Why Is Behavioural Genetics Such A Hated Science? - Dr Stuart Ritchie - #534

**Chris Williamson** (0:00)
Hello everybody, welcome back to the show. My guest today is Dr. Stuart Ritchie. He's a psychologist and science communicator known for his research in human intelligence and an author. The influence of our genes on the outcomes we get in life has been long established and replicated in science. However, the public response to this has been very unhappy, making behavioral genetics one of the most heated areas of research there is. Expect to learn why some people dislike behavioral genetics so much, what happened with the recent SSRI rug poll, whether emotional intelligence is an actual thing, how to be skeptical without becoming nihilistic, which psychological phenomenon were debunked during the replication crisis and much more. In other news, this episode is brought to you by Surfshark VPN. Protect your browsing online and get access to the entire world's Netflix library for less than the price of a cup of coffee per month. It takes two minutes to set up. You just download the app, press one button and you will be transported from wherever you are to a secure VPN server. It means that you can move your territory location and have access to everything that America's got on Netflix, which is loads more Marvel series and movies than you've got at home. And if you're in America, you can check out what we've got going on over here in the UK, perhaps some peaky blinders earlier than you'll have access to it in your country. Also, it protects your browsing. It stops websites and hackers from tracking your data and selling it to advertising companies. And it does all of this across unlimited devices, your laptop, your iPad, your phone, even your smart TV. One membership works across all of those. Also there's an 83% discount, three months free and a 30 day money back guarantee. So you can buy it and try it for 29 days. And if you do not like it, they will give you your money back. Head to surfshark.deals slash modern wisdom. That's surfshark.deals slash modern wisdom. In other other news, this episode is brought to you by Craftd London. They are the number one men's jewelry brand on the planet. Literally the biggest, over half a million happy customers worldwide. They have necklaces, chains, pendants, bracelets, rings, and earrings in custom designs, gold and silver. And they're sweat proof, waterproof, heat proof, gym proof, and come with a lifetime guarantee. So if you break it for any reason at all, if it snaps on you, you will get a new one, no matter how long you've had it, that is how confident they are in the quality of their product. The thing that I like the most is that the pieces are really versatile. I can wear them with formal wear. I can wear them if I'm going on a night out or just casually through the day. And they are really, really high quality. Also, they ship internationally and you can get 15% off everything that they make. Go to bit.ly slash cdwisdom and the code MW15 will get you 15% off everything site wide. That's bit.ly slash letter c, letter d, wisdom, and MW15. A checkout. And in final news, this episode is brought to you by Verso. Verso is a company dedicated to translating scientific breakthroughs into products that hold the potential to increase your longevity. You may have heard my interview with Dr. David Sinclair and other leading scientists studying longevity and although sleep, diet and training are the most important parts, there are certain elements of aging that may benefit from a little extra supplemental help. Cell Being by Verso is a nicotinamide mononucleotide or NMN based supplement. NMN is a precursor to NAD and low levels of NAD are associated with age related diseases. Cell Being has everything put into one capsule resveratrol, NMN, NAD and TMG all blended together in an optimal dose. You don't need to work out how much you need to take and if it is of the highest quality because Verso publishes third party testing for every batch that they produce to guarantee that you are getting what you pay for. If you want to get started with a longevity supplement regime, this is a great place to begin. Go to ver.so.mw and use the coupon code MW15 at checkout to save 15% on your order. That's ver.so.mw and MW15 at checkout.
But now, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Stuart Ritchie.
Stuart Ritchie, welcome to the show.

**Stuart Ritchie** (4:35)
Thanks for having me on.

**Chris Williamson** (4:37)
Given your current academic background at the moment, can you explain to people why you think it is that behavioral genetics has so much distaste, distrust, dislike generally?