00:00:02.840 --> 00:00:05.165
(wind whistles)

00:00:05.167 --> 00:00:08.083
(javelin swooshes)

00:00:13.026 --> 00:00:15.776
(dramatic music)

00:00:23.940 --> 00:00:25.439
- [Interviewer] I am merely
drawing attention to the fact

00:00:25.441 --> 00:00:28.503
that you believe that poor
people are genetically different.

00:00:30.600 --> 00:00:31.633
- Yes.

00:00:33.930 --> 00:00:35.699
- For a century or more,

00:00:35.701 --> 00:00:38.699
scholars have known that
the differences among people

00:00:38.701 --> 00:00:40.833
in intelligence is largely inherited.

00:00:43.260 --> 00:00:46.349
- When you extract the general
factor of intelligence,

00:00:46.351 --> 00:00:49.139
males on average score

00:00:49.141 --> 00:00:53.459
3.6, 4 IQ points
higher than women.

00:00:53.461 --> 00:00:55.679
- [Newscaster] Even
Rushton admits that's tiny,

00:00:55.681 --> 00:00:59.703
but says it explains why you
see fewer women in top jobs.

00:01:01.380 --> 00:01:02.729
- You see where this takes us,

00:01:02.731 --> 00:01:06.779
in some very, very
dangerous directions.

00:01:06.781 --> 00:01:10.053
Biologically-determined politics.

00:01:13.110 --> 00:01:15.119
- Dysgenic immigration,

00:01:15.121 --> 00:01:17.039
Hispanics in particular,

00:01:17.041 --> 00:01:19.829
but also other peoples with low IQs,

00:01:19.831 --> 00:01:21.790
will clearly have an effect

00:01:22.680 --> 00:01:25.619
of reducing the intelligence
of the host populations

00:01:25.621 --> 00:01:27.270
that have to absorb these people.

00:01:30.235 --> 00:01:34.470
- We are back to blood as a
determination of character.

00:01:35.820 --> 00:01:38.159
We've learned nothing
from the Holocaust,

00:01:38.161 --> 00:01:39.809
nothing from Darfur,

00:01:39.811 --> 00:01:42.839
nothing from the emerging
capacity of evil

00:01:42.841 --> 00:01:45.419
that people do to each other
on the grounds of someone being

00:01:45.421 --> 00:01:48.269
different from them by birth.

00:01:48.271 --> 00:01:51.569
So that person is not only
talking biological nonsense,

00:01:51.571 --> 00:01:54.033
he's talking dangerous
biological nonsense.

00:01:54.905 --> 00:01:58.488
(dramatic music continues)

00:02:11.634 --> 00:02:14.217
(traffic hums)

00:02:17.946 --> 00:02:20.696
(car horns honk)

00:02:23.940 --> 00:02:25.570
- There's a strong belief

00:02:26.490 --> 00:02:28.619
that the differences in society,

00:02:28.621 --> 00:02:30.239
those who are poor,
those who are rich,

00:02:30.241 --> 00:02:31.379
those who are smart,

00:02:31.381 --> 00:02:32.730
everything is in the genes,

00:02:33.900 --> 00:02:37.319
that it's the internal
that determines everything,

00:02:37.321 --> 00:02:38.152
not the external.

00:02:38.154 --> 00:02:39.779
The external is something
to do with politics

00:02:39.781 --> 00:02:41.129
or society,

00:02:41.131 --> 00:02:43.169
but biology is internal

00:02:43.171 --> 00:02:46.289
and so every view of the gene is

00:02:46.291 --> 00:02:48.543
it is the determiner
because it's inside.

00:02:52.380 --> 00:02:55.919
- I think it's important
to explode the gene myth,

00:02:55.921 --> 00:02:58.139
a false belief

00:02:58.141 --> 00:03:00.449
that makes us think

00:03:00.451 --> 00:03:04.079
that genes can do
anything and everything

00:03:04.081 --> 00:03:07.889
and they're responsible
for anything and everything

00:03:07.891 --> 00:03:11.282
that we do and that
happens in our lives.

00:03:11.284 --> 00:03:12.569
(upbeat piano music)

00:03:12.571 --> 00:03:13.529
- [Newscaster] A new study claims

00:03:13.531 --> 00:03:16.889
that a genetic variant is
responsible for cheating

00:03:16.891 --> 00:03:18.659
and promiscuous behavior.

00:03:18.661 --> 00:03:21.089
- Are you a liberal or a conservative?

