Written by Noah Carl.
The debate over the causes of persistent racial IQ gaps tends to get bogged down in statistical nitty-gritty. Researchers clash over questions like “how similar is the linkage disequilibrium structure in different ancestral populations?” and “do signals of polygenic selection persist when using effect sizes from family-based GWAS?” These questions are undoubtedly important (I do not mean to suggest otherwise). However, the excessive focus on such arcane matters risks distracting from the bigger picture: environmentalism is highly implausible.