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== Enhancing the Article on Heritability of IQ ==
==Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment==
] This article is or was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Further details are available ]. Student editor(s): ]. Peer reviewers: ].


Hi, I’m a student from Uskudar University. I edit the article 'Heritability of IQ' as an assignment for my course Biotechnology in Neurosciences. I already completed Misplaced Pages training modules to be proficient in Misplaced Pages editing.
{{small|Above undated message substituted from ] by ] (]) 23:23, 16 January 2022 (UTC)}}
I plan to add a paragraph discussing a study that explores the evidence for the predominance of genetic influences on adult intelligence under the 'Estimates' section. Additionally, I am considering introducing a new section to explore the future aspects of the heritability of IQ.
== On Consensus About Heritability of IQ ==
Any support or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
{{atop|Please don't resurrect 6 month old discussions. Start a new thread if you want to renew a topic. &mdash; <b>]:<sup>]</sup></b> 17:23, 25 November 2021 (UTC)}}
Best wishes, ] (]) 17:59, 3 January 2024 (UTC)
The article claims that there is a "consensus" about genetics not playing a role in racial differences in IQ, however, none of the sources cited claim that there is a consensus that this is the case. In fact, numerous reliable surveys and sources who that this NOT the case. Rindermann, Becker, and Coyle (2020) emailed 1237 researchers who had either published intelligence related work in an academic journal or who were a member of an organization related to the study of individual differences in intelligence and found that 49% of the Black-White IQ gap was caused be genes. Only 16% of these experts believed that none of the Black-White IQ gap was due to genes, and only 6% believed that the gap was entirely due to genes.


:I would strongly suggest presenting your sources here first, so they can be discussed. &mdash; <b>]:<sup>]</sup></b> 18:05, 3 January 2024 (UTC)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160289619301886
::Well, here are some of them to start with;
::To contribute to the title: influence of parent genes that are not inherited, this
:: source and source are to be used for further genetics research on intelligence.
::Suggesting a new title for discussion: 'Genomic Insights into Intelligence.' Here are two articles as sources: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37032719/ and https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28530673/
::These are the ones for now. I should start editing now because I'm short on time. Please feel free to go through and provide feedback.
::Best, ] (]) 10:09, 10 January 2024 (UTC)
:::This is one of Misplaced Pages's more controversial articles, and is under a special 'contentious topics' procedure. You would be better off choosing almost any other article on Misplaced Pages for a student editing project. ] (]) 14:08, 10 January 2024 (UTC)
:::I would have to agree with MrOllie on that. This is a very complicated topic which can lead to very inflamed emotions and arguments. Not a great choice for a student project. &mdash; <b>]:<sup>]</sup></b> 14:22, 10 January 2024 (UTC)
:::Since you are short on time, I will echo what others have said and suggest finding a different topic. Perhaps browsing ] or ] would be helpful in finding a different article to focus on. For whatever topic you choose, in general and especially for ], it is better to cite reliable ] sources, instead of directly citing individual studies by themselves. ] may also be helpful. ] (]) 21:59, 10 January 2024 (UTC)
::::Okay, thank you for the suggestions and information. I was assigned to this article by my instructor. In that case, I will ask her to change the topic.
::::best wishes ] (]) 09:39, 11 January 2024 (UTC)
:{{tq|explore the future aspects of the heritability of IQ}} - please see ]. --] (]) 19:33, 10 January 2024 (UTC)


== Disputed content ==
Similarly, Snyderman et al. 1987 emailed 1,020 academics in this literature, and the results were as such: 45% of respondents said the Black-White IQ gap was due to genes and the environment, 24% said there wasn’t enough data to say, 17% didn’t respond, 15% said it was due only to the environment, and 1% said that it was due entirely to genes.


I invite {{u|Biohistorian15}} to discuss their preferred additions to the "Further reading" list here rather than ]. My view is that Nathan Cofnas is quite obviously pushing a ] in these articles, and he is far from being a notable scholar in his own right. Simply having been published in a peer-reviewed journal does not in itself warrant inclusion in a curated list such as "Further reading". ] (]) 17:14, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
http://lepo.it.da.ut.ee/~spihlap/snyderman@rothman.pdf


