Oh good lord, is this really necessary? CNet suggests there might be a “gene for” raising your IQ by 6 points (this is old news, actually). 23andMe had a test for the 6-pt IQ booster on their health panel, before they were forced to take it down.
Meanwhile, Fox News of all places reports on a story that Gerry Nestadt at Johns Hopkins had found a genetic marker for obsessive-compulsive disorder. What even is OCD? We are constantly lowering the bar on pathology—anything that can be treated with a drug or reimbursed with health insurance is legitimately considered a disease under our system. My kid had at least 3 fellow students “with OCD.” This meant that they had 504 plans that gave them extra time on exams and had access to drugs, particularly the scourges of secondary school and college, Ritalin and Adderal.
Whatever social problem we have, it is possible to find a genetic marker that correlates with it. Behavioral genomics is a new form of haruspicy.
