Hsu has a better command of his subject than most anyone I have heard interviewed. The layering effect, discussed between 13-15 minutes, is readily apparent in combat sports, with six levels recognized in pro boxing for instance:
Best in the gym
Best in the locality
Best in the state
Best in the region
Best in the nation
Best in the world
To breach one level from the other is very difficult. When spanning an intermediate level, like the State Champion taking on the National Champion, you begin to see shutouts.
The gene sequencing discussion is scratching the surface of the greatest question of our time. If this meat-based economy or ours survives another fifty years there will be manufactured, monster geniuses increasingly birthed under direct control—ownership—of collective entities other than the family, which is well on its way to extinction in the postmodern, liberal world.
At 29+ minutes, the discussion on modern stupidity versus agrarian intelligence and high pressure breeding touches on domestication from a few angles. It is fascinating that government is not interested in funding intelligence research. The SJW discussion begins at 39 minutes.
At 50 minutes regression is discussed in the terms of “shirt sleeves to short sleeves,”the often observed phenomenon of the progeny of highly successful people’s children and grandchildren visibly degenerated across three generations.
Matching IQ scores to social mobility is covered very informatively beginning at 56+.
For you science-fiction writers, tune in at 105 minutes for the minimally speculative near future on genetic engineering. The people with the most resources will certainly spend them to prevent your offspring for preventing regression to the mean.
Under the God of Things
