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A Debate on Race and Genomic Prediction: Geneticist vs. Heterodox Leftist Logician
Reflections on a debate between Barbujani, Odifreddi, and Barbero
Feb 13
•
Davide Piffer
18
1
2
Did Brain Size Decline After the Upper Paleolithic?
Since at least the mid-20th century, when anthropologists such as Weidenreich (1946) noted that some Pleistocene crania exceed modern averages…
Feb 12
•
Davide Piffer
12
3
Cold Winters, Academic Achievement and Income in Italy
Climate, ancestry, and cognitive outcomes at the municipal level
Feb 7
•
Davide Piffer
16
3
Testing Cold Winters, Seasonality, and UVB in Ancient Genomes
Can we detect climate-driven selection in humans directly from ancient genomes?
Feb 5
•
Davide Piffer
9
4
January 2026
Why Northern Europeans Seem Aloof and Southern Europeans Outgoing
If you’ve spent time moving across Europe, you’ve probably noticed a pattern.
Jan 31
•
Davide Piffer
38
2
4
Eugenic clannishness, dysgenic inbreeding?
Our DNA carries traces of how our ancestors chose their mates and formed families.
Jan 27
•
Davide Piffer
11
1
2
Throwing Cold Water on the Cold Winters Hypothesis: A Global Test
One of the oldest evolutionary explanations for global cognitive differences is the cold winters hypothesis.
Jan 25
•
Davide Piffer
28
4
4
Italy’s North–South divide: what genome-wide similarity misses
From classic population-genetics maps to today’s memes, the same point is hard to miss: Italy has a persistent North–South divide.
Jan 18
•
Davide Piffer
18
3
5
The Rise of Rome and the Rise of Polygenic Scores
Why did Rome, rather than any of its many rivals in Iron Age Italy, become the core of an empire?
Jan 16
•
Davide Piffer
34
7
6
Human–Chimp DNA Similarity: 99%, 95%, or 85%?
TL;DR The familiar claim that humans are about 99% chimpanzee is based on a real measurement, but it applies only to a narrow type of comparison.
Jan 15
•
Davide Piffer
22
1
6
Ten Myths About Human Genetics That Refuse to Die
What ancient DNA, polygenic traits, and recent evolution actually show
Jan 12
•
Davide Piffer
31
5
Finding a nation’s “Urheimat” with population-genetic tools
In a previous post, Genetic space and geographic space: how similar are they, really?, I showed that in Western Eurasia there is a surprisingly tight…
Jan 10
•
Davide Piffer
19
4
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