Riot IQ Test

Human evolution did not magically stop when humans stopped living in caves. In fact, new research from David Reich's lab at @Harvard shows that for some traits it has sped up in the past 10k years (at least in western Eurasians). By comparing differences in DNA ancient remains with living humans' DNA, Reich et al. were able to identify traits that were under evolutionary selection in western Eurasians during recent evolution. One of these traits is higher intelligence, which has been under positive selection. In other words, in the past 10k years, people with DNA variants that today are seen in smarter people were more successful in their reproduction. Other traits that were under positive selection pressure include B blood type, celiac disease susceptibility, multiple schlerosis susceptibility, lighter hair and skin tone, walking pace, household income, and years of schooling. Traits selected against Type A blood antigens, include bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, being a current smoker, having a health decline in old age, and body fat percentage (see 2nd and 3rd images). What's interesting is that this is a mix of purely biological traits (e.g., blood type) and purely psychological traits (like intelligence). So, evolution worked on both body and behavior in recent times. Additionally, some of these traits would have shown up differently thousands of years ago than they do today. For example, ancient Europeans and west Asians didn't have access to tobacco until 500 years ago. But for thousands of years before that the behaviors that today lead to people smoking were selected against--even though those people never saw tobacco in their life. SOMETHING biological and/or behavioral was being selected against... we just don't know what that was. The same is true with intelligence: no one ever took an IQ test before 1905. Yet, higher intelligence was selected for long before the tests were invented. The article also confirms a lot of previous studies, such as the finding that intelligence is influenced by a large number of genes, each with a small effect. The authors also found evidence supporting the idea that a partial reason IQ is positively correlated with household income, years of schooling is that these traits share genes (see 4th image). This is a landmark article that tells us so much about the genetics of many different traits (including intelligence), local human evolution, and how individual differences develop over the generations. Access the full article here: doi.org/10.1038/s41586…

🚨New research!🚨 Riot's Chief Scientist, @Russwarne, published a new lit review today that explores Project 100,000, which was a program that lowered the minimum IQ threshold needed to join the military. Over 300,000 men enlisted or were drafted under this program, most with IQs between 80 and 92. The slang at the time called them "McNamara's morons," and the unfavorable views of Project 100,000 and these men have lingered for over 50 years. During Project 100,000, the military conducted research on these men, but most of these reports have been ignored for over 50 years. This article is a lit review highlighting research on Project 100,000. Among the findings: ➡️Project 100,000 was not unusual for the military. Before and since, the U.S. military had inducted more people in the 80-92 IQ range than during Project 100,000. ➡️Most men in Project 100,000 did NOT serve in combat. They were not "canon fodder." In fact, the author could not verify that their death rate was any higher than the general population of the military at the time. ➡️Project 100,000 did NOT cause a major decrease in average IQ in the military (2nd image) or lead to a deterioration of fighting ability. ➡️Failure rates in basic and job training were higher in Project 100,000 men. But the vast majority of individuals in the program still met the era's standards of military and job performance. Contrary to most of the narratives about Project 100,000, the program was not a massive failure--though it wasn't a great success, either. As the author says, "Project 100,000 met some of its creators' goals and fell short of others" (p. 1). From a scientific perspective, the most important finding from Project 100,000 is that it is the world's biggest test of the training hypothesis (see third image). In most jobs, men in Project 100,000 were less proficient than their smarter comrades (assuming the lower-IQ personnel could complete the training at all). Still, most Project 100,000 men had satisfactory job ratings from their supervisors. As the article states, this shows that ". . . often 'good enough' is good enough" (p. 18). No, men in Project 100,000 were not "McNamara's morons." Most had IQs within the normal range and served their country honorably. There's a lot more to learn from the article, and it is worth the time to read it completely. Read the article here: doi.org/10.1177/009532… Preprint version here: osf.io/preprints/psya…

🚨 New podcast episode! 🚨 Charles Murray (The Bell Curve) doesn't shy away from the hard questions, and neither do we. Topics include: ✅ IQ, genetics, & human differences ✅ The Truth behind The Bell Curve ✅ Faith, meaning, & Murray's personal journey youtu.be/lqOhOvw0kbs?si…

🚨 New podcast episode! 🚨 Charles Murray (The Bell Curve) doesn't shy away from the hard questions, and neither do we. Topics include: ✅ IQ, genetics, & human differences ✅ The Truth behind The Bell Curve ✅ Faith, meaning, & Murray's personal journey youtu.be/lqOhOvw0kbs?si…