> After following some 1,000 New Zealanders for more than 30 years, researchers concluded that tests of language, behavioral skills and cognitive abilities take

> After following some 1,000 New Zealanders for more than 30 years, researchers concluded that tests of language, behavioral skills and cognitive abilities taken when children were just three years old could predict who was most likely to need welfare, commit crimes, or become chronically ill. Whether this is true or not, this is going to have huge ramifications as people believe it and try their various notions of pre-crime and their latest "save humanity" scheme. And if it is true, it has the potential to disrupt society as certain groups - by ethnicity, socioeconomic, geographic, religion, etc - tend to fall in or out of this bucket: the idea that "[group X] is always/never on welfare and therefore..." Without even knowing the rest of the "therefore" it's fascinating and scary to consider.