BBC Focus 02.2020

GET T Y IMAGES

likeskincolourorbasicmorphology,genetics

shows that the picture is far, far more complex.

WHATARETHEBIGGEST SCIENTIFIC MISCONCEPTIONS

ABOUTRACE?

Oneofthereallybigmisconceptionsis the

conceptofracialpurity.IntheUK,we’reseeing

a resurgenceofthefar-right.Allovertheworld,

neo-Nazisandwhitesupremacistsareobsessed

withgeneticsandancestrytesting.White

supremacyis dependentona notionofwhiteor

northernEuropeanpurity.

Apartfromthefactthatbiologyhasrejected

theideaofraceasa meaningfulscientific

terminology,theideathattherecouldberacial

purityis justahistorical,ascientific,it’san

absolutenonsense.

There’sbeena weirdemergenceofthis

ancestrytestingindustry,andI thinkthose

kitsamplifythesensethatthereis somekind

ofgeneticessentialismwhichcanbebound

bynationhood.Beingabletoclaimsomeloose

membershiptoa long-gonepeoplesuchas

theVikingsis innocuousenough,butit’sa

positionthatis notscientificallymeaningful.

Myconcernis thattheyareeffectivelythesame

claimsthatactualwhitesupremacistsuse,who

takegeneticancestrytestingas a demonstration

of biological essentialism.

YOURELATETHISTOSPORT,ANDHOW‘FACTS’FROM

SPORTINGHISTORYHAVEFUELLEDPREJUDICE.

Withintheconfinesofsport,weseeregional

differencesinsuccesses.TwoexamplesthatI go

intoarethe100-metresprintintheOlympics,

andlong-distancerunning.Therehasn’tbeena

whitemaninthefinalsofthe 100 metressince

1980.TheKenyansandtheEthiopianshavewon

everylong-andmiddle-distanceandmarathon

raceforyears.If you’relookingattheseresults,

you’rethinking,there’sgottobesomething

inthis.Blackmenarebetteratsprinting,East

Africansarebetteratlong-distancerunning.

Theproblemis thedatasetis minuscule.So,

58 menhavecompetedinthe 100 metresfinal

since1980,whichis a terriblesamplesize.

Thesecondthingis thattheseareelite

athletesat thetopofhumancapability,

andthereforearenotrepresentativeofthe

populationsfromwhichtheymighthavebeen

derived.If successincertainsportswasn’t

primarilydeterminedbyculturalfactors,then

youwouldexpecttoseethosesamepeoplewho

are good at explosive energy sports, winning

inallsportswherethatbiologicaltypewould

predisposeyoutowardssuccess.Yet,takeshort-

distanceswimming.Inthesameperiodthat

therehavebeennowhitemenrunning 100

metres,howmanyblackpeoplehavecompeted

inthefinalsofthe50-metrefreestyleswimming

intheOlympics?There’sone.CullenJonesgot

thesilverin 2012 intheLondonOlympics.So,

noneofthesenumbersmakesense.

Allofthisfitsintoa picturewherepeople

whoaren’tracistwatchtheOlympicsandgo,

“UsainBolthaswonagain,he’sthefastestman

who’severdrawnbreath,”whichis probably

true,“becauseit’sinhisgenes.It’sbecauseit’s

inhisancestry.”Now,oneofthosestatementsis

partiallycorrect,andtheotheris not.So,when

someonesays,“Well,youknow,blackpeople

arebetteratsprinting,”I want[mybook]tohave

equipped people to be able to go, “Yeah... no.”

SOMUCHOFWHATWEUSETODAYHASCOMEFROM

RACISTS.CANSCIENCEEVERBERIDOFRACISM?

That’sa greatquestion,onehopestheansweris

absolutely‘yes’.I thinkit’sperfectlyreasonable

andinfactnecessary,toknowourownhistory,

andbecompletelyhonestaboutit.Geneticssort

ofunderwritesallbiologicalsciencesnow.The

foundationsofmyfieldarecloselyassociated

withracismandrace.If weforgetthat,we’rein

dangerofrepeatingthosemistakes.

Newtonsaidthat“westandontheshoulders

ofgiants”,whichis absolutelytrue– butwe

alsostandonourpeers’shouldersaswell.

We’vegottorememberthatsomeofthosegiants

werealsolivingineraswheresocialnorms

weredifferent,andracismwasthenorm.It’s

importanttoremember that scientists can also

be awful people.

DRADAMRUTHERFORD

(@AdamRutherford)

Adamis a geneticist,writerandbroadcaster.He

presentsBBCRadio4’sflagshipweeklyInside

Science, andco-presentsTheCuriousCases Of

Rutherford& FrywithDrHannahFr y.

AUTHOR’S

BOOKSHELF

Myadviceis alwaysread

everythingthatyoucan

andwithasmuchdiversity

as you can.

WHOWEAREANDHOW

WEGOTHERE

DAVIDREICH

(£10.99,OXFORDUNIVERSIT YPRESS)

DavidReich’sbookon

ancientDNAhasbeen

important to me.

LIVINGCOLOR

NINAJABLONSKI

(£25, UNIVERSIT YOFCALIFORNIA

PRESS)

Thisis anaccessible

textbookandit’sfocused

onpigmentation.It is an

outstandinglygoodbook,

and heavily inuenced me.

THEILIAD

HOMER

Morethananythingelse,

I recommendgoingbackto

theclassics.I hadtopickup

TheIliadagaininorderto

getsomereferencesand

endedupdevouringthe

latesttranslationbyEmily

Wilson.It’sjustoneofthe

best books I’ve ever read.

DISCOVERMORE

d

SubscribetotheScienceFocusPodcastandlistenoutfor

ourfullinterviewwithAdaminanupcoming episode.

sciencefocus.com/science-focus-podcast

RADAR

InterviewedbyBBCScience Focus editorial

assistant Amy Barrett