knb comments on Genes are overrated - Less Wrong

-11 Post author: taw 20 April 2011 12:03AM

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Comment author: knb 20 April 2011 09:38:02AM *  11 points [-]

Almost no genes correlating with anything interesting been found. This is totally crushing evidence. If genes were important, Bayesian surprise of this lack of results would be in the land of impossible.

This is simply untrue. Even leaving aside the fact that there is a single gene that causes Huntington's disease with 100% probability, there are many cases in which there is a well understood chain of causality from the molecular genetic level to the behavioral level. I have a whole textbook devoted to behavioral genetics you may want to read.

Off the top of my head, there is the Dutch "crime gene" which is mutation found in some Dutch populations, that causes extreme aggression (rape and arson especially common) in males. The mutation causes low levels of Monoamine Oxidase A. When mice were created with the mutation, they exhibited similar "fearless-aggressive" behavior. An environmental trigger (child abuse) was necessary before the effects manifested themselves.