A mega meta‑analysis pooling 747,000 twin comparisons across 77 studies finds that multiple specific cognitive abilities (e.g., quantitative knowledge, reading/writing, processing speed) show substantial heritability that is not fully mediated by general intelligence. Several abilities exhibit age‑related increases in heritability, paralleling the pattern seen for g, and the data test whether gene effects sum linearly or interact.
— This shifts intelligence debates from g‑only framings to a more granular genetic architecture that could reshape education policy, assessment design, and genomic research priorities.
Scott Alexander
2025.12.03
72% relevant
Wainschtein et al. analysed 34 traits (including cognitive and biomedical measures) and report most pedigree heritability being recoverable by WGS, which strengthens the empirical basis for granularity in genetic architecture that underpins claims about multiple specific abilities having heritable components beyond general intelligence.
Steve Stewart-Williams
2025.10.04
100% relevant
The article cites Procopio et al.’s new meta‑analysis of CHC abilities (77 studies; 747k twin comparisons) and its five core questions, including whether abilities are heritable over and above g.
← Back to All Ideas