Scientists Found 74 Genetic Variants Linked To Education Level (theverge.com)

An anonymous reader shares a report on The Verge: Scientists have found 74 genetic variants that are associated with educational attainment. In short, that means some people have variants of genes in their DNA that are correlated with completing more schooling. But this finding, published today in Nature, should be taken with a grain of salt. Together, these variants explain less than half a percent of the differences in educational attainment seen in the population studied -- far less than the impact that a person's wealth and environment can have on the time they spend in school. The strongest association found for a single genetic variant explained only 0.035 of one percent of the variation in educational attainment. "Put another way, the difference between people with zero and two copies of this genetic variant predicts, on average, about nine extra weeks of schooling," says Dan Benjamin, a behavioral economist at the University of Southern California who worked on the study. These variants don't mean much when it comes to people's schooling, and factors like poverty, geography, and nutrition probably have a much bigger combined impact. The Guardian's take is worth a read as well.

Comments

Racists!

[frovingslosh]

How dare they suggest that their might be differences in people that correlates with their educational ability? Next thing you know they will find that is different geographically separated groups these mutations occur in different numbers. I don't care if it is true or not, we must preserve the accepted belief that all races are equally capable, no matter what science or history has shown us.

We demand gene-equality!

[mi]

74 genetic variants that are associated with educational attainment

This is yet another manifestation of how the strong, healthy, smart, and the goodlooking have unfair advantage in life. So, just because their daddy and mommy had better genes, they are better humans now? No!!

It is long overdue for awareness to be raised of this grotesque and self-perpetuating injustice. To achieve the level playing field the overly smart need to be lobotomised, the strong — crippled, and the beautiful — disfigured.