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From: jason@harlequin.co.uk (Jason Trenouth)
Subject: Re: Darwinian selection for intelligence
In-Reply-To: sjj9289@aw101.iasl.ca.boeing.com's message of Fri, 12 May 1995 22:08:33 GMT
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Date: Mon, 22 May 1995 12:33:15 GMT
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jason@harlequin.co.uk (Jason Trenouth) writes:

Jason> Would large-scale very-long-term persecution have similar
Jason> Darwinian effects on intelligence. E.g. If Jewish people are
Jason> smarter on average, are they smarter because of
Jason> pogroms/holocausts?

In article <1995May12.220833.19334@aw101.iasl.ca.boeing.com> sjj9289@aw101.iasl.ca.boeing.com (Steven J. Johnson) writes:

Steven> Let's clearly distinguish between cultural evolution (2-10
Steven> generations) and biological evolution (minimum 10,000 years).

It sounds like you are quoting these figures from somewhere. Are they
established statistics? Why are they in two different units? And
surely different biological features evolve at different rates in the
same population?

A human generation is generally reckoned to be 30 years, so you are
saying that it takes a minimum of 300 or so human generations for any
human biological evolution to take place. This figure sounds a bit
large.

E.g. human physical traits can be emphasized markedly over just a few
generations by in-breeding within families.

Steven> Yes, the two types of evolution do reinforce each other, but
Steven> for all the traits you are discussing here, it is CULTURAL
Steven> evolution, not biological, that is key.

Maybe.

__Jason
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