:Reverting back an edit of yours that is furthermore written in a ''seriously'' accusatory tone is not edit warring (cf. WP:3RR). I'd also hereby like to warn ] that presumption of good faith in matters as sensible as these is important!
It is usually advised not to use primary sources, but not a single source that is either cited in the article or that exists claims that there is a "consensus" that the black-white IQ gap is only due to the environment. This is why I am giving primary sources as evidence to show that what is claimed in this article is not the case. In general, Misplaced Pages should work to establish reliable and neutral sources for claims, as opposed to simply stuffing poor ones that agree with a given narrative. ] (]) 00:11, 1 May 2021 (UTC)
:It is your personal opinion that this scholar is not notable, but even if one of your frankly strange RFC's declared some stuff "fringe", this certainly does not concern the respective scholars other works. ] (]) 17:20, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
::The contention that a paper called "Research on group differences in intelligence" does not fall under the race and intelligence topic area is so dubious as to strain the bounds of what is required by AGF. And we rely on editor judgement all the time in determining what is reliable and due for article space. ] (]) 17:26, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
:::The article concerns the ethics of conducting the aforementioned research. As such is is clearly relevant to the article I included it in. ] (]) 17:28, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
::::I suppose we'll have to see whether others buy your reasoning here. ] (]) 17:30, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
:::::Frankly, I don't care'' all that much ''about these particular additions I made (*for one, they might be more relevant over at "race and intelligence" article now that I think about it...), but am disturbed by the immediate presumption of bad faith. ] (]) 17:33, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
::::::You've been editing in ''very'' contentious areas lately, and your choices of sourcing are... dubious. It might be best to slow down a bit. — <b>]:<sup>]</sup></b> 17:49, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
:::::::Interesting way to word things. I am keenly interested in what I perceive to be certain intimidation tactics present at articles like this one. Please specify reasons for a disagreement or do not engage in this conversation (cf. WP:NOTFORUM). ] (]) 17:54, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
::::::::This is not a NOTFORUM issue, nor is it an intimidation tactic. It's experienced editors warning you that your current approach is going past bold and becoming disruptive. And your phrasing adds more fuel to the fire that you're here to ], rather than editing to improve the encyclopedia. — <b>]:<sup>]</sup></b> 18:18, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
::See ]. I don't think either of the links you posted would be suitable for ''this'' article. Probably somewhere else like ], but not here. --] (]) 18:40, 1 July 2024 (UTC)
:Cofnas also clearly pushing a particular view of the debate, which makes me question including his work as a neutral source. ] (]) 07:33, 2 July 2024 (UTC)
::Yeah, I'd say that rules him out as a reliable source on this topic. — <b>]:<sup>]</sup></b> 18:45, 3 July 2024 (UTC)


== (relatively) new expert survey ==
P.S. Furthermore, there are several secondary sources as well that claim that there is not a consensus. Here is a massive literature review on heritability of racial differences in IQ which found that the group differences are between 50 to 80% heritable.
{{atop|Please don't reopen months-old discussions. Either take the source to ] or move on. — <b>]:<sup>]</sup></b> 12:53, 25 December 2024 (UTC)}}

I'd suggest adding 'Survey of expert opinion on intelligence: Intelligence research, experts' background, controversial issues, and the media' . The page as is cites a lot of individual opinions but is kind of light on expert surveys and meta analyses. ] (]) 07:44, 28 September 2024 (UTC)
https://benthamopen.com/contents/pdf/TOPSYJ/TOPSYJ-3-9.pdf
:The journal ''Intelligence'' is not a reliable source on the subject of this article, and cannot be relied upon to define "expert" in a neutral way, since the journal is controlled by people with a strong POV in favor of hereditarian views on intelligence that have been rejected by a consensus of geneticists. The journal serves as an echo chamber for opinions that conflict with mainstream science. ] (]) 08:24, 28 September 2024 (UTC)

