Archive - PifferPilfer

Who Are the World’s Most Generous People? It Depends How You Ask

A new self-report ranking claims to show the world’s most generous nations. But does it line up with harder behavioral measures?

6 hrs ago • Davide Piffer

The Reich Lab’s Null Result on East Asian Skin Pigmentation Is Probably a Limitation of Their Method

Barton et al. make a stronger claim about East Asian skin pigmentation than their evidence can really carry.

Apr 6 • Davide Piffer

Imitation Without Citation

I’ve seen this happen enough times that I can’t just shrug it off anymore.

Apr 6 • Davide Piffer

Creativity, the Hypomanic Edge, and the Genomic Blind Spot

Before I moved into population and evolutionary genetics, I spent a few years working on behavior genetics and individual differences.

Apr 5 • Davide Piffer

R1b Imperfectly Tracks Steppe Ancestry

The Basque paradox, and what ancient DNA actually shows

Apr 1 • Davide Piffer

March 2026

How Aryan are Iranians?

Evidence from ancient and modern DNA

Mar 30 • Davide Piffer

Who Are the “Purest” Europeans?

Separating admixture from isolation

Mar 26 • Davide Piffer

Please, Have a Seat: Sitting Height Ratio and Human Variation

Two populations can differ in height, but they can also differ in something more specific: how height is distributed between torso and legs.

Mar 24 • Davide Piffer

Modern Middle Eastern inbreeding patterns may have very deep roots

One of the most common claims in ancient DNA research is that the Neolithic transition reduced inbreeding.

Mar 16 • Davide Piffer

The Dating Study Everyone Is Sharing Is Being Misread

A large new study on romantic preferences has been circulating widely online, often with the same triumphant interpretation: the redpill was right.

Mar 15 • Davide Piffer

Was Pale Skin an Elite Trait?

Skin pigmentation in Europe is one of the best-known cases of recent human evolution.

Mar 9 • Davide Piffer

Italy’s Fertility Collapse Is No Longer About Delay

For decades, Italy's extremely low fertility has been explained away as postponement.

Mar 3 • Davide Piffer

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