00:03:21.091 --> 00:03:22.739
Either way, you may have been born

00:03:22.741 --> 00:03:25.919
predisposed to leaning
one way or the other.

00:03:25.921 --> 00:03:27.539
- According to your genes,

00:03:27.541 --> 00:03:30.740
you guys are actually
extremely sexually compatible.

00:03:30.742 --> 00:03:33.059
(audience applauds and cheers)

00:03:33.061 --> 00:03:34.679
- [Narrator] Is there
something in their DNA...

00:03:34.681 --> 00:03:37.619
- We tested each of you
for the warrior gene.

00:03:37.621 --> 00:03:39.236
- [Narrator] ...that causes
them to rage?

00:03:39.238 --> 00:03:41.189
- And the results are in.

00:03:41.191 --> 00:03:44.189
- Have scientists located
the so-called crime gene,

00:03:44.191 --> 00:03:45.022
do you think?

00:03:45.024 --> 00:03:47.392
- [Newscaster] The horror movie gene.

00:03:47.394 --> 00:03:48.989
- [Newscaster 2] The God gene.

00:03:48.991 --> 00:03:51.057
- Could there be a terrorist gene?

00:03:51.059 --> 00:03:54.359
(electricity crackling)

00:03:54.361 --> 00:03:57.899
- There is no evidence for
any genes for these things,

00:03:57.901 --> 00:04:01.169
and molecular biology
has become a religion

00:04:01.171 --> 00:04:04.383
in the sense that people accept
it without questioning it,

00:04:05.400 --> 00:04:10.400
and the people who are doing
it at the highest level are

00:04:10.830 --> 00:04:12.299
its prophets.

00:04:12.301 --> 00:04:13.979
And when they tell you something,

00:04:13.981 --> 00:04:15.989
you should believe what the prophets

00:04:15.991 --> 00:04:17.416
or the disciples tell you.

00:04:17.418 --> 00:04:20.250
(evocative organ music)

00:04:31.860 --> 00:04:33.299
- [Narrator] Ever since
he helped to discover

00:04:33.301 --> 00:04:35.999
the structure of DNA in 1953,

00:04:36.001 --> 00:04:37.799
biologist James Watson has been

00:04:37.801 --> 00:04:39.809
the leading evangelist for the belief

00:04:39.811 --> 00:04:41.643
in the power of genes.

00:04:43.110 --> 00:04:48.110
- Genes, because they are the
script for life, have power.

00:04:49.680 --> 00:04:52.983
We'd like to think we could
be anything we wanted,

00:04:55.650 --> 00:04:56.483
but

00:04:58.230 --> 00:04:59.343
I think we can't.

00:05:02.460 --> 00:05:03.689
- [Narrator] In Watson's view,

00:05:03.691 --> 00:05:07.679
inequality is unavoidable
and written into our DNA.

00:05:07.681 --> 00:05:09.179
So, it's naive to imagine

00:05:09.181 --> 00:05:12.033
that we can achieve
a truly equal society.

00:05:13.020 --> 00:05:15.269
- It's just evolution happening.

00:05:15.271 --> 00:05:18.239
This evolution depends
on random changes

00:05:18.241 --> 00:05:20.099
in genetic messages

00:05:20.101 --> 00:05:23.759
which make some organisms
better able to survive

00:05:23.761 --> 00:05:27.209
and others not that able.

00:05:27.211 --> 00:05:30.059
Once you start thinking
in terms of evolution,

00:05:30.061 --> 00:05:33.153
you're not surprised by
seeing a lot of inequality.

00:05:34.890 --> 00:05:37.769
You know, that all men
are created equal,

00:05:37.771 --> 00:05:39.359
we know is a political statement,

00:05:39.361 --> 00:05:40.803
not a scientific statement.

00:05:46.080 --> 00:05:48.269
- [Narrator] Biologist
Edward O. Wilson shares

00:05:48.271 --> 00:05:49.739
Watson's view.

00:05:49.741 --> 00:05:53.489
He's well known for his vigorous
defense of biodiversity,

00:05:53.491 --> 00:05:55.919
but he's also a leading
advocate of the theory

00:05:55.921 --> 00:05:57.599
that we are essentially imprisoned

00:05:57.601 --> 00:06:02.429
by Paleolithic genes encoded
in our DNA 100,000 years ago,

00:06:02.431 --> 00:06:06.006
when modern humans evolved
from more primitive species.

