The evolution of intelligence.
Borrowing the title of my post from an extremely intriguing article from the Economist, available here.
The article unveils a historically sensitive theory- proposed by three researchers working at the University of Utah- that some ethnic groups may actually be more intelligent than the rest of us. Taking the case of a Jewish sub-sect - the Ashkenazi, (of which Albert Einstein, Gustav Mahler and Sigmund Freud are but three glittering protagonists) they go on to argue that historical legal discrimination of Jews may have been contributory to the genetic evolution of the subsect's intellect. But there is a flip side. Their research finds that this sect appears to be more susceptible to certain neurological disorders.
The really interesting aspect of their work is that they seem to hint that there exists a correlation between increased intelligence and a marked increase in susceptibility to neurological disorder.
Apparently there is a biological precedent- the gene that causes sickle cell anaemia, an affliction common in West Africa, is also responsible for immunity to malaria, which is highly prevalent in, you guessed it, West Africa! In other words, in evolution's cost-benefit analysis, the benefits of immunity to malaria seem to outweigh the costs of sickle-cell anaemia. Or for that matter, the benefits of intelligence outweigh a marked affliction to neurological disorder.
Or, in the gamble that is life, the marginal utility of a dollar gained is greater than the marginal utility of a dollar lost.
Nature is a great risk taker. Interesting concept.
The article unveils a historically sensitive theory- proposed by three researchers working at the University of Utah- that some ethnic groups may actually be more intelligent than the rest of us. Taking the case of a Jewish sub-sect - the Ashkenazi, (of which Albert Einstein, Gustav Mahler and Sigmund Freud are but three glittering protagonists) they go on to argue that historical legal discrimination of Jews may have been contributory to the genetic evolution of the subsect's intellect. But there is a flip side. Their research finds that this sect appears to be more susceptible to certain neurological disorders.
The really interesting aspect of their work is that they seem to hint that there exists a correlation between increased intelligence and a marked increase in susceptibility to neurological disorder.
Apparently there is a biological precedent- the gene that causes sickle cell anaemia, an affliction common in West Africa, is also responsible for immunity to malaria, which is highly prevalent in, you guessed it, West Africa! In other words, in evolution's cost-benefit analysis, the benefits of immunity to malaria seem to outweigh the costs of sickle-cell anaemia. Or for that matter, the benefits of intelligence outweigh a marked affliction to neurological disorder.
Or, in the gamble that is life, the marginal utility of a dollar gained is greater than the marginal utility of a dollar lost.
Nature is a great risk taker. Interesting concept.
posted by Venkat at 8:11 PM
2 Comments:
Interesting link. Though it is still theoretical with quite a few assumptions, it is really intriguing. We've always heard that genetics have a role to play in intelligence and now we at least have a theory on that regard. So, now we know who to blame when our parents blame us for being foolish ;-) Just kidding.
BTW, nice blog you've got out here.
Thanks for dropping by!
And yes, when we are accosted for being dim-witted by our parents (happens quite often with me), we know we can always retort, "if only we were discriminated a bit while growing up.." :)
Cheers and keep reading,
Venkat
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