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Returned to Sender

By Sonia Smith
Posted Monday, Nov. 12, 2007, at 6:20 PM ET

(Continued from page 1)

"What is the right response? What should progressives do if and when scientists demonstrate a genetic link between 'race' and intelligence?" asks Ted at Blue Mass Group, a Massachusetts-based group blog. "My own view is that such a finding would have, or should have, few if any implications."

At Eye on DNA, epidemiologist and biotech consulant Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei stresses the importance of one's environment. "Here's what I can say about the influence of genetics on intelligence and performance in everyday life - I don't even think about it. … What's important to remember in the discussion about genetics and intelligence is that our genes carry us a certain distance but our environment–the people we come into contact with and the resources that are available to us–is also critically important in determining our future."

Liberal Jason Malloy at Gene Expression, who was quoted in the article, calls on his fellow liberals to prepare themselves for science that proves racial difference has a genetic basis. "I urged progressives to stop predicating their ideas of justice so religiously on empirical matters which might very well get falsified (leaving the door wide open for rival ideologies). When they do this, open talk or diverse public opinions about genetic differences will not evoke the same level of political threat."

Another of the bloggers interviewed for the article, Half Sigma, elaborates on his beliefs: "I assure my new readers that I am neither a skinhead nor a white supremacist living in some compound in Idaho stocked with survivalist gear. I am an over-educated professional living in Manhattan. Once upon a time, I too believed the politically correct view that everyone had equal intelligence and it was all a matter of environment."

Read more reaction to the article. In Slate, William Saletan explored what it means if genetics "predispose [Jewish] children both to genius and to early death."

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Sonia Smith, a former Slate intern, is a reporter at the Baton Rouge Advocate.
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