Genetic predisposition

This is interesting but I want more confirmation before I buy into it:

Scientists say they can predict “with 95 percent accuracy where you’ll fall on the liberal-conservative spectrum by showing you just one picture” and then studying how your brain responds to the image. Furthermore, studies show that political orientation may be as inheritance-based as height.

I know many people who have changed their politically orientation and I’m pretty sure they didn’t change their genetics.

H/T to Les F. on Facebook.

Share

7 thoughts on “Genetic predisposition

  1. Yep, I went from full-on Marxist “eat the rich” type in my teens, to a hawkish Conservative in my young adult years, to somebody who is getting more and more Libertarian as I age.

    Of course my DNA is the same as when I was born, what changed was my experience and knowledge base.

    Of course I have very little ego, so my standing on the political spectrum was always based on what’s best for society, and nothing else. I wasn’t Marxist for selfish reasons, but altruistic reasons. I rejected that philosophy because I realized that core supporters of “Progresivism” do it out of selfish nature and don’t care who’s hurt.
    Same goes for Conservatism, I went to it, because it was the core opposite of the looters….except I found it really wasn’t. Now I think the best way for people to be is let THEM choose how to live their lives and butt out of it all, given that now I’ve crossed paths with so many people that I know that most are good, and the really bad ones can be taken care of with the soap box, ballot box, jury box, and box magazine.

  2. Wasn’t there this technique called Phrenology that said you could determine character and personality from the shape of the skull?

    I think we have a bunch of grifters who are looking for a huge government grant.

    • Yes, those are the people who provided the “intellectual” foundation for Hitler’s programs. Their ideas were also wildly popular among early 20th century leftists.
      (It’s useful to remember that fascism is a form of socialism — it’s not called “national” socialism for nothing. This in spite of lots of misinformation pretending they are opposites. But Stalin wasn’t confused when he signed up to join forces with Hitler; he merely forgot that someone might possibly be as ruthless and evil as he was.)

  3. “If you’re not a liberal when you’re 25, you have no heart. If you’re not a conservative by the time you’re 35, you have no brain.”

    Inaccurately (apparently) attributed to Churchill. Still true, though.

  4. Inherent tendencies can drive political ideology if rational thought does not take over and lead the way. Many people can think logically but don’t bother, to them it’s not worth the effort. These are the people who can change their poltical
    thinking when confronted by issues that force them actually use logic and rationality. Other groups can’t think to save their life and emote their way through life…..this group is invariably “progressive” in the jargon of today’s politics. They can’t tell you why, they can’t elucidate a reason for their beliefs but dammit you better go along with them or else.

  5. I can easily believe the first sentence. The second sentence is unrelated and is a throw away– I think the sciences read far too much into genetics. The Progressives, who fund “science”, desperately want genetics to be the end-all definition of humanity. That goes right back to Hillary’s “early 20th century Progressive” ideology with Margaret Sanger, the KKK and the budding Nazis all being a close knit family. They had themselves totally convinced long before any of them could pronounce “Deoxyribonucleic acid”.

    A person’s political orientation is easily determined by his emotional security, or confidence, and his abilities, which are of course inexorably connected. A person who can cope and knows it will be more libertarian whereas a person who’s insecure, seeks approval and protection through group association, and has fewer abilities (i.e. little or no confidence) will be collectivist/authoritarian. Simple as that. And so a person’s reaction to certain images could indeed be a reliable indicator.

    Forget genetics altogether; this is purely a state-of-mind issue.

  6. “Genetic Predisposition?” This is another attempt to portray the opponents of ever-more intrusive leftist all-controlling ever-larger government as somehow closer to apes than to the angels the progressives see themselves as.

Comments are closed.