::One thing I'd also point out is that there is an ''extensive'' history of Hereditarians manipulating surveys such as these in order to inflate the appearance of support for their views; see eg. - it's a reason to be skeptical of shocking or unusual outcomes from historically hereditarian-leaning journals, especially if they're not getting much coverage outside of that bubble. --] (]) 20:46, 23 December 2024 (UTC)
:Hi ], you have stumbled onto one of the most contentious issues on Misplaced Pages over the course of the past several years. Please see at least the last six months of discussion at ] (don't forget the archives!), ] with ~50 participants, and right now ]. If you still have questions after reading all this I'd be happy to answer. But in short, the scientific consensus is quite clear: it is as stated in the article. And it will not be relitigated here. ] (]) 00:23, 1 May 2021 (UTC)
:Yes it might be a useful addition to the article. Despite the regular line from a couple of editors here, ''Intelligence'' is a highly respected and regularly cited journal in the field of intelligence research, and you won't find record of anyone notable in the field stating otherwise. In fact if you care to look at that journal's article here on Misplaced Pages, even the two critical comments from journalists included both specify that it is one of the more respected journals in the field. ] (]) 08:15, 23 October 2024 (UTC)
::] Yes, I have read all of those: trust me, I'm not a newcomer to either Misplaced Pages or any of these topics. I already demonstrated through multiple reliable surveys of high sample sizes and secondary sources of massive literature reviews which show that there is not a consensus that it is entirely explained by environment, and most say that it is both. This is an indisputable fact, and not a single reliable source says otherwise. I understand that a lot of people come on Misplaced Pages in order to push their political agenda which doesn't usually have any form of scientific backing, but we have to be committed to ] and ]. There is only one consensus on this topic and it is that there is no consensus on this topic, and any honest expert will attest to this. ] (]) 00:36, 1 May 2021 (UTC)
:::As I said, this will not be relitigated here. ] (]) 00:40, 1 May 2021 (UTC) ::"highly respected" went out the window when they had white supremacists on their editorial board. ] (]) 12:21, 23 October 2024 (UTC)
:::I think we can safely say that ''New Statesman'' and ''Smithsonian Magazine'' trump your personal opinion, as does a healthy H-index and top-quartile rankings among cognitive and developmental psychology journals (per SJR for the year of this survey publication). Were there noted white supremacists on the board in 2020? ] (]) 14:29, 23 October 2024 (UTC)
::::Wow this and the RfC mentioned are an amazing encapsulation of science/reason getting consumed by politics/ideology in the 21st century. I hope the archival format captures the first decade or so of Misplaced Pages, so people know it doesn't have to be this way. FWIW, I completely agree with Dashoopa. This article should not proclaim "consensus" on "one of the most contentious issues on Misplaced Pages." Just scrolling through the RfC I see an enormity of lively debate and disagreement, both sides citing a litany of published evidence... And what is the central claim here? That IQ is hereditary, race is hereditary, but genetics plays NO role in any measurable IQ difference between races? It's quite a claim in its own right, but claiming there's consensus in the scientific community is absurd. If everyone who disagrees that such a "consensus" exists has some sort of semantic misunderstanding (the basis for disputing Dashoopa's cited survey), maybe the article should just say "many experts believe" instead of "consensus." The only reason why you'd want to keep "consensus" is to foreclose thought/discussion on the matter. ] (]) 11:35, 22 November 2021 (UTC)
:::::Your comment is not constructive. The word "consensus" in the lead is supported by lengthy earlier discussions and two RfCs, one last year and one this year. There is no reason to relitigate this. ] (]) 10:25, 24 November 2021 (UTC) ::::Lynn and Meisenberg no longer serve on the editorial board. It doesn't make sense for Misplaced Pages to exclude articles from a well-respected journal just because of the views of former editors. ] (]) 15:39, 28 October 2024 (UTC)
:::::The proper place to debate this would be ]. We're not going to create a local consensus at odds with longstanding, topic-wide practice on this article's talk page. ] (]) 18:22, 28 October 2024 (UTC)
:{{ping|Dashoopa}}- {{u|Generalrelative}} is right to insist that this question is not relitigated: the only way to overturn the RfC is with a successor RfC and that would be a waste of time. The point about Rindermann, Becker, and Coyle's survey deserves a response, however, for the sake of promoting understanding among interested editors. The unfortunate fact is that most "intelligence" researchers are, like most empirical scientists, deficient in their understanding of statistics. The RBC survey asked respondents to estimate the proportion of the sources of U.S. black-white differences in IQ that were due to genes as opposed to all factors. Note the term "due to": this is not a question of heritability, which is a statistically precise but hugely misunderstood observable, but of causality, which is only meaningful in terms of a causal model relating genotype to phenotype; with respect to human intelligence, nobody has credible instances of such models. The question can only be answered by (i) not giving a number (which is what I would have done and which the 15% of respondents who gave any answers to the survey did - RBC also said that many polled scientists responded to say they would not complete the survey because they didn't like the questions - the 15% were simply ignored in the 49% result of RBC you cited); (ii) basing the answer on "fantasy psychology", guessing properties of a imaginary model a projected future of the psychology discipline might produce, (iii) basing the answer on a model that does not work, or (iv) giving a number not informed by the idea of a causal model at all. The 85% of the respondents who answered this question appear to have gone with (ii) to (iv), which I don't regard as scientific answers, but it was a bad question and I could understand providing an answer based on a sense of politeness that prefers to give substantive answers even where good answers are not possible.
::::::This would be at odds with no broader consensus, as ''Intelligence'' appears as a source in the topic area. It could be of course that you've recently purged it, in which case I hope you did discuss it at WP:RSN prior. ] (]) 19:59, 23 December 2024 (UTC)
:If you don't understand why causal questions need to be interpreted relative to a causal model before these you can hope to give a coherent answer to this question, then, like many intelligence researchers, then you don't currently have the understanding needed to interpret this aspect of RBC's survey. If you want to understand, I can help. &mdash; ] <small>]</small> 06:39, 1 July 2021 (UTC)
:::::::Sources exist on a spectrum, but my understanding is that ''Intelligence'' has been (quite rightfully) historically considered a source with fringe leanings on the topic and which therefore needs to be used with caution, if it at all, especially when it comes to anything ]. The fact that it may have been used in a few places for uncontroversial stuff doesn't make it a good source for contested things. And, in any case, the thing to do is to take it to ] either way, not to just try and insert it for a controversial claim when you know there's an active dispute over it. --] (]) 20:34, 23 December 2024 (UTC)
{{abot}} {{abot}}


