3 ms·

> To the HN crowd, here's a simple but precise definition. Heritability is the extent to which variability (e.g., the standard deviation) of a trait in one gene

> To the HN crowd, here's a simple but precise definition. Heritability is the extent to which variability (e.g., the standard deviation) of a trait in one generation can be explained by the variability of that trait in the previous generation. Note that high heritability does not mean that the trait is genetically based. > Fun fact 1: since most people are raised by their parents, religion and political party affiliation are also highly heritable, but no one is suggesting that there's a genetic basis for religion or political views. You're wrong. There are separated twin studies; they rule out stuff like "parents, religion and political party affiliation". There may in fact be some other mechanism by which heritability works, but it would have to be physical, and it would have to act in ways indistinguishable from genetics. Also, there are plenty of people suggesting that people's religion and political views have a genetic component.

tomhoward 8y ago
An important question here are whether we're talking about immutable genetic encoding vs genetic expression (sometimes more controversially known as "epigenetics"), which is mutable via environmental stimuli, experiences, beliefs, traumas, cultural influences, etc. The follow-up question to that is the extent to which one's epigenetic state at birth is determined during gestation and influenced by the mother's beliefs and experiences (as well as the father's indirectly via the mother). This would explain why some correlations are found in twin study results, but also why those correlations are never close to 100%. It would also explain the study results that suggest inheritance of patterns like trauma/anxiety e.g., in descendants of holocaust survivors. I'm fully aware this area is nascent and yet to be deeply researched, but hypotheses exist that are plausible and potentially explanatory of phenomena that are otherwise still unexplained.

tomhoward 8y ago

An important question here are whether we're talking about immutable genetic encoding vs genetic expression (sometimes more controversially known as "epigenetics"), which is mutable via environmental stimuli, experiences, beliefs, traumas, cultural influences, etc. The follow-up question to that is the extent to which one's epigenetic state at birth is determined during gestation and influenced by the mother's beliefs and experiences (as well as the father's indirectly via the mother). This would explain why some correlations are found in twin study results, but also why those correlations are never close to 100%. It would also explain the study results that suggest inheritance of patterns like trauma/anxiety e.g., in descendants of holocaust survivors. I'm fully aware this area is nascent and yet to be deeply researched, but hypotheses exist that are plausible and potentially explanatory of phenomena that are otherwise still unexplained.