Monthly Archives: November 2013

I’ve mentioned the unusually high incidence of  certain kinds of weirdness among prominent mathematicians and physicists.  I wondered if there may be a few deleterious mutations that increase intelligence but make you squirrelly – and there may be, but  there … Continue reading →

In every population, some people have serious problems with alcohol, but this happens more in some populations than others.  In particular, populations with low or nonexistent historical exposure to  alcohol have higher rates of alcoholism.  Hunter-gatherers  all seem to have … Continue reading →

The way things are going, the cats with the greatest reproductive success will be feral, and the cats best adapted to living with people will have low fitness. Razib Khan has talked about this.  There are a number of other … Continue reading →

In some cases, fitness depends on an absolute standard, but in others it depends on a relative standard.  Suppose someone throws you out of a fourth-story window: what matters is not whether you suffer less damage than others, but whether … Continue reading →

  Recent work in genetics has made it clear that Tibetans, Andean Indians, and Ethiopians  adapted independently to high-altitude living.  It’s also clear that the Tibetan adaptations are more effective those in Andean Indians. Infant survival is better in Tibet, … Continue reading →

People talking about education often blame poor funding, or crummy unionized teachers, or low standards/expectations for low achievement among black and Hispanic students.  That happens not to be the case. Some of the most interesting examples involve schools that are … Continue reading →

  We’re considering doing the occasional book review.  Thoughts? Suggestions?     Vociferous objections?