Race and Genetics | Dr Allen Gathman | TEDxSoutheastMissouriStateUniversity

Over the last two million years or so, human ancestors spread from our origin in Africa to populate the entire world. In the process, isolation and selection produced a tremendous wealth of variation among humans. Genetic research shows that the division of humans into a handful of “races” is artificial – the product of cultural and political influences. In actuality, human diversity is fractal, showing similar complex patterns at every level from the tribe to the globe.

Allen Gathman has a Ph.D. in genetics from the University of Arizona. He taught in the biology department at Southeast Missouri State University for 26 years before crossing to the dark side and becoming an administrator. His research focused on genomics of fungi, and he has been published in journals such as Genetics and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[Matstarx]

Are you kidding me? Can't u see the CLEAR difference between aboriginals and africans?

[adamkallin]

So you handwave it away because race exists along a spectrum? By the same token I guess there are no rich or poor people.

[foundationsmedicalinformat]

Just because factors exist on a continuum does not mean that all points along that continuum are equal and indistinguishable from one another.

In my eyes, saying that race exists on a continuum, therefore race does not exist and is purely a societal construct seems like a lazy analysis of known scientific information.

[br]

There are many breeds of dogs. Dogs make up one species because all the breeds can interbreed. Anyone can tell the difference between a bulldog and a poodle. Are breeds of dogs a social construct or a biological physical reality?

[cjbrod]

A polar bear and grizzly bear are both distinct population just because there's a mixed polar-grizzly hybrid beats does not stop them from being 2 separate groups just like humans

[sarahhess]

logically its a impossibility for their not to be differences in race.

[okaro]

3.40 These percentage arguments are inherently emotional. We are made to believe that if the difference is 0.1% then it must be small. That is a nonsense argument. All it shows that small differences in DNA can cause large differences in appearance.

[karlpilkington]

I figured out that race was a social construct when I was five. So is gender That's why I ended up deciding to be a white dude

[SMRTN]

Call me a bigot, but I knew instantly that the left was a sub-Saharan African, and the right was an Australian aboriginal. Also: with all this talking he didn't even take a second to elaborate on the claim that "races" are a social construct. A disappointingly weak argument, and I don't even know what sociopolitical point he's trying to make.

[momo]

I was actually able to tell the difference between the African and Aboriginal women before he said what they were. the hair texture and facial structure of the aboriginal people are noticeably different than that of Africans. it's accurate to say simply having dark skin doesn't makes someone African, but it doesn't mean that Africans don't exist as a distinct group.

[dannyboy]

Since race is apparently a social construct, can we get rid of affirmative action please?

[TheArmybusiness]

Correct facts and theses but completely wrong conclusion

[gerardogonzalez]

According to what I understood, he is saying:
-> Most of genetic variations(90%) between people are due to subgroups(etnicity) & there are 4-7 major groups
-> But human eye to distinguish these subgroups calling them "races" can fail many times

Buts subgroups or etniicities or races, or as you want to call it, EXISTS.
Though NOTHING bad about that, its actually nice that we have these biological races.

[matthewmann]

Race is more then skin tone and complexion for example many East Asians And West Europeans are light skinned but you could still tell they are different from each other based on there facial and bodily features as well as natural hair colors.

[rockisntdead]

You forget physical differences and how important they are, your race affects your ability to run, jump and swim as the ability to do so comes down to physical racial differences, but of course you neglect this and only pick the things that line up with what you want, you are making the data fit a result you have already decided on, you've fallen for the very same bias you point out.

[felldin]

And here I am baffled by the fact they think so low about us that we should think a sub saharan African looks anything like an aboriginal. You kan do better than that.

[cinemacritic]

showing a percentage is pointless, you can't mistake a swede for a senegalese.

[ss.fx]

Alot of People confuse race with nationality in america

[sirranhaal]

That conclusion was rushed and was not justified given the flow of information prior to the conclusion

[Hyrumwolf]

I liked the part when he put up the picture of the aboriginal and African woman and I immediately knew that which races they were. In fact, there have studies done that show that people's self-identified race correlates very strongly with genetic clustering. But I guess the fact that different groups mix means that the different groups don't exist.