00:06:06.008 --> 00:06:07.679
(gentle ambient music)

00:06:07.681 --> 00:06:08.849
Wilson believes that there are

00:06:08.851 --> 00:06:12.659
biological barriers to
creating a more equal society

00:06:12.661 --> 00:06:15.419
because we are unconsciously
directed by genes

00:06:15.421 --> 00:06:18.479
that predispose us to
aggression, tribalism,

00:06:18.481 --> 00:06:20.703
male dominance and other behaviors.

00:06:22.140 --> 00:06:23.999
- We have what I like to call

00:06:24.001 --> 00:06:26.669
the genetic leash on culture

00:06:26.671 --> 00:06:29.849
that is absolutely unique
to the human species.

00:06:29.851 --> 00:06:31.199
There's a different length

00:06:31.201 --> 00:06:33.839
and kind of genetic leash

00:06:33.841 --> 00:06:37.863
for every category or
subcategory of behavior.

00:06:39.780 --> 00:06:42.119
- [TV Narrator] Looking
through the lens of biology,

00:06:42.121 --> 00:06:45.393
Wilson described how humans
got their human nature.

00:06:46.590 --> 00:06:49.079
Male humans were originally hunters.

00:06:49.081 --> 00:06:50.789
They evolved to be aggressive

00:06:50.791 --> 00:06:53.279
and are still innately violent.

00:06:53.281 --> 00:06:55.619
Males are driven to
multiply their genes

00:06:55.621 --> 00:06:58.799
and are not by nature monogamous.

00:06:58.801 --> 00:07:01.079
They have evolved to
think analytically

00:07:01.081 --> 00:07:03.659
and are more likely than
females to end up with jobs

00:07:03.661 --> 00:07:06.603
in business, politics, or science.

00:07:08.190 --> 00:07:10.499
Female humans are
genetically programmed

00:07:10.501 --> 00:07:12.239
to have maternal feelings.

00:07:12.241 --> 00:07:13.919
They have evolved strategies

00:07:13.921 --> 00:07:16.049
to catch and to keep males.

00:07:16.051 --> 00:07:19.473
They are by nature coy
and faithful homemakers.

00:07:20.430 --> 00:07:23.579
Although females have
superior verbal abilities,

00:07:23.581 --> 00:07:26.399
their brains are less equipped
to think analytically,

00:07:26.401 --> 00:07:30.239
allowing them to perform
repetitive domestic tasks.

00:07:30.241 --> 00:07:32.939
For Wilson, our evolutionary past was

00:07:32.941 --> 00:07:34.019
still with us,

00:07:34.021 --> 00:07:36.419
living on in specific
patterns of behavior

00:07:36.421 --> 00:07:38.433
controlled by our genes.

00:07:41.820 --> 00:07:42.869
- [Narrator] E.O. Wilson writes that

00:07:42.871 --> 00:07:45.329
"Even with identical education

00:07:45.331 --> 00:07:47.759
and equal access to all professions,

00:07:47.761 --> 00:07:49.829
men are likely to continue to play

00:07:49.831 --> 00:07:52.439
a disproportionate
role in political life,

00:07:52.441 --> 00:07:53.973
business and science."

00:07:57.330 --> 00:08:01.349
- That's a very important,
justifying ideology.

00:08:01.351 --> 00:08:04.499
If you believe that all
these characteristics,

00:08:04.501 --> 00:08:06.419
first of all are universal,

00:08:06.421 --> 00:08:08.729
and secondly that
they're in the genes,

00:08:08.731 --> 00:08:10.889
then you would be forced to say

00:08:10.891 --> 00:08:13.499
we must have society as it is now.

00:08:13.501 --> 00:08:17.069
So it destroys any question
of political morality

00:08:17.071 --> 00:08:18.119
to change things,

00:08:18.121 --> 00:08:20.309
and it also destroys any claim

00:08:20.311 --> 00:08:22.019
that we could change things.

00:08:22.021 --> 00:08:24.334
So, it has tremendous importance.

00:08:24.336 --> 00:08:26.999
(contemplative music)

00:08:27.001 --> 00:08:28.859
- [Newscaster] Harvard
President Larry Summers floated

00:08:28.861 --> 00:08:31.469
the idea that when it
comes to math and science,

00:08:31.471 --> 00:08:35.133
there may be an innate
difference between men and women.

