The Genetic Lottery
内容简介
In recent years, scientists like Kathryn Paige Harden have shown that DNA makes us different, in our personalities and in our health—and in ways that matter for educational and economic success in our current society.
In The Genetic Lottery, Harden introduces readers to the latest genetic science, dismantling dangerous ideas about racial superiority and challenging us to grapple with what equality really means in a world where people are born different. Weaving together personal stories with scientific evidence, Harden shows why our refusal to recognize the power of DNA perpetuates the myth of meritocracy, and argues that we must acknowledge the role of genetic luck if we are ever to create a fair society.
Reclaiming genetic science from the legacy of eugenics, this groundbreaking book offers a bold new vision of society where everyone thrives, regardless of how one fares in the genetic lottery.
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作者简介
Kathryn Paige Harden is professor of clinical psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, where she is director of the Developmental Behavior Genetics Lab and codirector of the Texas Twin Project. She lives in Austin. Twitter @kph3k.
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目录
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读书文摘
如今，社会的结构是这样的：只有在正规教育中取得成功的人，特别是那些拥有大学本科或更高学历的人，才能分享国家的繁荣。没有大学学位的人（仍然占美国的大多数）是脆弱的。他们的情感关系和婚姻很容易解体；他们很容易酗酒和吸毒；他们容易焦虑、绝望和自杀；他们容易因为原本可预防的疾病而承受沉重的医疗债务和不必要的痛苦。
1972年，社会学家桑迪·詹克斯（Sandy Jencks）提出了一个关于遗传效应的社会机制的影响最持久的思想实验。例如，如果一个国家拒绝送红发儿童上学，那么造成红头发的基因可以说是降低了阅读测试的分数…在这种情况下，将红发人的文盲归咎于他们的基因，可能会让大多数读者觉得很荒谬。不过，传统的估计遗传率的方法恰恰就是这么做的。
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