The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
  • World Expo 2030
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
  • World Expo 2030
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
  • Login
  • Register
  • Login
  • Register
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
  • 1

    BTS producer encourages anticipation for future messages from group

  • 3

    Korean shorthairs among favorite cat breeds as more people choose to adopt pets

  • 5

    Uhm Jung-hwa enjoys second heyday with JTBC series 'Doctor Cha'

  • 7

    Tom Cruise to visit Korea to promote new film

  • 9

    Korea beats Nigeria to advance to semifinals at FIFA U-20 World Cup

  • 11

    S. Korea, Japan agree to prevent recurrence of maritime dispute

  • 13

    Korea sees record-high number of flu patients for late spring

  • 15

    Concerns rise over Samsung SDS' growing intra-group transactions

  • 17

    Election watchdog under fire for refusing to accept inspection

  • 19

    Shipbuilding stocks rally over hope for 'super cycle'

  • 2

    Senior citizens land low-wage jobs after retirement: report

  • 4

    From hip-hop idols to global superstars, BTS shatters records over decade

  • 6

    LIFE'S OLLE TRAILS 1How hiking Jeju's 437km of trails changed my life

  • 8

    REVIEW'The ODD Of LOVE' concert: Taeyeon shows why she is among K-pop's top vocalists

  • 10

    3 EXO members file antitrust complaint against SM Entertainment

  • 12

    Korea denies discussion with EU on sending ammunition to Ukraine

  • 14

    Baritone Kim Tae-han wins Queen Elisabeth Competition

  • 16

    Korean bio firms to seek new opportunities at int'l convention in Boston

  • 18

    K-food transforms global culinary industry

  • 20

    Agency launched to offer exclusive support for overseas Koreans

Close scrollclosebutton

Close for 24 hours

Open
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
Opinion
  • Yun Byung-se
  • Kim Won-soo
  • Ahn Ho-young
  • Kim Sang-woo
  • Lee Kyung-hwa
  • Mitch Shin
  • Peter S. Kim
  • Daniel Shin
  • Jeon Su-mi
  • Jang Daul
  • Song Kyung-jin
  • Park Jung-won
  • Cho Hee-kyoung
  • Park Chong-hoon
  • Kim Sung-woo
  • Donald Kirk
  • John Burton
  • Robert D. Atkinson
  • Mark Peterson
  • Eugene Lee
  • Rushan Ziatdinov
  • Lee Jong-eun
  • Chyung Eun-ju and Joel Cho
  • Bernhard J. Seliger
  • Imran Khalid
  • Troy Stangarone
  • Jason Lim
  • Casey Lartigue, Jr.
  • Bernard Rowan
  • Steven L. Shields
  • Deauwand Myers
  • John J. Metzler
  • Andrew Hammond
  • Sandip Kumar Mishra
Tue, June 6, 2023 | 19:46
Jason Lim
Race, genetics and us
Posted : 2018-03-30 17:53
Updated : 2018-03-30 17:53
Print PreviewPrint Preview
Font Size UpFont Size Up
Font Size DownFont Size Down
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • kakaolink
  • whatsapp
  • reddit
  • mailto
  • link
By Jason Lim

National Geographic's Instagram account recently posted a striking picture of two girls, one white and one black; they are twin sisters. Here is the official caption: "11-year-old twins Millie (left) and Marcia (right) from Birmingham, the United Kingdom, pose for the cover of this month's special issue on Race. Their mother calls them her 'rainbow twins.' 'They're my miracles,' she says. Race is a made-up label used to define and separate us."

These girls are fraternal twins, born from a black father and white mother. And they are the perfect example of those who claim that race is a social construct made up by human beings as an expression of our tribal instincts in wanting to differentiate between groups.

According to the National Geographic's article, "Historically, when humans have drawn lines of identity ― separating Us from Them ― they've often relied on skin color as a proxy for race. But the 21st-century understanding of human genetics tells us that the whole idea of race is a human invention."

Modern science confirms "that the visible differences between peoples are accidents of history ― the result of mutations, migrations, natural selection, the isolation of some populations, and interbreeding among others," writes science journalist Elizabeth Kolbert. They are not racial differences because the very concept of race ― to quote DNA-sequencing pioneer Craig Venter ― "has no genetic or scientific basis."

Then again, we have a recent New York Times op-ed by David Reich, a well-respected scientist, who says that, "But as a geneticist I also know that it is simply no longer possible to ignore average genetic differences among races."

"Groundbreaking advances in DNA sequencing technology have been made over the last two decades. These advances enable us to measure with exquisite accuracy what fraction of an individual's genetic ancestry traces back to, say, West Africa 500 years ago ― before the mixing in the Americas of the West African and European gene pools that were almost completely isolated for the last 70,000 years," he continues.

"With the help of these tools, we are learning that the while race may be a social construct, differences in genetic ancestry that happen to correlate to many of today's racial constructs are real."

Which means that while the concept of race could be a social construct, there is scientific evidence that different human populations do have variations in genetic material that translates into measurable, real-life impacts.

Reich writes, "Recent genetic studies have demonstrated differences across populations not just in the genetic determinants of simple traits such as skin color, but also in more complex traits like bodily dimensions and susceptibility to diseases."

