But why an army of *nerd* clones?

[steuard]

I just got a letter from Duke University. Apparently, they want my DNA.

Years ago, Duke arranged for me (and many other 7th graders) to take the SAT. I did pretty well (very well, for a 7th grader). Now, some researchers there(?) are doing a study looking for "genetic markers of intellectual functioning" and they tell me that "There is probably no group of individuals in this country who possess higher measured cognitive abilities than the Duke TIP group to which you belong." (That's just one example of the flattery they've used.)

I'm not sure whether to participate. Being used as a genetic exemplar of brilliance sounds great and all, but I find the premise of the study to be pretty cheesy. They apparently believe that my ability to take standardized tests way back in 7th grade is supposed to correlate significantly with intelligence. That was probably a factor, but especially at that early age I'd think that my parents' habit of reading to me (and encouraging me to read grown-up books) contributed at least as much, to say nothing of the Lincoln public school system's fantastic gifted program (I had already had personal math mentors for several years at that point). It's hard for me to believe that "good 7th grade SAT score" will correlate clearly with anything but "white upper-middle class background".

So, what do you think: should I give them my genes or not?

[Edit: Just to be clear (since patrissimo seems to have missed my point a bit), I recognize that intelligence is a part of why I did well on the test. The genetic markers they identify may well correspond roughly to "smart white upper-middle class" kids. But I have serious doubts about their ability to disentangle those factors.]

Comments

[steuard.livejournal.com]

They do say that they'll link demographic information with each genetic sample, so that's something. But I'd still suspect that their initial sample will be disproportionately dominated by rich white kids, because you need both intelligence AND an unusually supportive background to do well on the SAT five years before it's intended to be taken (for all the reasons I've outlined above). I don't know how they plan to separate those factors; I'm not sure I believe that they even could. Hence my hesitation to participate: I wouldn't want to contribute to a study that was biased to conclude that intelligence turns out to be caused by genes found mostly in rich white people. If they've got plans to deal with that, I'd feel a lot better about it. Maybe I'll write to the researchers and find out.

So, when you took the SAT in 7th grade, was it just on a whim or was there some outside program that organized it? I vaguely recall that there was some agreement where Duke and two other schools split up the country for these 7th grade SAT things, and I don't know who the other two schools were or where their (rather random) territories ran.

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

(I daresay the sample dominance will be more that you need to come from the aforesaid background to even know that taking it in 7th grade is an option, but yes.)

Personally as far as participation goes I would be more concerned about privacy issues relating to my DNA. (Well, that and the CTY admins have pissed me off so I don't want to help them. But I hope TIP does not have that issue.)

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

Oh, and CTY is run by Johns Hopkins and draws primarily from the Northeast and from CA. I believe that it (or rather its precursors, OTID and SMPY) was the first program to use the SAT as a 7th grade screening tool, and it ended up with the Northeast because it radiated from Baltimore. I don't know who the other school would be that you would be thinking, but my first guess would be Stanford.