Amy Harmon, New York Times reporter covering science & society, posted:

Dr. Robert Plomin writes in an afterword to be published this spring in the paperback edition of his book, "Blueprint: How DNA Makes Us Who We Are."

"Blueprint explains why it is crucial to distinguish between individual differences and group differences: It is an important principle that the causes of average differences between groups are not necessarily related to the causes of individual differences within groups."

"In other words, individual differences can be highly heritable for a trait but that does not mean that average differences between groups for that trait are also caused genetically."

"There are two main reasons why I have steered away from group differences. The first is that most differences are within groups rather than between groups. That is, if all you know about a person is a group to which they belong, you know very little about who they are as an individual."

"There are powerful methods for studying the genetic and environmental origins of individual differences, but not for studying the causes of average differences between groups. I think this is why there is so much heat and so little light in understanding the origins of group differences." [END OF EXCERPT]

[note: This is in response to an upcoming documentary on James Watson where he repeats his foolish statements about genes and race. Amy Harmon sought Dr. Plomin's response. I think it applies equally to the characterization of subspecies (races) of honey bee. You cannot assume that whole populations will behave a certain way because individuals do, nor can whole populations be characterized genetically without going into unsupportable speculation, or worse, blanket condemnation.]

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