Monday, December 24, 2012

Brainwash

The video below is the second in the series Brainwash, a Norwegian documentary on the science of nature and nurture. This episode concerns parental influence, and features a very clear explanation by Robert Plomin of heritability as determined by adoption studies (a bit after 15:45). (Note to experts: Plomin refers to his Colorado adoption study, but even larger studies have replicated the results, across multiple countries. He found that the effect of shared environment on cognitive ability was consistent with zero, but the actual value could be somewhat higher due to statistical uncertainties. See The mystery of non-shared environment for more discussion.)

Brainwash caused a big controversy in Norway, but I think the narrator does a great job of making the presentation fair, accurate and entertaining. His background is standup comedy :-)

Thanks to a reader for the link.


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6 comments:

Hauser Quaid said...

I would highly recommend watching all 7 parts of this fantastic documentary, if you want more read Steven Pinkers (also in documentary) "The Blank Slate".

It is scary how ignorant and politically motivated are many scientists of social sciences, and what influence they have, as they are often used by politicians to promote their ideologies, by claiming it's "scientifically proven", by quoting bad science.

"Brainwash caused a big controversy in Norway, but I think the narrator does a great job of making the presentation fair, accurate and entertaining. His background is standup comedy :-)"



Very true, it's hard to stay calm headed, without imposing your opinions when talking about these subjects.

3:03 PM
gide07 said...

"...the effect of shared environment on cognitive ability was consistent with zero..."

How many syllables is that? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Seven syllables for two, IQ. As if more syllables made IQ something more than it is.
Yet absolute IQ scores have increased within the US and other developed countries. If Steve had been raised in T & T by characters from a Naipaul novel he would score as high?


I've read this blog long enough to know that Steve is incapable of interpreting the data and doesn't even know what the data is. Metaphorically: when a Chihuahua freezes to death in the Arctic Steve would say, "You stupid lazy Chihuahua." But then when a Polar Bear died from the heat in Chihuahua he'd say, "You stupid lazy Polar Bear."

11:29 PM
gide07 said...

So what explains the decline in Jewish achievement on the supposed, by Steve, indicators of high cognitive ability math and phyics Olympiads, etc. if not the shared environment of Jewish kids and its having changed?

Steve would say. "Oh, that's 'cause Jews ain't as smart as Asians. They used to be, but then there was this fad for eating lead paint."

12:15 AM
Shanti Perez said...

Yeah, I was born this way. I have zero doubt.

9:28 PM
gide07 said...

Really gay. The social "scientists interviewed are ridiculous. Are they real? But Murray and Pinker are just as ridiculous. too lazy to list them but even obvious to those who haven't studied the nature nurture issue is Murray's phony accent and Pinker's phony accent and hair. Apparently there are transsexuals and men who want to be poodles.

10:43 PM
No More Brainwash said...

http://nomorebrainwash.blogspot.com

Check out my newly-started website dedicated to educating people in how they might have been brainwashed / No More Brainwash

12:24 AM

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