Behavior genetics, clinical psychology, Mets. Occasional politics. Substack (free): https://ericturkheimer.substack.com/ Book Is Out! Understanding the Nature-Nurture Debate https://shorturl.at/Ce2hf Electronic Version: https://shorturl.at/Fq2jv
All these negative stories about Fauci's diary are unfair. Who wouldn't be embarrassed to have our private diary published? Beyond that is an expectation for people who ascend to big leadership positions. The NIH directors I have met have many admirable qualities; humility is not one of them.
The Revelatory Cringe of Anthony FauciThe private notes of the man who oversaw COVID policy are deeply embarrassing—and surprisingly instructive.www.theatlantic.comBlog post. Dennett, Determinism, and the Nonshared Environment: Genetic determinism is no myth. More in my thread on Damien Morris.
Dennett, Determinism, and the Nonshared EnvironmentGenetic determinism is no mythericturkheimer.substack.comBlog Post: Part 1 of my reply to Damien Morris. Am I a Free Will Compatibilist? Daniel Dennett and me. tldr; Morris doesn't think I am a compatibilist, but Dennett did.
Am I a Free Will Compatibilist?Daniel Dennett and meericturkheimer.substack.comBlog post: Damien Morris on Free Will (1/x): Introduction, Clarifications, and a Concession. An introduction to a series of replies to a three-part monograph by Damien Morris. ericturkheimer.substack.com/p/damien-mor...
Damien Morris on Free Will (1/x)Introduction, Clarifications, and a Concessionericturkheimer.substack.comBlog post: Peter Visscher's defense of behavior genetics. Blah blah blah from yours truly. ericturkheimer.substack.com/p/peter-viss...
Peter Visscher's Defense of Behavior GeneticsMore blah blah blah from yours trulyericturkheimer.substack.comBlog post: The Minnesota Transracial Adoption Study Was It "Race Science"? Did MTRAS accomplish anything?
The Minnesota Transracial Adoption StudyWas It "Race Science"? Did MTRAS accomplish anything?ericturkheimer.substack.comRegardless of what you think about Graham Platner-- I don't know what I think-- it is becoming clear that the Times is going full-bore Hillary's emails on the story. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/04/u...
Several Women Who Dated Graham Platner Recall ‘Unsettling’ Behaviorwww.nytimes.comReview of my book, "Understanding The Nature-Debate" in the Journal of Economic Methodology, by Hannah Allen.
Understanding the nature-nurture debatePublished in Journal of Economic Methodology (Ahead of Print, 2026)www.tandfonline.comMy wife is in Alzheimer's research. It turns out that the same bogus "quantile regression" methods that have been used to exaggerate genomic findings (bsky.app/profile/ent3...) are also being used to promote marginally effective AD treatments.
Study Questions Methods Used in Alzheimer's Drug AnalysisQuantile aggregation may lead to overstated claims about amyloid-cognition relationshipswww.medpagetoday.comEric TurkheimerYesterday @kph3k noted that I "loathe" decile analysis as a way of describing the results of a PGS analysis. The subsequent discussion clarified why I loathe it-- it's a misleading way of reporting results, a systematic sleight of hand to disguise the import of a small effect. /1
New blog post: Galton's Grandma was right. I locate the the preprint from Jaishankar et al in this history of Galtonian behavior genetics: a remarkable methodological achievement, with devastating-- and mostly unacknowledged-- substantive implications for the field. open.substack.com/pub/ericturk...
A Substack post on the Nature Human Genetics article. The piece itself is very short, so it is sort of a summary of a summary.
Polygenic Scores Are Not Genetic PredispositionsLanguage mattersericturkheimer.substack.comWith @remyfurrer.bsky.social, a new piece in Nature Human Behavior. The standard description of a polygenic score as a "genetic predisposition" essentializes a statistical construct. It's not language policing: PGS are a new kind of entity; now is the time to think carefully about what they are.
Polygenic risk scores are not genetic predispositions - Nature Human BehaviourNature Human Behaviour - Polygenic risk scores are not genetic predispositionswww.nature.comBlog Post: Essence Medicine and Outcome Medicine. It's about a paradox: The most dramatic scientific discoveries, the ones behavior geneticists can't stop reaching for, turn out to be the most ethically problematic.
Essence Medicine and Outcome MedicineA paradoxericturkheimer.substack.comIn the interest of not thinking about the Virginia Supreme Court decision, I wrote a blog post. The Schizophrenogenic Mother: Behavior Genetics' Origin Story Misses the Point open.substack.com/pub/ericturk...
The Schizophrenogenic MotherBehavior Genetics' Origin Story Misses the Pointopen.substack.comWho is worse than Nathan Cofnas? How about Steve Sailer? See Sailer's comment and my reply. Important to recognize that admixture analysis, the race-guys latest enthusiasm, is also a dead end. substack.com/@stevesailer...