Friday 12 June 2009

Race does not exist?

The work done by John Goodrum, the Majority Rights team, and Steve Sailer to disprove this bizarre idea may appear to be wholly outside the mainstream of scientific thought - if you rely on the unfree press for your information. Nice to know then that the ‘World’s most trusted reference books’ (the Oxford University Press Reference collection) agrees with these guys.

Race: 1. (in biology) A category used in the classification of organisms that consists of a group of individuals within a species that are geographically, ecologically, physiologically, or chromosomally distinct from other members of the species. The term is frequently used in the same sense as subspecies. Physiological races, for example, are identical in appearance but differ in function. They include strains of fungi adapted to infect different varieties of the same crop species. 2. (in anthropology) A distinct human type possessing several characteristics that are genetically inherited. The major races are Mongoloid, Caucasian, Negroid, and Australoid.
"race" A Dictionary of Biology. Oxford University Press, 2004. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.

Subspecies: A group of individuals within a species that breed more freely among themselves than with other members of the species and resemble each other in more characteristics. Reproductive isolation of a subspecies may become so extreme that a new species is formed (see speciation). Subspecies are sometimes given a third Latin name, e.g. the mountain gorilla, Gorilla gorilla beringei (see also binomial nomenclature).
"subspecies" A Dictionary of Biology. Oxford University Press, 2004. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press

Variety: A category used in the classification of plants and animals below the species level. A variety consists of a group of individuals that differ distinctly from but can interbreed with other varieties of the same species. The characteristics of a variety are genetically inherited. Examples of varieties include breeds of domestic animals and human races. See also cultivar. Compare subspecies.
"variety" A Dictionary of Biology. Oxford University Press, 2004. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.

Race: An interbreeding group of individuals all of whom are genetically distinct from the members of other such groups of the same species. Usually these groups are geographically isolated from one another, so there are barriers to gene flow. Examples are island races of birds and mammals, such as the Skomer vole and the St Kilda wren. See SUBSPECIES.
"race" A Dictionary of Zoology. Ed. Michael Allaby. Oxford University Press, 1999. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.

Subspecies: Technically, a race of a species that is allocated a Latin name. The number of races recognized within a species and the allocation of names to them is somewhat arbitrary. Systematic and phenotypic variations do occur within species, but there are no clear rules for identifying them as races or subspecies except that they must be: (a) geographically distinct; (b) populations, not merely morphospecies; and (c) different to some degree from other geographic populations .
"subspecies" A Dictionary of Zoology. Ed. Michael Allaby. Oxford University Press, 1999. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.

Race: a phenotypically and/or geographically distinctive subspecific group, composed of individuals inhabiting a defined geographical and/or ecological region, and possessing characteristic phenotypic and gene frequencies that distinguish it from other such groups. The number of racial groups that one wishes to recognize within a species is usually arbitrary but suitable for the purposes under investigation. See ecotype, subspecies.
"race" A Dictionary of Genetics. Robert C. King, William D. Stansfield and Pamela K. Mulligan. Oxford University Press, 2007. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.

Subspecies:1. a taxonomically recognized subdivision of a species.
2. geographically and/or ecologically defined subdivisions of a species with distinctive characteristics. See race.
"subspecies" A Dictionary of Genetics. Robert C. King, William D. Stansfield and Pamela K. Mulligan. Oxford University Press, 2007. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.

Variety n. The quality or condition of being diversified, or a collection of unlike things. In biology, a taxonomic group into which a species is divided, containing organisms that are genetically differentiable from other members of the same species by the relative frequencies of their polymorphic genes. Also called a microspecies, race, or subspecies. [From Latin varietas variety, from varius various]
"variety n." A Dictionary of Psychology. Andrew M. Colman. Oxford University Press, 2006. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.

Subspecies n. In biology, a taxonomic group into which a species is divided, containing organisms that are genetically differentiable from other members of the same species by the relative frequencies of their polymorphic genes. Also called a microspecies, race, or variety.
"subspecies n." A Dictionary of Psychology. Andrew M. Colman. Oxford University Press, 2006. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.

Microspecies n. A taxonomic category below the level of a species, hence a race, subspecies, or variety. [From Greek mikros small + Latin species appearance or kind, from specere to look]
"microspecies n." A Dictionary of Psychology. Andrew M. Colman. Oxford University Press, 2006. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press

No comments: