[ExI] Genetics doesn't explain why people are poor

[William Flynn Wallace]

The basic problem is that you simply cannot do a study of poverty and
intelligence without massive confounding, so all you will ever get is
correlations.  Best type of study:  identical twins raised apart in very
different environments.

  bill w

On Sun, Jan 26, 2020 at 11:04 AM spike jones via extropy-chat <
extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:

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> -----Original Message-----
> > On Behalf Of BillK via extropy-chat
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> Subject: [ExI] Genetics doesn't explain why people are poor
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> A Study Tried to Use Genetics to Explain Why People Are Poor Scientists
> wanted to explain health disparities and ended up with a right-wing talking
> point.
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> by Dan Samorodnitsky  Jan 24 2020
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> <
> https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/jgepv8/a-study-tried-to-use-genetics-to-explain-why-people-are-poor
> >
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> Quotes:
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> Genetics’ allure can draw people away from more obvious explanations for
> problems. Here’s a hypothetical. Imagine a poor neighborhood on the side of
> a highway. If you notice that people living in poor neighborhoods next to
> highways get asthma more often than rich people across town, you could
> study their genomes and find some genes common in poor asthmatics. ...
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> It's the old nature versus nurture argument. How much of each????
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> BillK
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> _______________________________________________
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> BillK the example given could be explained two different ways.
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> In our modern fortunate times, it isn't so much car exhaust (which is
> clean, certainly relative to the old days) but rather Diesel exhaust which
> contains carbon particulates.  Clearly asthma and lung irritation can be
> caused by particulates, and asthma is known to be genetically related.  No
> mystery there, both are factors.
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> Now change the venue of the experiment to Interstate 680 in San Jose
> California, which is an ideal laboratory, because the freeway carries many
> Diesel-belching trucks, day and night, and it also comes down thru a
> crowded metropolis where the genetic makeup and economic status is about
> the same on both sides of the freeway.  However... being close to the sea,
> the prevailing breeze is from the west.  It blows the particulates east
> most of the time.  I intentionally bought a home west of the freeway for
> that reason.  So... compare the east side to the west side, and you have
> your answer.
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> The experiment you posted was about how people explained the condition of
> the poor neighborhood, but all I can tell from it is that political notions
> are genetic.  That sounds plausible, but they are also certainly memetic,
> heavily influenced by the family in which we are born.  So with that, we
> still don't get to the answers on the nurture vs nature question.
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> I would like to see a study on asthma west side vs east side of the
> freeway in San Jose.  That could help drive laws to require additional
> exhaust filtering on Diesel trucks if it turns out the way I think it
> will.  Carbon particulates irritate the lungs in all humans.
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> This is very exciting however:
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> https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-13585-5
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> Nature Communications
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> …
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> Published: 16 December 2019
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> Genome-wide analysis identifies molecular systems and 149 genetic loci
> associated with income
>
> …
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> We have CRISPR technology, ja?  So we just poke the right stuff in those
> 149 loci associated with income and everybody gets rich as a king!  We
> could have a prosperous well-fed world, filled with kings.
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> Better yet: find a group of traditionally disadvantaged volunteers, poke
> the right stuff in those 149 genetic locations, their genetically-modified
> children grow up in the traditionally disadvantaged culture, see if they
> get rich.  What a cool experiment!
>
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>
> spike
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