==Consensus==
== Removal of citing David Reich? ==
{{hat|]}}

I changed a sentence in the opening section which reads "The scientific consensus is that genetics does not explain average differences in IQ test performance between racial groups" to "The scientific consensus is that it is currently unknown how much genetics explains average differences in IQ test performance between racial groups". This is in line with the Hunt reference given. This has been reverted with the claim that such an idea is "fringe". I am at a loss to imagine how a view cited to a well regarded textbook on the subject published by Cambridge University Press could be such a thing. And you have used this reference to write something it doesn't say. Perhaps the reverter can explain. ] (]) 14:33, 9 October 2024 (UTC)
I added a short mention about how traits influenced by genetics like cognition are expected to vary across populations, Harvard professor of population genetics David Reich in New York Times. Nowhere was race mentioned - simply populations. ] mentioned that this view is held only by minority of population geneticists, and pointed me to a RfC about race and intelligence, where Reich was discussed. The discussion links to a article signed by 67 scientists that criticize Reichs article. However, there is no criticism towards the claim that traits influenced by genetics are likely to vary across populations. In fact, the critisim points out that we would probably find genetic differences between populations even if we would decide to define them based on rather mundane social factors, such as the sport clubs they support. It seems the criticism is not towards the claim that populations differ in heritable traits, but rather how we choose to split people into different populations.

So on what basis is Reichs claim that "and all traits influenced by genetics, including cognition, are expected to differ across populations" a "minority view"?

] (]) 14:48, 16 November 2021 (UTC)

:Here's a rather straightforward explanation: .
:Note also that any discussion of Reich's views on the matter would need to consider the follow-up piece in which he conceded that any differences between populations would inevitably be {{tq|very modest}}, indeed {{tq|far smaller than those among individuals}}, and that {{tq|we do not yet have any idea about what the differences are.}} ] (]) 16:11, 16 November 2021 (UTC)

::While Kevin Mitchells article is interesting, I am not sure how it proves that Reichs views are fringe? While these metrics are imperfect, Reich has over 10 times more citations and has published many more articles in much more prestigious journals than Mitchell. How do we decide that Mitchells views are mainstream and Reichs are fringe? The RfC is touching upon racial differences, not population differences.

::] (]) 16:30, 16 November 2021 (UTC)

:::There is an important difference between minority and fringe. Reich's actual work is solid gold, but that doesn't mean that his more speculative views are widely shared –– nor that they have encyclopedic value in the context of this article. ] (]) 16:38, 16 November 2021 (UTC)
:::Btw Mitchell's article is just a particularly accessible and direct example. Here's another piece you might find informative: . ] (]) 16:43, 16 November 2021 (UTC)

::::I enjoyed reading the article, but again there is nothing indicating that Reichs view are fringe and his critics represent the majority. In fact, Reich seems to be a more prestigious population geneticist (at least by number of citations and articles published in prestigious journals) than any of the authors of the articles or researchers cited in the Wiki article itself, so at least convincing case could be made that in fact his critics hold a fringe view.

::::I am not arguing about the merits of Reichs claims (doubt neither of us have the expertise to evaluate them), but rather your assertion that these claims are fringe and only held by a minority. What is the evidence that his views are held only be a minority? Not an article showing that there is criticism towards his claim, but that this criticism is shared by majority in the field?

::::] (]) 17:06, 16 November 2021 (UTC)

:::::Again, I have ''not'' asserted that his claims are fringe. Please see ] for more details on that guideline. And aside from the question of whether Reich's speculative views are widely shared, they are quite obviously speculative, which is why you will not find them in any of his many peer-reviewed studies. That's another important reason why they do not have any obvious encyclopedic value in the context of this article. And why we certainly cannot use them as a basis for stating in Wikivoice what "is expected". ] (]) 17:51, 16 November 2021 (UTC)

::::::He is not speculating - he is saying we "we should expect", that is not how a scientist expresses a view that is speculative. It seems that we can now both agree that his claim is not fringe, which I thought was the cited reason for removing it?
::::::] (]) 18:09, 16 November 2021 (UTC)

:::::::I am tired of repeating myself. Please go reread my edit summary and comments above. I'm going to stop responding to you now but my silence should not be taken as tacit support for this content. You will need to establish a consensus for inclusion by persuading others before you can re-add. ] (]) 18:39, 16 November 2021 (UTC)

== General Relative Deletes Science Papers with no reasoning. ==

Panizzon in one of the largest modern twin IQ studies establishes the heredity of IQ at 86%. General Relative deletes this citation repeatedly with no rationale and therefore should be permanently banned from this article. He is edit warring continuously by deleting real science citations with no rationale.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4002017/ <!-- Template:Unsigned IP --><small class="autosigned">—&nbsp;Preceding ] comment added by ] (]) 00:15, 20 December 2021 (UTC)</small> <!--Autosigned by SineBot-->