00:08:36.300 --> 00:08:39.779
- [Narrator] Larry Summers
ignited a controversy in 2005

00:08:39.781 --> 00:08:42.479
when he gave a talk as
university president

00:08:42.481 --> 00:08:44.279
and suggested that biology was

00:08:44.281 --> 00:08:46.589
the primary reason for a lack of women

00:08:46.591 --> 00:08:48.783
in powerful positions in society.

00:08:50.160 --> 00:08:50.992
- So what he said was,

00:08:50.994 --> 00:08:52.979
"I'm gonna tell you why
there aren't any women

00:08:52.981 --> 00:08:54.059
at the top of anything."

00:08:54.061 --> 00:08:56.339
It's not just the academic world,

00:08:56.341 --> 00:08:58.349
it's law, it's medicine,
it's business.

00:08:58.351 --> 00:09:00.839
They're not at the top of anything.

00:09:00.841 --> 00:09:02.399
- [Narrator] As a faculty
member at Harvard,

00:09:02.401 --> 00:09:05.133
Nancy Hopkins walked out
of Summers' talk.

00:09:05.970 --> 00:09:08.129
Years before, she'd helped to expose

00:09:08.131 --> 00:09:12.149
how bias against women stalled
their advancement at MIT,

00:09:12.151 --> 00:09:15.149
which prompted MIT to
make things more equal.

00:09:15.151 --> 00:09:16.259
So she was angry to hear

00:09:16.261 --> 00:09:17.969
the president of Harvard giving

00:09:17.971 --> 00:09:20.463
credence to a biological explanation.

00:09:21.450 --> 00:09:23.159
- These attitudes really have

00:09:23.161 --> 00:09:24.509
consequences in the workplace

00:09:24.511 --> 00:09:26.249
and they hold people back.

00:09:26.251 --> 00:09:28.079
And as a leader of students,

00:09:28.081 --> 00:09:30.029
you want to encourage
people to achieve

00:09:30.031 --> 00:09:31.049
at the highest level,

00:09:31.051 --> 00:09:32.939
not make them believe that
they could never reach

00:09:32.941 --> 00:09:36.629
the highest level because their
aptitude is not sufficient.

00:09:36.631 --> 00:09:39.449
- I think you know, the
Larry Summers statement was

00:09:39.451 --> 00:09:40.499
probably correct

00:09:40.501 --> 00:09:42.659
and his big mistake was apologizing.

00:09:42.661 --> 00:09:44.579
- Oh no, not at all.

00:09:44.581 --> 00:09:46.293
- Oh, no, yeah, okay.

00:09:47.400 --> 00:09:48.959
- [Narrator] While some
scientists joined

00:09:48.961 --> 00:09:51.029
Watson in defending Summers,

00:09:51.031 --> 00:09:54.599
many others, such as
anthropologist Agustín Fuentes,

00:09:54.601 --> 00:09:58.653
have shown that such claims
are based on unsound science.

00:10:00.060 --> 00:10:01.619
- The problem is people often confuse

00:10:01.621 --> 00:10:04.409
gender with what we call sex, right?

00:10:04.411 --> 00:10:05.909
So sex is a biological term.

00:10:05.911 --> 00:10:08.399
Gender is this very complex

00:10:08.401 --> 00:10:11.399
historical, political, social reality.

00:10:11.401 --> 00:10:15.869
The question is how do we
understand unequal gender access?

00:10:15.871 --> 00:10:18.929
How do we understand the
histories of voting rights,

00:10:18.931 --> 00:10:21.569
of abilities to appear
in public or not,

00:10:21.571 --> 00:10:23.039
of abilities to own land,

00:10:23.041 --> 00:10:26.009
of whether or not you're
called property or not?

00:10:26.011 --> 00:10:28.949
That's not biology,
that's not in your DNA,

00:10:28.951 --> 00:10:31.769
that's in our social, political
and economic histories,

00:10:31.771 --> 00:10:33.689
but it's taking advantage of biology.

00:10:33.691 --> 00:10:36.449
That is, I can identify you
as a female and you as a male

00:10:36.451 --> 00:10:37.949
and we're gonna work with that.

00:10:37.951 --> 00:10:40.229
So biology can be co-opted,

00:10:40.231 --> 00:10:42.929
but it does not explain
gender difference,

00:10:42.931 --> 00:10:44.339
gender inequality,

00:10:44.341 --> 00:10:45.959
and it doesn't help us understand

00:10:45.961 --> 00:10:48.303
the future of gender relations.

