Monthly Archives: April 2019

One problem with arguing with ignorant people is that they don’t usually have indicator lights that tell you exactly how ignorant they are.  This matters when you’re trying to explain something: it’s not always clear  how much goes without saying. … Continue reading →

There are now a couple of surveys with Ashkenazi EA polygenic scores.  We don’t know that the populations were representative, but probably they weren’t far off. Scores correspond to an IQ of about 110. Personally, I’m still pulling for 112. … Continue reading →

Just ran into an interesting question from a biology problem set: ” Using the laws of thermodynamics, explain why it’s impossible to re-animate organisms that have died ( making Frankenstein’s monster and zombies impossible so we don’t have to worry … Continue reading →

Near glacial maxima, archaic humans could have walked to Japan, so they surely did. Elephants made it. Most of the time, even in the ice ages,  Japan was fairly isolated. Maybe the northern path through Sakhalin was open  (although glaciated) … Continue reading →

Maybe ten years ago,  Henry was analyzing some retrotransposons, sequences that randomly make and insert more copies of themselves. These mutations are statistically simpler in some ways that nucleotide substitutions:  insertions are unique. Henry had gotten some sign reversed while … Continue reading →

If  Amerindians had a lot fewer serious infectious diseases than Old Worlders, something else had to limit population – and it wasn’t the Pill. Surely there was more death by violence. In principle they could have sat down and quietly … Continue reading →