:Per ], Misplaced Pages is based on secondary sources wherever possible, and these are always preferred to ] ones. (We can leave aside for now concerns about the reliability of the journal ''Intelligence'' when it deals with the topic of genetics.) I've replaced the Plomin study with a secondary source confirming the 80% number based on a survey of various primary studies. You are of course welcome to provide a rationale for adding an additional primary study, but as of yet you have not done so. If you'd like to report me for what you perceive to be behavioral problems, this is not the place to do that. ] (]) 00:26, 20 December 2021 (UTC)
:Also: not a huge deal but I'm not a "he". They/them pronouns for me please. ] (]) 00:29, 20 December 2021 (UTC)
::By the way, you can use a primary source. It's very common. Just make sure not to interpret it; simply plainly state the facts. ] (]) 02:44, 31 July 2022 (UTC)
:I also suggest that you self-revert since you are now past the 3RR red line per ]. ] (]) 00:31, 20 December 2021 (UTC)
:Hi ], I read the source you listed. It's reliable and has a good methodology. I would support its inclusion, with the caveat that ''g'' is not the same as IQ. ''g'' will likely be slightly more heritable than IQ is, because IQ is a very good but imperfect measure of ''g''. ] (]) 02:29, 31 July 2022 (UTC)

==Comments on sourcing and consensus==

The no evidence/no direct evidence issue has recently come up again on this article, so I'll provide a summary of the issue for those who weren't already familiar with it.

This wording was first added by NightHeron in these two edits to the ] article, changing the article text without changing the sources that it cited, while arguing that there was no need to provide a source for the new wording. The material was subsequently copied to several other Misplaced Pages articles, including this one and two others. It was copied to these articles without any discussion.

Over the past two years, at least ten editors have raised concerns that the modified sentence is not supported by its sources, and/or tried to change it for that reason. These have included (in chronological order):
#Insertcleverphrasehere
#Maximumideas
#Literaturegeek
#Amazingcosima
#Gardenofaleph
#Stonkaments
#Stevecree2
#Myself
#Mr Butterbur
#AndewNguyen.
If IP editors are included, there are another three who have objected to this material or tried to change it, bringing the total to thirteen. Finally, when I summarized this issue to Arbcom in October, two of the arbitrators acknowledged there was a problem with how sources were being used.
If the arbitrator comments are also included, over the past two years a total of fifteen editors have in some way acknowledged that this sentence is not properly sourced.

Some of the comments linked above have provided detailed explanations of how the modified wording contradicts the sources that it cites - particularly those from Literaturegeek, Gardenofaleph, Stonkaments and myself. NightHeron has generally not engaged with these arguments directly, but instead argued that these objections are invalid and/or disruptive because the modified wording is required by consensus. He has made that argument and . But based on these discussions, and the fact that the editors objecting to the modified wording over the past two years have significantly outnumbered those defending it, I think that if there ever was actually a consensus for this wording, there isn't one anymore.


:It is plainly not 'in line with the Hunt reference given'. Here is the quote from the reference actually attached to the claim in the article, which is from Ceci et al.: {{Tq|There is an emerging consensus about racial and gender equality in genetic determinants of intelligence; most researchers, including ourselves, agree that genes do not explain between-group differences.}} ] (]) 14:35, 9 October 2024 (UTC)
{{ping|HandThatFeeds}} In your edit summary you asked for evidence that sources are being misrepresented. Is this summary, along with the linked comments and discussions, adequate for your request? -] (]) 18:22, 30 July 2022 (UTC)
::And Ceci et al. is just the first cite there - six are given. ] (]) 14:38, 9 October 2024 (UTC)
:::The Hunt reference is absolutely clear that causes are unknown and more research is needed. I must charitably assume that you did not look at it to imagine that what I wrote was not completely in line with it. Should we remove this reference to match your preferred POV? Or should we report that there is no consensus on an explanation? ] (]) 14:47, 9 October 2024 (UTC)
:::The editor above now appears to be adding quotes out of context and misrepresenting the thrust of the text. Egregious. ] (]) 14:54, 9 October 2024 (UTC)
::::It is your version that is a plain misrepresentation of what Hunt has to say on the topic. To quote Hunt: {{tq|o genes related to the difference in cognitive skills across the various racial and ethic groups have ever been discovered. The argument for genetic differences has been carried forward largely by circumstantial evidence. Of course, tomorrow afternoon genetic mechanisms producing racial and ethnic differences in intelligence might be discovered, but there have been a lot of investigations, and tomorrow has not come for quite some time now.}} ] (]) 14:56, 9 October 2024 (UTC)
:::::You really need to read to read the whole page, which I'm sure you did to cherry pick that section. And even there "Of course, tomorrow afternoon genetic mechanisms producing racial and ethnic differences in intelligence might be discovered". So Hunt is saying the science is settled? Clearly not. It's rather depressing that such brazen liars are allowed free rein around here. What's going on? ] (]) 14:50, 11 October 2024 (UTC)
::::::{{Tq|It's rather depressing that such brazen liars are allowed free rein around here.}} I entirely agree. ] (]) 14:59, 11 October 2024 (UTC)
{{hab}}


== Percentages vs. bare numbers ==
:Please refer to ]: {{tq|Consensus among a limited group of editors, at one place and time, cannot override community consensus on a wider scale.}} For those unfamiliar with the wider consensus on race and intelligence, it is here: ]. ] (]) 20:40, 30 July 2022 (UTC)


