
Elliot Tucker-Drob and Tim Bates have published a meta-analysis [fire-walled] of the Scarr-Rowe effect, the observation that the heritability of intelligence is lower in impoverished families.
The Advisory Committee
Eric Turkheimer grew up in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, raised by his parents Nathan Turkheimer and Barbara Tack Turkheimer. He graduated from Croton Harmon High School in 1971, received his B. A. from Haverford College…
SES by Heritability Interactions for Intelligence
Posted at 15:59h in by Eric Turkheimer 0 Comments
Behavior Genetic Revanchism
Haven’t blogged in a long time. As of a couple of months from now I will be under some contractual obligation to blog, so I guess I had better get started.
Loneliness and the Future of GWAS
Last week, after the publication of EA3, Cecile Janssens tweeted about another GWAS she had come across.
Welcome to the Gloomy Prospect Blog
I just changed the name of this blog to “The Gloomy Prospect Blog,” in the hope of actually using it. The key to blogging, especially intellectual blogging, is reading. If you read in a structured and regular way, there…
David Wechsler on cognitive capacity
I recently obtained a copy of David Wechsler’s 1935, “The Range of Human Capacities.” To my delight, Chapter 2, “The Measurement of Human Capacities” is an extended analysis of the concept of capacity as applied to…
Causation and Mechanism
Posted at 13:14h in Uncategorized by Eric Turkheimer 3 Comments
Predicting Dyslexia
Less time for blogging the next couple of weeks, so some shorter posts….