"For example, we now know that genetic factors help explain why northern Europeans are taller on average than southern Europeans, why multiple sclerosis is more common in European-Americans than in African-Americans, and why the reverse is true for end-stage kidney disease."

But while it's easier to accept that different genetics will lead to varying degrees of susceptibility to diverse diseases, Reich's argument becomes much more difficult to stomach when it ventures into behavior and cognition, despite growing evidence that genetics is a predictor in both lifestyle behavior (when you get married) and intelligence (IQ scores). It's not more difficult to stomach because it's wrong ― if human beings are the totality of expressions of their genetic blueprint, then it seems logical that expression includes physical, behavioral and cognitive elements.

My concern stems from my belief that we may not yet be mature enough ― as a society ― to deal with the inevitability of his research from a place of respect, fairness, and inclusion. Human beings instinctively and constantly compare ourselves to each other to gauge our sense of status in whatever society we belong to.

Our sense of wellbeing and happiness is a relative measure of how we stand compared to the next person. In fact, everything about us is relative. We actively create different groups to compare against and feel superior to. And within our own group, we actively and constantly compare ourselves against other individuals to inform our sense of wellbeing.

Given this tendency ― which, ironically enough, is also a genetically determined trait since it is a part of our neurological behavior ― can we really expect our society not to weaponize any genetically-driven differences in behavior and cognition to drive deeper wedges between us and justify discriminations based on different genetic ancestry?

I understand that Reich is a scientist who's making rational deductions based on his findings. He doesn't have a political agenda and seems fully aware (and concerned) of the potential societal misuse of his findings for racist purposes. In fact, he ends the op-ed with an expression of hope for how we ― human beings ― will deal with the inevitability of acknowledging differences among "races."

I just hope that his hope isn't misplaced.

Jason Lim (jasonlim@msn.com) is a Washington, D.C.-based expert on innovation, leadership and organizational culture. He has been writing for The Korea Times since 2006.


 
wooribank
Top 10 Stories
1Korean shorthairs among favorite cat breeds as more people choose to adopt pets Korean shorthairs among favorite cat breeds as more people choose to adopt pets
2Agency launched to offer exclusive support for overseas Koreans Agency launched to offer exclusive support for overseas Koreans
3[ANALYSIS] S. Korean economy feared to follow in Japan's footsteps ANALYSISS. Korean economy feared to follow in Japan's footsteps
4Korea's export dependency on China dips below 20% Korea's export dependency on China dips below 20%
5Retail investors bet on wrong horse despite KOSPI rally Retail investors bet on wrong horse despite KOSPI rally
6Retailers use recycled, biodegradable plastic to attract eco-conscious consumers Retailers use recycled, biodegradable plastic to attract eco-conscious consumers
7Memorial event to be held for fallen Thai soldiers of Korean War Memorial event to be held for fallen Thai soldiers of Korean War
8Stats agency to use Naver's AI chatbot to offer tailored data for firms Stats agency to use Naver's AI chatbot to offer tailored data for firms
9HD Hyundai, Hanwha Ocean to compete in Busan to sell naval ships HD Hyundai, Hanwha Ocean to compete in Busan to sell naval ships
10Korea pushes digital technology exports to Middle East, Japan, ASEAN Korea pushes digital technology exports to Middle East, Japan, ASEAN
Top 5 Entertainment News
1[REVIEW] 'The ODD Of LOVE' concert: Taeyeon shows why she is among K-pop's top vocalists REVIEW'The ODD Of LOVE' concert: Taeyeon shows why she is among K-pop's top vocalists
2Baritone Kim Tae-han wins Queen Elisabeth Competition Baritone Kim Tae-han wins Queen Elisabeth Competition
3Busan Film Festival accepts director Huh Moon-yung's resignation Busan Film Festival accepts director Huh Moon-yung's resignation
4[INTERVIEW] 'One Day Off' star Lee Na-young, director on creating subtle, feel-good series INTERVIEW'One Day Off' star Lee Na-young, director on creating subtle, feel-good series
5'HyeMiLeeYeChaePa' producer Lee Tae-kyung hopeful of second season 'HyeMiLeeYeChaePa' producer Lee Tae-kyung hopeful of second season
DARKROOM
  • Turkey-Syria earthquake

    Turkey-Syria earthquake

  • Nepal plane crash

    Nepal plane crash

  • Brazil capital uprising

    Brazil capital uprising

  • Happy New Year 2023

    Happy New Year 2023

  • World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

    World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

CEO & Publisher : Oh Young-jin
Digital News Email : webmaster@koreatimes.co.kr
Tel : 02-724-2114
Online newspaper registration No : 서울,아52844
Date of registration : 2020.02.05
Masthead : The Korea Times
Copyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.
  • About Us
  • Introduction
  • History
  • Contact Us
  • Products & Services
  • Subscribe
  • E-paper
  • RSS Service
  • Content Sales
  • Site Map
  • Policy
  • Code of Ethics
  • Ombudsman
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Copyright Policy
  • Family Site
  • Hankook Ilbo
  • Dongwha Group