The article starts out using percentages, eg. "{{tqi|Early twin studies of adult individuals have found a heritability of IQ between 57% and 73%,}}" but then later similar statistics are given as bare numbers, eg. "{{tqi|Estimates in the academic research of the heritability of IQ have varied from below 0.5 ...}}" Can we convert all these decimal numbers to percentages? That would increase clarity and readability. ] (]) 05:33, 22 January 2025 (UTC)
:It should be noted that 7 of the 10 editors in Ferahgo's list (#1,2,3,5,8,9,10) were in the minority of RfC participants in 2020 (see ) who voted "no" on the RfC's question "{{tq|Is the claim that there are genetic differences in intelligence along racial lines a fringe viewpoint?}}." After that RfC was closed with a consensus for "yes" (that was overwhelmingly reaffirmed by a second RfC in 2021, see ), some of the "yes" voters made edits to bring articles such as this one into compliance with ] and ]. Several of the editors in Ferahgo's list made strenuous efforts to stop these edits, often ] talk-pages and noticeboards. So Ferahgo's proposal to relitigate the wording and change how racial hereditarianism is described in this article is just a continuation of the efforts to circumvent consensus on this issue. ] (]) 21:49, 30 July 2022 (UTC)
::{{ping|NightHeron}} Please clarify two things for me.
:::1. Based on your comment above, it sounds as though you're saying that no matter how many editors object that this sentence in multiple articles contradicts its sources, and explain how it contradicts them, you're going to continue arguing that consensus requires it and reverting attempts to change it.
:::2. In your comment , you said that whether the sources say "no evidence" or "no direct evidence" is irrelevant, because your modified wording is required by ]. I'm assuming that's still your position, so you aren't going to present an argument as to how your wording is supported by the sources it cites.
::Are these assumptions correct? I'd like to know whether there's any possible benefit to arguing with you about this further. -] (]) 23:50, 30 July 2022 (UTC)
:::Please don't put words into my mouth. I don't appreciate your caricatures of my views, and I don't think that a back-and-forth with you would be a productive use of time. ] (]) 00:36, 31 July 2022 (UTC)
:I agree that it should be removed because that's pretty irrelevant to the heritability of IQ. Race doesn't need to be brought up at all. It's like arguing about racial differences on the heritability of height. Makes no sense; take race out. Keep that in articles which are about race. ] (]) 02:35, 31 July 2022 (UTC)
::I support totally removing the discussion about race in this article, in both the lead and article body. However, we also should address the issue of these sources being misrepresented in all the other articles that the same sentence cited to the same sources has been copied to. --] (]) 06:26, 31 July 2022 (UTC)
::{{ping|BooleanQuackery}} Your suggestion to remove the discussion about race sounds like a good idea. This would need to involve removing the last paragraph of the lede, and also removing the "between-group heritability" section. I normally don't support eliminating entire sections of articles, but in this case it does seem like the best option. There is a huge amount of current research and academic discussion about the heritability of IQ, and very little of it is about race, and yet this topic currently takes up over 1/8th of this article's content. Meanwhile the article doesn't even directly mention well-known topics in this area such as the Wilson Effect. -] (]) 22:59, 31 July 2022 (UTC)

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Enhancing the Article on Heritability of IQ

Hi, I’m a student from Uskudar University. I edit the article 'Heritability of IQ' as an assignment for my course Biotechnology in Neurosciences. I already completed Misplaced Pages training modules to be proficient in Misplaced Pages editing. I plan to add a paragraph discussing a study that explores the evidence for the predominance of genetic influences on adult intelligence under the 'Estimates' section. Additionally, I am considering introducing a new section to explore the future aspects of the heritability of IQ. Any support or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Best wishes, Bayrakd (talk) 17:59, 3 January 2024 (UTC)

I would strongly suggest presenting your sources here first, so they can be discussed. — The Hand That Feeds You: 18:05, 3 January 2024 (UTC)
Well, here are some of them to start with;
To contribute to the title: influence of parent genes that are not inherited, this one
This source and this source are to be used for further genetics research on intelligence.
Suggesting a new title for discussion: 'Genomic Insights into Intelligence.' Here are two articles as sources: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37032719/ and https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28530673/
These are the ones for now. I should start editing now because I'm short on time. Please feel free to go through and provide feedback.
Best, Bayrakd (talk) 10:09, 10 January 2024 (UTC)
This is one of Misplaced Pages's more controversial articles, and is under a special 'contentious topics' procedure. You would be better off choosing almost any other article on Misplaced Pages for a student editing project. MrOllie (talk) 14:08, 10 January 2024 (UTC)
I would have to agree with MrOllie on that. This is a very complicated topic which can lead to very inflamed emotions and arguments. Not a great choice for a student project. — The Hand That Feeds You: 14:22, 10 January 2024 (UTC)
Since you are short on time, I will echo what others have said and suggest finding a different topic. Perhaps browsing Category:Biotechnology or Category:Neuroscience would be helpful in finding a different article to focus on. For whatever topic you choose, in general and especially for WP:MEDRS, it is better to cite reliable WP:SECONDARY sources, instead of directly citing individual studies by themselves. Misplaced Pages:Identifying reliable sources (science) may also be helpful. Grayfell (talk) 21:59, 10 January 2024 (UTC)
Okay, thank you for the suggestions and information. I was assigned to this article by my instructor. In that case, I will ask her to change the topic.
best wishes Bayrakd (talk) 09:39, 11 January 2024 (UTC)
explore the future aspects of the heritability of IQ - please see WP:CRYSTALBALL. --WikiLinuz (talk) 19:33, 10 January 2024 (UTC)

