Lamark Vindicated?

Lamarckian genetics has been discredited by modern science. The fact that this tripe was promoted for decades by Communists, mostly by Stalin, is a slap in the face to the Left and shames a Left that claims to be based first and foremost on science. Lamarckian genetics said that behavioral traits acquired during life would be passed on the kids. If the giraffe kept stretching his neck to eat leaves on trees, he might actually stretch his neck out in real life. This life-acquired stretched out neck would then be encoded in the giraffe’s genome and this would be passed on to future generations of giraffes, and would eventually result in a giraffe with a very long neck, as we have today. As I noted, it’s non-arguable fact that acquired traits are not passed on. However, take a look at this:

“Brain structures change with stress and are affected by early-life stress in animal models,” said Rockefeller University neuroendocrinologist Bruce McEwen. “Now there are beginnings of work on our own species. The Evans paper is an important step in that direction.” McEwen also noted that, at least in animals, the effects of stress produce changes in genes that are then passed from parent to child. Poverty’s effects could be hereditary.

It’s not quite Lamarckian, but it’s getting there. The article suggests that growing up in poverty actually damages kids’ brains due to stress. The stress causes actual genetic changes of an unknown nature, and this changes may be passed on to offspring. New research suggests that this may indeed be the case. At least with Hispanic US citizens, often children of immigrants (often illegal aliens), they appear to experience little or no stress. They don’t worry about anything, do not appear depressed, and seem happy, cheerful, or at least carefree. Anxiety is either absent or at a low level. I see much more visible stress, neurosis, anxiety, depression, etc. in the much wealthier and more intelligent White community up in the mountains where I spend much of my time. At least here in California, many of the Hispanic poor seem to have low stress levels. Obviously this is not the case for all poor people, but it does raise questions.

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3 thoughts on “Lamark Vindicated?”

  1. Yes, of course growing up in poverty damages kids’ brains! By many mechanisms — nutritional, toxic, immunologic, and endocrinologic. Also, poor kids get much less stimulation (great aid to brain development). The hereditarian/genetic-determinists simply ignore vast fields of research, and pretend that it does not exist. Strange fellows.

  2. I’ve suspected that some kind of Lamarckian process may be behind the Flynn effect for quite some time. I remember once reading some speculations by William Hamilton along these lines, who noticed how myopia rates have also been skyrocketing over the past century (myopia is associated with higher IQ).

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