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Tuesday, April 29, 2003
Genetics of Intelligence
We inherit lots of things from our parents. Besides the stuff that they actually give us through some form of bestowment, we also get stuff genetically. Stuff like general facial features, any predispositions to alcoholism or high blood pressure, and certain aspects of their personalities (i.e. having a patient temperance, or total lack thereof). So, what about intelligence? I've heard it both ways (like both guys and girls I know have been told this) by parents that their kids should marry "someone smart" so that they can have smart kids. While exceptions do exist out there (like Roald Dahl's story of Matilda.. despite her parents brutish roots, the girl is SO smart that she can even use her thoughts to move stuff telekinetically, like Jean Grey from the X-Men), for the most part, I can see that the inheritance of intelligence to be a true thing. But how does it work? Is it sex-linked like color-blindness?
(Here comes a short lesson on genetics.. when something is said to be "sex-linked," that means that the gene on one of the 46 chromosomes each human has, specifically the "X" sex chromosome. Genes determine traits. Some traits are dominant and others are recessive. If it's recessive, you need two copies - one from each parent - in order to express that trait. Every person, boy or girl, has at least one X chromosome - guys have 1, girls have 2. Therefore, guys are more susceptible to sex-linked genes because they only have 1 X chromosome, and so need only the 1 copy of a particular trait from their moms in order to express it. Thus, for guys, their moms are really important because if she carries bad sex-linked genes, he will definitely express them.)
This may seem trite to you, but it makes me wonder. If intelligence comes more from the mom's side, then it becomes more important for a guy who wants smart kids to marry a smart girl, regardless of how smart (or dumb) he is. The opposite is true, too. While intelligence isn't one of the first things a guy notices about a girl (just imagine a guy saying, "check out the analytical insight of that girl.. man, she's hot!"), I've been raised to think that it's important. (Implicitly, this means that I think intelligence of kids is linked to the girl.. afterall, if it depended on me, my kids would be clueless..hehe)
6:49 PM Albert
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..a life in DUO