6 ms·

I don't see how this kind of DNA test result is useful. It won't help you get citizenship of another country, or affect any of the cultural attributes you acqui

I don't see how this kind of DNA test result is useful. It won't help you get citizenship of another country, or affect any of the cultural attributes you acquired while growing up (such as language and attitudes to science and religion). DNA has nothing to do with culture. Are people supposed to suddenly take an interest in some place that they've previously ignored, just because they have some DNA that's commonly found in that location?

drewbug 7y ago
"nothing" is probably too strong
- incompatible 7y ago
  People will of course sometimes treat other people differently depending on physical attributes than can vary in different populations. E.g., skin colour or height or hair colour. But people already know what visible physical attributes they have without a DNA test.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - ban-for-hard-qs 7y ago
    What causes the difference in social behaviors between chimps and bonobos?
  - chimp-vs-bonobo 7y ago
    I think that's a bit of a strawman, the parent comment wasn't talking about inter-culture interactions. For example, a group of chimps and a group of bonobos might never interact, but they still have different social behaviors. Why?
wahern 7y ago
> Are people supposed to suddenly take an interest in some place that they've previously ignored, just because they have some DNA that's commonly found in that location? Are you American? For most Americans ancestry is an important subject (for many complex reasons), though mostly in a casual way, like sports. Which both explains why the author got upset, but also why they shouldn't have gotten upset. In my limited experience, I suspect the same is true of many other resettled populations--Chinese diaspora in SE Asia, various Jewish communities, etc. Recording and relaying ancestry is a thing that informs their identity, for better or worse.
deleted 7y ago
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fakegalitarian 7y ago
> DNA has nothing to do with culture. What causes the difference between the social behaviors of chimps and bonobos?
jokesnotfunny 7y ago
It has been useful for me. Recently I moved to Sweden and some Swedish girl told me she doesn't like that East Europeans come to her country and that East European women (she's probably refering to me) are seen as low class and not cherrished in Sweden. When I got DNA test from 23andme and it says I am 80% Scandinavian despite parents were living in East Europe and that I am from the original Viking linage. So it had positive effects on my self esteem.
- incompatible 7y ago
  People play all kinds of silly games over status, but I think this is going into dangerous territory. It's basically how WW2 started: Hitler had the idea that Germans were higher status than Eastern Europeans, and so Germany was justified in taking their land for itself.

drewbug 7y ago

"nothing" is probably too strong

incompatible 7y ago
People will of course sometimes treat other people differently depending on physical attributes than can vary in different populations. E.g., skin colour or height or hair colour. But people already know what visible physical attributes they have without a DNA test.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- ban-for-hard-qs 7y ago
  What causes the difference in social behaviors between chimps and bonobos?
- chimp-vs-bonobo 7y ago
  I think that's a bit of a strawman, the parent comment wasn't talking about inter-culture interactions. For example, a group of chimps and a group of bonobos might never interact, but they still have different social behaviors. Why?

wahern 7y ago

> Are people supposed to suddenly take an interest in some place that they've previously ignored, just because they have some DNA that's commonly found in that location? Are you American? For most Americans ancestry is an important subject (for many complex reasons), though mostly in a casual way, like sports. Which both explains why the author got upset, but also why they shouldn't have gotten upset. In my limited experience, I suspect the same is true of many other resettled populations--Chinese diaspora in SE Asia, various Jewish communities, etc. Recording and relaying ancestry is a thing that informs their identity, for better or worse.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

fakegalitarian 7y ago

> DNA has nothing to do with culture. What causes the difference between the social behaviors of chimps and bonobos?

jokesnotfunny 7y ago

It has been useful for me. Recently I moved to Sweden and some Swedish girl told me she doesn't like that East Europeans come to her country and that East European women (she's probably refering to me) are seen as low class and not cherrished in Sweden. When I got DNA test from 23andme and it says I am 80% Scandinavian despite parents were living in East Europe and that I am from the original Viking linage. So it had positive effects on my self esteem.

incompatible 7y ago
People play all kinds of silly games over status, but I think this is going into dangerous territory. It's basically how WW2 started: Hitler had the idea that Germans were higher status than Eastern Europeans, and so Germany was justified in taking their land for itself.