There’s a lot of discussion on this board about Human Biodiversity (HBD), with particular attention devoted to the possibility of racial differences in intelligence.
In practice, these conversations seem to generate more heat than light. One obstacle is that intelligence is an exceedingly complex/sensitive topic in its own right, even before race is introduced.
With this in mind, I’m wondering about the state of HBD discussion as restricted to potential non-cognitive, phenotype-level differences across races.
For example, is there an academic/cultural consensus that genetic factors explain (at least partly) the recent dominance of African-heritage athletes in “sprint” events in international track & field competitions? If so, is this something that can be discussed in polite company, or is the topic considered taboo?
I raise these questions because it seems strictly easier to make progress in the domain of physical differences than cognitive differences (cognitive differences are harder to operationalize, potentially easier to influence through culture, and tend to be more entangled with our values systems). Additionally, it seems like understanding the state of (potential) non-cognitive differences should provide some of the groundwork for discussions of (potential) cognitive differences across races.
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There’s a lot of discussion on this board about Human Biodiversity (HBD), with particular attention devoted to the possibility of racial differences in intelligence.
In practice, these conversations seem to generate more heat than light. One obstacle is that intelligence is an exceedingly complex/sensitive topic in its own right, even before race is introduced.
With this in mind, I’m wondering about the state of HBD discussion as restricted to potential non-cognitive, phenotype-level differences across races.
For example, is there an academic/cultural consensus that genetic factors explain (at least partly) the recent dominance of African-heritage athletes in “sprint” events in international track & field competitions? If so, is this something that can be discussed in polite company, or is the topic considered taboo?
I raise these questions because it seems strictly easier to make progress in the domain of physical differences than cognitive differences (cognitive differences are harder to operationalize, potentially easier to influence through culture, and tend to be more entangled with our values systems). Additionally, it seems like understanding the state of (potential) non-cognitive differences should provide some of the groundwork for discussions of (potential) cognitive differences across races.
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