00:10:51.330 --> 00:10:53.999
- [Narrator] The belief that
genes and evolution determine

00:10:54.001 --> 00:10:58.285
where we end up in society
reaches beyond gender.

00:10:58.287 --> 00:11:01.036
(pensive ambient music)

00:11:02.130 --> 00:11:04.439
- Are you saying that
the underclass could be

00:11:04.441 --> 00:11:05.913
genetically determined?

00:11:07.890 --> 00:11:10.109
- Genetically determined
is way too strong a term.

00:11:10.111 --> 00:11:12.059
- Well, you see,
you say that poverty is

00:11:12.061 --> 00:11:13.019
genetically determined.

00:11:13.021 --> 00:11:14.789
"It will become evident
that the population

00:11:14.791 --> 00:11:17.039
below the poverty line in the US

00:11:17.041 --> 00:11:19.409
has a configuration of the
relevant genetic makeup

00:11:19.411 --> 00:11:21.089
significantly different

00:11:21.091 --> 00:11:22.979
from the configuration
of the population

00:11:22.981 --> 00:11:24.809
above the poverty line.

00:11:24.811 --> 00:11:26.219
This is not unimaginable.

00:11:26.221 --> 00:11:28.143
It is almost certainly true."

00:11:31.110 --> 00:11:33.629
- Charles Murray came up with data

00:11:33.631 --> 00:11:35.969
that purported to show a relationship

00:11:35.971 --> 00:11:39.573
between IQ and poverty.

00:11:40.680 --> 00:11:43.619
The IQ itself became a kind of symbol

00:11:43.621 --> 00:11:48.479
for native, intrinsic,
inherent intelligence,

00:11:48.481 --> 00:11:51.659
your genetic predisposition,

00:11:51.661 --> 00:11:53.579
your genetic endowment,

00:11:53.581 --> 00:11:54.899
and there was something fatalistic

00:11:54.901 --> 00:11:56.253
and deterministic about it.

00:11:58.560 --> 00:12:00.839
- Unless you have the kinds of skills

00:12:00.841 --> 00:12:03.779
that enable you to score
pretty well on an IQ test,

00:12:03.781 --> 00:12:06.239
you are not going to
be a first-rate lawyer,

00:12:06.241 --> 00:12:08.849
you are not going to be
a first-rate physician,

00:12:08.851 --> 00:12:11.909
you aren't going to be
a first-rate professor,

00:12:11.911 --> 00:12:13.829
you aren't going to be a
first-rate lot of things

00:12:13.831 --> 00:12:14.883
in this society.

00:12:16.560 --> 00:12:19.289
- [Narrator] Critics like
psychologist Jay Joseph have

00:12:19.291 --> 00:12:22.469
studied claims about
IQ for many years.

00:12:22.471 --> 00:12:23.909
He's convinced that there are

00:12:23.911 --> 00:12:26.639
fundamental problems with IQ tests

00:12:26.641 --> 00:12:29.373
that completely undermine
Murray's conclusions.

00:12:30.900 --> 00:12:32.489
- Test creators can create

00:12:32.491 --> 00:12:35.399
any kind of test
distribution they desire.

00:12:35.401 --> 00:12:37.949
They could create a test that
show the races are equal.

00:12:37.951 --> 00:12:39.269
They could create a test that show

00:12:39.271 --> 00:12:41.369
that women are more
intelligent than men.

00:12:41.371 --> 00:12:42.989
They could create a test that show

00:12:42.991 --> 00:12:45.509
that the working class
is more intelligent

00:12:45.511 --> 00:12:46.919
than professional class,

00:12:46.921 --> 00:12:50.219
but they choose questions
that get the results.

00:12:50.221 --> 00:12:53.339
It doesn't matter necessarily
how obviously biased

00:12:53.341 --> 00:12:54.172
a question is,

00:12:54.174 --> 00:12:56.249
which many of them are very biased.

00:12:56.251 --> 00:12:57.989
They're designed to reflect

00:12:57.991 --> 00:13:00.149
the existing inequalities in society

00:13:00.151 --> 00:13:03.903
and in many cases, to
justify those inequalities.

00:13:07.020 --> 00:13:08.399
- [Narrator] Most controversial was

00:13:08.401 --> 00:13:11.189
Murray's claim that Black
people and Latinos are

00:13:11.191 --> 00:13:14.189
less intelligent
on average than whites,

00:13:14.191 --> 00:13:17.043
and that this explained
unequal social outcomes.

