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Is missing heritability actually missing? A population genetic perspective

sequencesandconsequences.substack.com · 2,448 words · saved by 1 readers

Twin studies say IQ is 50–80% heritable, is that really the case?

Twin studies say IQ is 50–80% heritable. The best genomic methods say it’s 11-17%. Both numbers can’t be right, and the answer matters. This difference between twin and molecular estimates is referred to as the “missing heritability” problem, and the mystery is more than just a quaint academic dispute. Heritability is frequently invoked in metapolitical discourse by the right, from Charles Murray to the white-supremacist Pioneer Fund, to argue that high heritability justifies social hierarchy, racial inequality, and eugenics. The sky-high 80% heritability estimates superficially give…

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