Unbelievable

A video shown just before the Men's 200m Final at London 2012 by the BBC. Claims that natural selection through deaths on Atlantic slave ships is why many people descnded from African slaves are good runners. Reminds me far too much of Brass Eye. "There's no real evidence for it but it's still scientific fact".

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[jamierbrown85]

@BkupAcct That was me.just shocked by how stupid it.was

[Haroog]

The suggestion that artificial selection by slavery is a significant contributor to performance is pseudo-scientific claptrap, but to go the other way and pretend that there's no correlation between West African heritage and dominance in these events, as some have done, is equally unscientific.

Dragging up Hitler and eugenics during the Olympics coverage? WTF? Poor Darwin.

[chicofoxo]

I'm watching the discussion again on iPlayer: Jackson says his programme showed 98% of slave descendants have fast-twitch muscle but only 80% in Europeans, so nurture also plays a role. Johnson says even if you are predisposed to being fast at sprinting, you still require the right environment, training, role models etc

The argument is valid or invalid depending on how you perceive it. Slavery is the only reason: Incorrect. Slavery played a part, but other factors are also important: Correct.

[ariesone3221]

Ok...and telling you that you're scientists have said that correlates to my earlier statement how? Ok..I see you didn't come to terms with the truth.

You're right, you're done...

[chicofoxo]

Such a shame, and I thought we were making progress.

Your starting comment was "This is idiotic and racist."

I'm done here.

[ariesone3221]

When the facts are in their faces, Europeans will still try to deny that fact that blacks are genetically superior. Whites are genetically recessive and inferior compared to people of color. White scientists themselves have claimed that.

[chicofoxo]

I use terms like potential because nothing has been proven and can never be proven, only shown to be possible to a certain probability.

Unlike you, my reasoning is scientific. I don't have views that X race is better than Y race because there is no significant evidence.

I am purely interested in an observation and trying to find the reasons for it. I am aware that correlation does not imply causality. But I do not simply dismiss a potential factor just because it is controversial or taboo.

[ariesone3221]

Bill Gates is one of the biggest contributors to planned parenthood, an extension of the modern eugenics movement.

[ariesone3221]

The fact is...we are better. Eugenics, or not...we have always been...better. Physically, culturally, spiritually. "Potential selection" as you put it affected only a hand-full of blacks. It doesn't excuse our domination in other areas. It's always been a European cop-out to blame their short comings on their lack of melanin.

[chicofoxo]

Not to get side-tracked by long-distance running, but my point is that the existence of excellent E.African distance runners should not be used as evidence to counter a potential selection by slavery effect. Because long-distance running is not the same as short-distance running.

[chicofoxo]

In your opinion, white long-distance runners don't match up to E.African marathon runners. The facts don't back up your view. Liliya Shobukhova, Paula Radcliffe, Irina Mikitenko, Deena Kastor, Zhou Chunxiu, António Pinto, Dionicio Cerón, Abel Antón, Marílson Gomes dos Santos, Jeļena Prokopčuka, Mizuki Noguchi, Carlos Lopes, Stefano Baldini, Hwang Young-Cho & many more are all marathon winners in the last decade. Notice the range? China, S.Korea, Japan, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Mexico...

[ariesone3221]

I very much, agree with this statement.

[ariesone3221]

Sounds like an excuse to me, especially since the there are marathon runners of white descent who come from drier climates like Australia, and what of S. African runners or white American runners who practice within the deserts of the west. They still don't hold a candle to African, or even Carribean runners (who's climates are just or not as varying). Leaner physique, better fuel economy...on that note, Africans are still, by your definition genetically superior to whites then.