from Hacker News

International 'race science' network funded by US tech boss

by CrypticShift on 10/16/24, 3:22 PM with 11 comments

  • by janalsncm on 10/16/24, 6:17 PM

    > inequality between groups is largely explained by genetics rather than external factors like discrimination

    It’s pretty obvious that between groups there will be differences in phenotypes. The relevant question is how those groups are defined. The question of who is considered “black” or “white” or “asian” is a political question, not a genetic one. They didn’t give people DNA tests to see who was allowed to drink from white water fountains.

    (I think that’s what people mean when they say “race is socially constructed” but I despise academic, clinical language.)

    So when black people (as determined by politics not genetics) were left out of the GI bill, the explanatory factor was politics and perceived identification with a group, not actual genetic differences with it.

  • by mykowebhn on 10/16/24, 5:19 PM

    I understand and might agree with Ahrens that it might not be good if ideas coming from universities were not able to be actualized (he called this power, or ideas coming together with power).

    What I don't agree with is his claim that these ideas have to come only from a conservative stance.

  • by rsynnott on 10/17/24, 1:59 PM

    > On his phone screen, he pulled up a video of muscular men punching each other in a field, overseen by a drill instructor [and then started rambling about the SS]

    Sometimes, there is only a very narrow gap between Nazi propaganda and niche porn.

  • by StarterPro on 10/16/24, 6:47 PM

    These people always make me laugh.

    They look at the crusades, trans Atlantic slave trade, genocide of the indigenous people of the Americas and go "hmm, why are all these brown people so violent"

  • by dyauspitr on 10/16/24, 7:36 PM

    If all perceived superiority comes from achievements in a thin 300 year slice of human history that basically is bookended by overwhelming Asian (Chinese, Indian) dominance, then this whole endeavor seems to be pathetic.