Category Archives: Science/Technology

Does Race Exist? Do Hills Exist?

Republished from The Unz Review Although my own academic background is in theoretical physics, I’m the first to admit that field seems in the doldrums these days compared with human evolutionary biology. The greatest physics discoveries of the last couple of … Continue reading

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Race/IQ Revised

Last year I published Race, IQ, and Wealth, presenting the overwhelming evidence that group IQs were far more malleable and shaped by social influences than is widely acknowledged in many quarters. The result was a lengthy and ferocious Internet debate, … Continue reading

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Gay Germ Censorship

The notion of a Gay Germ—homosexuality transmitted as some sort of infection—probably horrifies many mainstream intellectuals unfamiliar with the details of modern evolutionary biology.  Therefore, it is perhaps unsurprising that my recent column discussing that subject quickly provoked a striking example … Continue reading

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“Gay Gene” vs. “Gay Germ”

The twists of intellectual fashion in our society are often quite peculiar, especially when “touchy” topics are involved. Consider, for example, the analysis of human behavior.  Whatever most people may privately believe or say, the vocal academics and activists who … Continue reading

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The Bitter Legacy of Mickey Mouse

Developments of enormous consequence sometimes follow the most mundane of motives. During the mid-1990s, the giant Disney Corporation became concerned that its 1928 copyright on Mickey Mouse was close to expiration.  Deploying heavy lobbying efforts, it persuaded Congress to pass … Continue reading

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Unz on China: Debating the “Clark-Unz Model”

As an individual who often regrets his decades-old defection from the academic community, I was remarkably pleased to see anthropologist Peter Frost very generously discuss my recent China article under the rubric “the Clark-Unz Model.”  The senior researcher identified is obviously economist … Continue reading

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Unz on China: Chinese Eugenics?

In modern American society, few terms carry the negative and socially disreputable ring of “eugenics,” first coined by Darwin’s cousin Francis Galton and later widely advocated by Margaret Sanger, America’s founding mother of birth control and abortion.  Denouncing one’s opponents … Continue reading

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How Social Darwinism Made Modern China

How Social Darwinism Made Modern China The American Conservative, March/April 2013 During the three decades following Deng Xiaoping’s 1978 reforms, China achieved the fastest sustained rate of economic growth in human history, with the resulting 40-fold rise in the size … Continue reading

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Unz on Meritocracy: A Science Perspective and More University Data

Although my Meritocracy article focused primarily on public policy issues—the admissions systems of our elite academic institutions—it necessarily touched on some scientific ones as well. Therefore, it is quite heartening to see that a detailed 1500 word summary and discussion of … Continue reading

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Two Cheers for Heresy on Global Warming

Two Cheers for Heresy on Global Warming The American Conservative, October 2012 I first encountered the strong case for global warming in the early 1970s in an Isaac Asimov science column. As an elementary school student, I merely nodded my … Continue reading

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Almost a Century Ahead of The New York Times

As people are probably aware, I’ve recently written a few articles and subsequently participated in various Internet discussions. But for most of the last decade, stretching back well into the 2000s, my time was largely absorbed by a major software … Continue reading

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The Mortality Paradox; or, The Health Benefits of Cyanide

In recent weeks my description of the possible scale of the Vioxx Disaster has begun getting a little coverage on the web and in the British press, leading to some strong “push back” by people who say I can’t possibly … Continue reading

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Announcing the Unz Historical Research Competition, $10,000 First Prize

As some of you already know, I recently released a content-archiving website, www.unz.org, which had absorbed most of my time and effort over the last few years. The website makes freely available a vast quantity of high-quality content material, including … Continue reading

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Artificial Cloning

Artificial Cloning by Ron Unz Reason Online, Friday, October 26, 2001 The general debate: http://www.reason.com/bioresearch/bioresearch.html First, we should realize that a “clone” is simply the scientific name for an identical twin, which has been a rare though perfectly natural part of humanity since … Continue reading

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The Forgotten Cloning Debate

Long, long ago, before the events of September 11th eclipsed all national issues other than terrorism, public policy pundits had seen fit to focus some of their attention on whether or not Congress should ban research into cloning. Several prominent … Continue reading

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The Conservative Monkey Wars Revisited

“The Conservative Monkey Wars Revisited” by Ron Unz Unpublished, March 2001 In late December, the cover of the conservative American Spectator featured the caricature of a confused-looking monkey.  Perhaps to the surprise of many subscribers, the focus of the entire … Continue reading

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Darwinian Evolution

Darwinian Evolution by Ron Unz The American Spectator (Letters), February 2001 I was absolutely appalled by your current cover story attacking the Darwinian theory of evolution. I am a conservative. I support traditional social values and maintaining the crucial role of … Continue reading

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Conservatives vs. Evolution

In late December, I happened to notice a caricature of a confused looking monkey on the cover of the American Spectator, a prominent conservative magazine recently come under new ownership. To my horror, the lengthy cover story, with associated articles, … Continue reading

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Change’s swiftness may alarm unready

Change’s swiftness may alarm unready by Ron Unz San Jose Mercury News, Sunday, March 14, 1999 VOICES OF OUR TIME: Q: From your perspective, what have been some of the most important developments of the 20th century, and how will the … Continue reading

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Path Integration and the Functional Measure

Path Integration and the Functional Measure by R.K. Unz Il Nuovo Cimento, October 1985, pp. 397-426 Summary. – The functional measure for the Feynman path integral is investigated, and it is argued that nontrivial measure factors should not be automatically discarded as … Continue reading

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Unorthodox curvature interactions, black holes, and inflation

Unorthodox curvature interactions, black holes, and inflation by Ron K. Unz Physical Review D, December 15, 1984, pp. 2521-2527 The coupling of other fields to gravity is not uniquely determined if one removes the requirement that such interactions maintain gauge invariance. … Continue reading

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Social Darwinism and Rural China

Social Darwinism and Rural China by Ron K. Unz Preliminary notes on the possible sociobiological implications of the rural Chinese political economy Unpublished, Harvard University/E.O. Wilson, April 1980 April 1983 February 2011 Discussion

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