Disputed content

I invite Biohistorian15 to discuss their preferred additions to the "Further reading" list here rather than edit warring. My view is that Nathan Cofnas is quite obviously pushing a fringe perspective in these articles, and he is far from being a notable scholar in his own right. Simply having been published in a peer-reviewed journal does not in itself warrant inclusion in a curated list such as "Further reading". Generalrelative (talk) 17:14, 29 June 2024 (UTC)

Reverting back an edit of yours that is furthermore written in a seriously accusatory tone is not edit warring (cf. WP:3RR). I'd also hereby like to warn Generalrelative that presumption of good faith in matters as sensible as these is important!
It is your personal opinion that this scholar is not notable, but even if one of your frankly strange RFC's declared some stuff "fringe", this certainly does not concern the respective scholars other works. Biohistorian15 (talk) 17:20, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
The contention that a paper called "Research on group differences in intelligence" does not fall under the race and intelligence topic area is so dubious as to strain the bounds of what is required by AGF. And we rely on editor judgement all the time in determining what is reliable and due for article space. Generalrelative (talk) 17:26, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
The article concerns the ethics of conducting the aforementioned research. As such is is clearly relevant to the article I included it in. Biohistorian15 (talk) 17:28, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
I suppose we'll have to see whether others buy your reasoning here. Generalrelative (talk) 17:30, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
Frankly, I don't care all that much about these particular additions I made (*for one, they might be more relevant over at "race and intelligence" article now that I think about it...), but am disturbed by the immediate presumption of bad faith. Biohistorian15 (talk) 17:33, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
You've been editing in very contentious areas lately, and your choices of sourcing are... dubious. It might be best to slow down a bit. — The Hand That Feeds You: 17:49, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
Interesting way to word things. I am keenly interested in what I perceive to be certain intimidation tactics present at articles like this one. Please specify reasons for a disagreement or do not engage in this conversation (cf. WP:NOTFORUM). Biohistorian15 (talk) 17:54, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
This is not a NOTFORUM issue, nor is it an intimidation tactic. It's experienced editors warning you that your current approach is going past bold and becoming disruptive. And your phrasing adds more fuel to the fire that you're here to WP:RGW, rather than editing to improve the encyclopedia. — The Hand That Feeds You: 18:18, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
See MOS:FURTHER. I don't think either of the links you posted would be suitable for this article. Probably somewhere else like Race and intelligence, but not here. --WikiLinuz (talk) 18:40, 1 July 2024 (UTC)
Cofnas also got in trouble recently for an op-ed he wrote clearly pushing a particular view of the debate, which makes me question including his work as a neutral source. Harryhenry1 (talk) 07:33, 2 July 2024 (UTC)
Yeah, I'd say that rules him out as a reliable source on this topic. — The Hand That Feeds You: 18:45, 3 July 2024 (UTC)

(relatively) new expert survey

Please don't reopen months-old discussions. Either take the source to WP:RSN or move on. — The Hand That Feeds You: 12:53, 25 December 2024 (UTC)

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


I'd suggest adding 'Survey of expert opinion on intelligence: Intelligence research, experts' background, controversial issues, and the media' . The page as is cites a lot of individual opinions but is kind of light on expert surveys and meta analyses. Hi! (talk) 07:44, 28 September 2024 (UTC)

