News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:A Study That Bolsters the Lead-Crime Hypothesis by ZeroGravitas on Tuesday June 06, 2017 @06:34AM (#14496170)
No, but it does provide an "environmental" explanation to counter those that would like to introduce eugenics back into polite society and who point to lower IQs in poorer populations as proof of their inherent (and unfixable) inferiority.

I'm reminded of the story about how an IQ researcher spotted the telltale signs of fetal alchohol syndrome before it was named, but had put it down to the bad genes of the native tribes he was studying. It seems when you'd decided that something in inherited, it's very easy to overlook environmental causes, even when they have very noticeable impacts.

Re:A Study That Bolsters the Lead-Crime Hypothesis by Romanulus on Tuesday June 06, 2017 @11:48AM (#14498113)
So, you're claiming that just about everything that makes us in inheritable, until things like intelligence comes into scope? Far smarter people than you or I have claimed the contrary. That's not to say environmental variables can change how IQ drifts, but there is nevertheless a large part founded on genetics.
Re:A Study That Bolsters the Lead-Crime Hypothesis by ZeroGravitas on Wednesday June 07, 2017 @05:24AM (#14504781)
It's not clear what you're responding to.

Lead lowers IQ (and has other negative impacts). Fetal alchohol syndrome lowers IQ (and has other negative impacts). Adding Iodine to salt apparently raised average IQ by 15 points in areas where the natural diet was low in it.

Many things are apparently very inheritable, like height, yet in certain generations almost everyone is taller than their parents due to environmental factors. This isn't exactly rocket science.

My point was that in history, the people accused of being genetically inferior (the jews, the irish, the italians, native americans, africans, chinese etc.) have generally been outgroups that have been unfairly targeted by pseudo-science, not that IQ does not have a hereditary component.

Re:A Study That Bolsters the Lead-Crime Hypothesis by kerbalspacepro on Wednesday June 07, 2017 @11:00AM (#14506978)
I get where you're coming from, but you can't honestly just use this as a counter-balance to genetic pseudo-science. You can't argue with genetic pseudo-science at all! You have to make your case about the foundational science first.