zslastman comments on Why Are Individual IQ Differences OK? - Less Wrong

39 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 26 October 2007 09:50PM

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Comment author: zslastman 05 August 2013 09:36:21PM *  0 points [-]

it doesn't explain the pattern of gains on IQ tests or the apparent size of the Flynn effect. I mean, inbreeding depression alone costs much less than Flynn

Interesting. Can you elaborate? What are the patterns exactly, and how do we know what inbreeding depression costs? From recent studies of inbred individuals? I'd be very surprised if it was the only cause of the gain in IQs, but as your reference says, it represents a pretty decent hypothesis for at least some of the effect.

Comment author: gwern 05 August 2013 09:55:52PM 2 points [-]

What are the patterns exactly

Being confined to the subscales that look like pattern-matching and analogies, IIRC; I'm not sure which paper I get this from, but it seems Jensen does at least make this claim in http://www.charlesdarwinresearch.org/2010%20Editorial%20for%20Intelligence.pdf and in some citations in http://menghusblog.wordpress.com/2013/06/21/explanation-behind-the-non-g-gains-in-the-flynn-effect-introducing-the-measurement-invariance-model/ so there's some starting points at least.

how do we know what inbreeding depression costs? From recent studies of inbred individuals?

Yes, that's how one would do it. The usual reference is to a study of Japanese cousin-marriages back in the '50s or so where IIRC the estimate was <5 IQ points, but there's been research since then, of course; a google for 'inbreeding depression intelligence' should bring some research to light.