Can Biology Class Reduce Racism?

[OldWiseGuy]

Example?

Academic achievement differences between ethnicities.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Is that because he's black? Or because you don't like children?

As a single person I prefer the company of other single people over families with small children. Less confusion, more in common. It's a preference thing.

 

[JackRT]

Academic achievement differences between ethnicities.

From my experience as a retired teacher the ethnic differences are cultural rather than biological.

 

[SummerMadness]

Height is tricky. There are indeed some inherently short groups of people, but improved diet is showing that some groups of people we thought of as short are in fact very tall.

But my main point, with regard to the OP, is that it's hard to argue that there are no genetic differences between ethnic groups.

One can argue that the differences are small, or that they are on axes that don't matter much, but that becomes a value judgement, not a scientific one.

Race and ethnicity do not show up in the human genome. Some genes are associated with ancestry around the world, but those variations do not form distinct biological categories. Finding this hard to believe is the main problem, the science does not support the expressed opinion of genes somehow equaling race or ethnicity.

 

[Radagast]

From my experience as a retired teacher the ethnic differences are cultural rather than biological.

AFAIK, there's no evidence of cognitive differences between ethnic groups that are genetic.

Ashkenazi Jews are a possible exception, largely because some centuries back they seem to have passed through a genetic bottleneck. But even there, it seems likely that culture can explain 100% of the differences with other groups.

 

[Radagast]

Race and ethnicity do not show up in the human genome.

Well, obviously they do. White people have white skin because they have genes for white skin. SCL45A2 is one of the genes.

It's true, of course, that genetic variation within ethnic groups outweighs genetic variation between ethnic groups.

And, of course, we all came from Africa originally, so most of the human genetic diversity is between groups still living in Africa.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

From my experience as a retired teacher the ethnic differences are cultural rather than biological.

I agree.

 

[Ana the Ist]

Height is tricky. There are indeed some inherently short groups of people, but improved diet is showing that some groups of people we thought of as short are in fact very tall.

But my main point, with regard to the OP, is that it's hard to argue that there are no genetic differences between ethnic groups.

One can argue that the differences are small, or that they are on axes that don't matter much, but that becomes a value judgement, not a scientific one.

I'm not disagreeing with any of that. I just think it's prudent to be careful about assuming a difference between two groups has a genetic cause.

 

[Radagast]

I'm not disagreeing with any of that. I just think it's prudent to be careful about assuming a difference between two groups has a genetic cause.

Absolutely, and in most cases that people say "it has a genetic cause," it doesn't.

But genetic differences between individuals exist, and that implies that differences between population means could exist.

And a few things, like white skin and lactose tolerance, provably do have a genetic cause.

 

[SummerMadness]

Well, obviously they do. White people have white skin because they have genes for white skin. SCL45A2 is one of the genes.

It's true, of course, that genetic variation within ethnic groups outweighs genetic variation between ethnic groups.

And, of course, we all came from Africa originally, so most of the human genetic diversity is between groups still living in Africa.

You are mistaking allele frequency for race. There are multiple genes associated with light skin. Moreover, everyone has these genes that didn't develop in Europe, so there really isn't a white people gene. Considering that Europeans have other allele that results in lighter skin. Are those different races of white? Or should we call that a different ethnicity of white? That's right, the gene is not a "white people" gene.

 

[Radagast]

You are mistaking allele frequency for race.

I'm not sure what you mean by "race," or indeed what you mean by "white people," but there are a number of genes (alleles, if you prefer) that produce white skin, and those genes are mostly found among specific ethnic groups, such as the Swedes and the Irish. They mostly appear to reflect mutations that occurred after people left Africa, and are clearly an adaption to non-coastal life at higher latitudes.

Similarly, lactose tolerance is primarily (but not entirely) found among Western European ethnic groups.

 

[CRAZY_CAT_WOMAN]

Can Biology Class Reduce Racism?. No , It takes a lot to get rid of Brain washing.

 

[Radagast]

Can Biology Class Reduce Racism?. No , It takes a lot to get rid of Brain washing.

There are separate questions. Is lactose tolerance, for example, linked to ethnicity? That's a scientific question, and the answer is "yes."

Are lactose-tolerant people "better" or "worse" than anybody else? No, but that's a non-scientific question. Biology class doesn't help to address it.

 

[SummerMadness]

I'm not sure what you mean by "race," or indeed what you mean by "white people," but there are a number of genes (alleles, if you prefer) that produce white skin, and those genes are mostly found among specific ethnic groups, such as the Swedes and the Irish. They mostly appear to reflect mutations that occurred after people left Africa, and are clearly an adaption to non-coastal life at higher latitudes.

Similarly, lactose tolerance is primarily (but not entirely) found among Western European ethnic groups.

Some areas of the world appear to have higher incidence of lactose tolerance, that means that various ethnic groups around the world may freely drink milk, but lactose tolerance isn't going to tell you someone's ethnicity, and that's the point. You can show a map and sat the probability of a person coming from a particular part of a continent is higher, but that doesn't tell you their ethnicity.

 

[ruthiesea]

Asia racist why they hate a certain ethnic group. Invariably you get non-supportable generalizations, misinformation, and unreasonable hatred. Genetics, when it’s used as an argument, revolves around complete misunderstanding of the subject as well as statistics.
I was brought up to see people as individuals to be judge by their actions, and not by the actions of others. Had I been raised differently I would be prejudiced against a lot of people. In fact, a majority of the people in this country.

I’m so glad that I was taught otherwise.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Asia racist why they hate a certain ethnic group. Invariably you get non-supportable generalizations, misinformation, and unreasonable hatred. Genetics, when it’s used as an argument, revolves around complete misunderstanding of the subject as well as statistics.
I was brought up to see people as individuals to be judge by their actions, and not by the actions of others. Had I been raised differently I would be prejudiced against a lot of people. In fact, a majority of the people in this country.

I’m so glad that I was taught otherwise.

Racism doesn't have to involve hatred or maleficence. Merely preferring to associate with people that look like yourself is deemed to be racism.

 

[Hank77]

From my experience as a retired teacher the ethnic differences are cultural rather than biological.

I agree.
Another thing that I think people get confused about is thinking that achievement/proficiency tests are the same thing as IQ tests that measure potential. I think very few children are tested for their IQ.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

I agree.
Another thing that I think people get confused about is thinking that achievement/proficiency tests are the same thing as IQ tests that measure potential. I think very few children are tested for their IQ.

IQ hasn't helped us much with our problems (it does help us produce new widgets however).

 

[Ana the Ist]

He showed her in no uncertain terms that her whiteness was of no advantage to her in his eyes. The way that he did it seems humorous to me. He gave her a reprieve. He took away her leprosy. It was temporary and greatly illustrative.

Race as a concept of skin color didn't exist back then.

 

[Ana the Ist]

The problem with all of this is that environment isn't what determines the characteristics of a person, it is his parents and their genes. There are slow runners in every nation. The preponderance of shorter stature has to do with the genes of the parents, not the trees. The genes of every human contain all of the traits that exist in people on every continent. White people have genes which could cause them to have dark skin were those genes the dominant genes in their parents. It's all there, tallness, baldness, hairy backs, smooth skin, etc etc etc.

In certain environments where height improves survival rate....it's the tall people who end up reproducing more often. You qre familiar with evolution, aren't you?