5 Feet of Fury

‘Genes affect cultures, but cultures, in turn, affect genes’

Review of Byron Roth’s The Perils Of Diversity: Apologies To The Grandchildren:

For example, Imperial China began using civil service examinations in 605 A.D. So, it’s not hugely surprising that 1400 years and 50 or 60 generations later, Chinese-American “tiger mothers” like Chua tend to be obsessive about their children’s test-taking—or that this tends to puzzle and irritate non-Chinese.

Roth explains:

“It is important, however, to recognize that the effect of genes on culture is likely to operate quite quickly … Changes in the demographic makeup of a population will have almost immediate effects, whereas the evolutionary impact of a society on its inhabitants will take centuries … The nature of these changes is likely to be wide-ranging and is, without exaggeration, of world-historical significance …”

For example, in California in 1970, the public schools were okay and the main public universities were accessible. Now, after just 40 years of heavy Asian and Hispanic immigration, California’s society is much more stratified. Everybody seemingly wants to get out of LAUSD and get into UCLA.