Posted: Jun 17, 2010 2:19 pm
Lazar wrote:
also even at 12% that is a lot to play with. I am genuinely happy if I find a process in my own research that accounts for that much variance. Again it should be kept in mind that there are moderators at play that can lead to different results. For instance there is research which suggests environment plays a much larger role in disadvantaged groups than it does in high to middle-class groups. Likewise in relation to special education I think the goal is to help individuals reach their potential and take advantage of the variance that is available for improvement. Indeed, special education is probably a difficult example as it is not only genetic disorders but environmental ones, and yet in these cases the environmental damage caused by a variety of causes maybe more difficult to intervene in than genetic based disabilities. Then there are also other problems we have no idea whether they are genetic or not.
I agree that it is important to take the results seriously but given the importance for policy here I think it is also central to understand the role that moderators play and also not to underplay how meaningful even small amounts of variance can play.
I think part of the problem is not identifying what aspects are genetic and that you can't change. Policies like "No Child Left Behind" are doomed to failure because some children just aren't smart enough to keep up. Not only is it a huge waste of resources in trying, it is incredibly frustrating for the child also. Some people don't have the intelligence to progress past an 8th grade education. But that doesn't mean they can't be made productive members of society. They just probably shouldn't vote or be allowed to reproduce
Then you have the real problems, those that are anti-social and will always be anti-social. We spend too much time and money trying to change what we can not. If we could only identify them and remove them from society before they cause great harm. Sure if they commit a couple of murders or robberies they go to prison, but it would be nice if we could identify them before they commit major crimes. Then we could spend our resources solely on protecting society from them instead of the unachievable rehabilitation.