I've just watched this talk about Genetics and Intelligence by Steve Hsu1, a theoretical physicist and Scientific Advisor to the Cognitive Genomics Lab of BGI (formerly the Beijing Genomics Institute), probably the leading genomics research center in the world.
Apparently, the main reason he gave this talk was to recruit volunteers for a study from the Cognitive Genomics Lab with the goal of investigating the genetics of human cognition.
From their homepage:
We currently seek participants with high cognitive ability. You can qualify for the study if you have obtained a high SAT/ACT/GRE score, or have performed well in academic competitions such as the Math, Physics, or Informatics Olympiads, the William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition, TopCoder, etc.
Automatic qualifying criteria include:
- An SAT score of at least 760V/800M post-recentering or 700V/780M pre-recentering; ACT score of 35-36; or GRE score of at least 700V/800Q.
- A PhD from a top US program in physics, math, EE, or theoretical computer science.
- Honorable mention or better in the Putnam competition.
If you qualify as a participant, we may send you a DNA saliva kit. After you return this kit, we will genotype your DNA, and the data will eventually be available to you on this website, in a format compatible with many 3rd party interpretational tools.
I guess there are quite a few Lesswrongers smart enough to qualify for this study. If you want to advance Science and get genotyped for free check out their website for further information.
1: Steve Hsu has an awesome blog called "Information Processing". He writes about the genetics of intelligence, economics, psychometry, career advice for geeks, physics, etc.
I haven't had my IQ tested in so long. But back in the 1970s, via the Stanford Binet and the Wechsler (WISC) I qualified for the gifted education program (MGM- Mentally gifted minors) with scores of 142 and 144 respectively. I did not take the SAT as my family was poor and it was certain I wouldn't attend college, or at least, not a four year university. As it turned out, I did finish with my BA degree (financial aid and working odd jobs).
Anyway, I have already had my genotype (and other genetic information determined) via saliva sample sent to labs at 23andme.com, and I have the AA genotype. According to articles on 23andme.com, this genotype is prevalent among those with higher I.Q.s . It will be interesting to see if your findings corroborate these findings.