The journal Intelligence is not a reliable source on the subject of this article, and cannot be relied upon to define "expert" in a neutral way, since the journal is controlled by people with a strong POV in favor of hereditarian views on intelligence that have been rejected by a consensus of geneticists. The journal serves as an echo chamber for opinions that conflict with mainstream science. NightHeron (talk) 08:24, 28 September 2024 (UTC)
One thing I'd also point out is that there is an extensive history of Hereditarians manipulating surveys such as these in order to inflate the appearance of support for their views; see eg. - it's a reason to be skeptical of shocking or unusual outcomes from historically hereditarian-leaning journals, especially if they're not getting much coverage outside of that bubble. --Aquillion (talk) 20:46, 23 December 2024 (UTC)
Yes it might be a useful addition to the article. Despite the regular line from a couple of editors here, Intelligence is a highly respected and regularly cited journal in the field of intelligence research, and you won't find record of anyone notable in the field stating otherwise. In fact if you care to look at that journal's article here on Misplaced Pages, even the two critical comments from journalists included both specify that it is one of the more respected journals in the field. Elisha'o'Mine (talk) 08:15, 23 October 2024 (UTC)
"highly respected" went out the window when they had white supremacists on their editorial board. MrOllie (talk) 12:21, 23 October 2024 (UTC)
I think we can safely say that New Statesman and Smithsonian Magazine trump your personal opinion, as does a healthy H-index and top-quartile rankings among cognitive and developmental psychology journals (per SJR for the year of this survey publication). Were there noted white supremacists on the board in 2020? Elisha'o'Mine (talk) 14:29, 23 October 2024 (UTC)
Lynn and Meisenberg no longer serve on the editorial board. It doesn't make sense for Misplaced Pages to exclude articles from a well-respected journal just because of the views of former editors. Stonkaments (talk) 15:39, 28 October 2024 (UTC)
The proper place to debate this would be WP:RSN. We're not going to create a local consensus at odds with longstanding, topic-wide practice on this article's talk page. Generalrelative (talk) 18:22, 28 October 2024 (UTC)
This would be at odds with no broader consensus, as Intelligence appears as a source in the topic area. It could be of course that you've recently purged it, in which case I hope you did discuss it at WP:RSN prior. Elisha'o'Mine (talk) 19:59, 23 December 2024 (UTC)
Sources exist on a spectrum, but my understanding is that Intelligence has been (quite rightfully) historically considered a source with fringe leanings on the topic and which therefore needs to be used with caution, if it at all, especially when it comes to anything WP:EXCEPTIONAL. The fact that it may have been used in a few places for uncontroversial stuff doesn't make it a good source for contested things. And, in any case, the thing to do is to take it to WP:RSP either way, not to just try and insert it for a controversial claim when you know there's an active dispute over it. --Aquillion (talk) 20:34, 23 December 2024 (UTC)
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Consensus

WP:NOTFORUM
The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.

I changed a sentence in the opening section which reads "The scientific consensus is that genetics does not explain average differences in IQ test performance between racial groups" to "The scientific consensus is that it is currently unknown how much genetics explains average differences in IQ test performance between racial groups". This is in line with the Hunt reference given. This has been reverted with the claim that such an idea is "fringe". I am at a loss to imagine how a view cited to a well regarded textbook on the subject published by Cambridge University Press could be such a thing. And you have used this reference to write something it doesn't say. Perhaps the reverter can explain. Raffelate (talk) 14:33, 9 October 2024 (UTC)

It is plainly not 'in line with the Hunt reference given'. Here is the quote from the reference actually attached to the claim in the article, which is from Ceci et al.: There is an emerging consensus about racial and gender equality in genetic determinants of intelligence; most researchers, including ourselves, agree that genes do not explain between-group differences. MrOllie (talk) 14:35, 9 October 2024 (UTC)
And Ceci et al. is just the first cite there - six are given. MrOllie (talk) 14:38, 9 October 2024 (UTC)
The Hunt reference is absolutely clear that causes are unknown and more research is needed. I must charitably assume that you did not look at it to imagine that what I wrote was not completely in line with it. Should we remove this reference to match your preferred POV? Or should we report that there is no consensus on an explanation? Raffelate (talk) 14:47, 9 October 2024 (UTC)
The editor above now appears to be adding quotes out of context and misrepresenting the thrust of the text. Egregious. Raffelate (talk) 14:54, 9 October 2024 (UTC)
It is your version that is a plain misrepresentation of what Hunt has to say on the topic. To quote Hunt: o genes related to the difference in cognitive skills across the various racial and ethic groups have ever been discovered. The argument for genetic differences has been carried forward largely by circumstantial evidence. Of course, tomorrow afternoon genetic mechanisms producing racial and ethnic differences in intelligence might be discovered, but there have been a lot of investigations, and tomorrow has not come for quite some time now. MrOllie (talk) 14:56, 9 October 2024 (UTC)
You really need to read to read the whole page, which I'm sure you did to cherry pick that section. And even there "Of course, tomorrow afternoon genetic mechanisms producing racial and ethnic differences in intelligence might be discovered". So Hunt is saying the science is settled? Clearly not. It's rather depressing that such brazen liars are allowed free rein around here. What's going on? Raffelate (talk) 14:50, 11 October 2024 (UTC)
It's rather depressing that such brazen liars are allowed free rein around here. I entirely agree. MrOllie (talk) 14:59, 11 October 2024 (UTC)

Percentages vs. bare numbers

The article starts out using percentages, eg. "Early twin studies of adult individuals have found a heritability of IQ between 57% and 73%," but then later similar statistics are given as bare numbers, eg. "Estimates in the academic research of the heritability of IQ have varied from below 0.5 ..." Can we convert all these decimal numbers to percentages? That would increase clarity and readability. Daask (talk) 05:33, 22 January 2025 (UTC)

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