Heritability: uses and abuses
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Updated: Oct 30, 2026

Navigating MARRVEL, a Web-Based Tool that Integrates Human Genomics and Model Organism Genetics Information
Published on: August 15, 2019
1Statistical Laboratory, Iowa State University, Ames 50011, USA.
Abstract:
This paper begins with a brief summary of the history of the development of ideas in the field of quantitative genetics. Next there is discussion of the controversy surrounding the contention that IQ tests validly estimate some highly heritable general intelligence factor. The validity of the reasoning supporting this contention is questioned. The theory of correlation between relatives has been of vast importance in plant and animal breeding because it is possible to design and carry out experiments to estimate variance components in expressions for covariances between relatives. However, data on humans is observational and individuals are not randomly assigned to environments, so that estimation of heritability from such data is not on the same firm foundation as it is in plant and animal breeding contexts.
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