Chinese Clinic Uses DNA Tests To Predict Kids' Talents

Death Metal writes with this excerpt from CNN: "About 30 children aged 3 to 12 years old and their parents are participating in a new program that uses DNA testing to identify genetic gifts and predict the future. ... The test is conducted by the Shanghai Biochip Corporation. Scientists claim a simple saliva swab collects as many as 10,000 cells that enable them to isolate eleven different genes. By taking a closer look at the genetic codes, they say they can extract information about a child's IQ, emotional control, focus, memory, athletic ability and more. For about $880, Chinese parents can sign their kids up for the test and five days of summer camp in Chongqing, where the children will be evaluated in various settings from sports to art. The scientific results, combined with observations by experts throughout the week, will be used to make recommendations to parents about what their child should pursue."

Comments

Re:Pygmalion Effect

[djupedal]

Load 'of crap....didn't you ever go to the counselor in school and have an aptitude test? Stop beating up on another culture just because they've found a different way to do something your culture did when you were a child...

Re:Problem is: Talents are not based on genetics.

[inviolet]

I remember reading a big article in the German science magazine "Spektrum der Wissenschaft", that there is no such thing as innate talent.

They tried to find out, what made geniuses geniuses. And they found, that it's not relevant what you were born with.

Scientists cannot discover knowledge precluded by their own philosophy. Germany has long labored under Sceptical philosophy which is not comfortable with objectivity, or superiority, or for that matter any value judgments at all. So take their finding with a whole shaker full of salt.

To wit: what criteria did they use to select 'genius'? Did they allow themselves to factor in, or even consider, impolite elements like standardized test scores? What about taboo elements like race and gender? How many non-geniuses had to be mixed into the alleged pool of geniuses in order to satisfy their need for anti-superiority and political correctness?

Nobody who professes a Sceptical/Leftist desire for "equality of outcomes", or who found the willpower to believe in the cognitive equality of the races, should be allowed to oversee such investigations.