Why Genes Still Matter

In NOT A CHIMP I spend quite a lot of time talking about the idea that, quite opposite to the notion that evolution of genes has been irrelevant to humans over the last 40,000 or so years, humans are still evolving and that the rate of evolution is increasing, not decreasing. I cite work by Greg Cochran, John Hawks and Henry Harpending, and Cochran's and Harpending's book is now published by Basic Books. Evolutionary Psychology Journal (Open Access) has the following review:

The 10,000 Year Explosion: How Civilization Accelerated Human Evolution, by Gregory Cochran and Henry Harpending, is an unapologetic analysis of some relatively recent trends in human biology. The authors, one a physicist, the other an anthropologist, are intrepid in laying out their hypotheses, no matter how politically incorrect or controversial they may be. Although many of their arguments need more fleshing out and some may not withstand the assault of further scientific analysis, the authors are stunningly creative when considering human history. If even a handful of their arguments survive the onslaught of rigorous scientific scrutiny, Cochran and Harpending will have offered a valuable and novel approach to addressing questions of recent human evolution. Many scholars, especially in the human social sciences, avoid addressing difficult and uncomfortable aspects of their disciplines. There seems to be a systemic ignorance of the implications that the biological sciences offer to our understanding of ourselves, whether intentional or not. This is most apparent in discussions of individual differences and group differences in traits such as intelligence and aggression, topics that are openly discussed in The 10,000 Year Explosion. Ironically, in their attempts to avoid racial or ethnic bias, researchers may inadvertently engage in scientific bias. This scientific bias is apparent whenever differences between individuals and groups are claimed to result solely from differences in culture, with little or no regard for genetics. An example of this, discussed by Cochran and Harpending, is the denial of the scientific evidence for the heritability of intelligence and the claim that the higher-than-average intelligence of groups such as the Ashkenazi Jews is explained entirely by differences in rearing practices. Therefore, despite the controversy that this book may arouse, it is an important vanguard in furthering the study of “genetic history” (p. x), and its relationship to cultural history.