00:13:18.240 --> 00:13:21.149
- I thought we had killed
this kind of stuff off,

00:13:21.151 --> 00:13:23.789
and yet here it comes
back out of the grave

00:13:23.791 --> 00:13:26.069
dressed up in scientific garb.

00:13:26.071 --> 00:13:27.509
But you know, the last time we saw it,

00:13:27.511 --> 00:13:31.029
it was wearing a Klan's robe
and it's the same set of ideas.

00:13:31.031 --> 00:13:34.697
♪ We shall overcome someday ♪

00:13:35.552 --> 00:13:38.552
(audience applauds)

00:13:40.050 --> 00:13:41.789
- So I don't accept any of this data

00:13:41.791 --> 00:13:44.279
that they're presenting because...

00:13:44.281 --> 00:13:45.479
- [Narrator] Alvin Poussaint,

00:13:45.481 --> 00:13:47.759
a professor of psychology at Harvard,

00:13:47.761 --> 00:13:50.489
challenged Murray in
debates at universities

00:13:50.491 --> 00:13:51.573
around the country.

00:13:52.470 --> 00:13:55.709
- Scientifically,
they wanted to compare

00:13:55.711 --> 00:14:00.299
so-called genetic differences
between Blacks and whites.

00:14:00.301 --> 00:14:03.479
Then they would have to
take a group of white people

00:14:03.481 --> 00:14:06.239
that had similar experiences
to Black Americans

00:14:06.241 --> 00:14:07.379
here in America.

00:14:07.381 --> 00:14:09.869
That is, they would have to
find a group of white people

00:14:09.871 --> 00:14:12.659
that experienced 250 years of slavery,

00:14:12.661 --> 00:14:15.329
100 years of Jim Crow segregation,

00:14:15.331 --> 00:14:17.460
constant ongoing discrimination.

00:14:17.462 --> 00:14:18.293
(audience applauds)

00:14:18.295 --> 00:14:21.029
And let's compare their IQs
and see how they come out

00:14:21.031 --> 00:14:22.083
on these tests.

00:14:23.100 --> 00:14:25.499
If you tell people over
and over and over again

00:14:25.501 --> 00:14:26.849
that they are inferior,

00:14:26.851 --> 00:14:29.219
that some of them will
come to believe that

00:14:29.221 --> 00:14:31.469
and then behave accordingly.

00:14:31.471 --> 00:14:33.149
It's not innate or genetic

00:14:33.151 --> 00:14:35.759
that you feel inside
that you are inferior.

00:14:35.761 --> 00:14:38.489
It's because messages
that are being sent to you

00:14:38.491 --> 00:14:42.003
from society in all kinds
of overt and subtle ways.

00:14:45.060 --> 00:14:47.819
- [Narrator] More than 20
years after "The Bell Curve",

00:14:47.821 --> 00:14:52.019
pseudoscientific claims
about IQ and race continue

00:14:52.021 --> 00:14:53.673
to generate controversy.

00:14:55.170 --> 00:14:56.999
- The London Science Museum has

00:14:57.001 --> 00:15:00.569
canceled a lecture by a Nobel
Prize-winning geneticist

00:15:00.571 --> 00:15:05.099
because of remarks he made
about race and intellect.

00:15:05.101 --> 00:15:07.349
- [Newscaster] Dr. James
Watson is quoted as saying

00:15:07.351 --> 00:15:10.889
he is "inherently gloomy
about the prospect of Africa

00:15:10.891 --> 00:15:13.079
because all of our social policies are

00:15:13.081 --> 00:15:14.999
based on the fact that
their intelligence is

00:15:15.001 --> 00:15:16.229
the same as ours,

00:15:16.231 --> 00:15:19.289
whereas all the testing
says not really."

00:15:19.291 --> 00:15:22.086
Although his hope is
that everyone is equal,

00:15:22.088 --> 00:15:24.899
"people who have to deal
with Black employees find

00:15:24.901 --> 00:15:26.367
this is not true."

00:15:28.260 --> 00:15:32.877
- Black IQ lower, yeah,
it's probably a fact, okay?

00:15:35.043 --> 00:15:36.809
- [Narrator] Opinions like
Watson's have

00:15:36.811 --> 00:15:38.789
never been based in science,

00:15:38.791 --> 00:15:41.219
but they're even more
discredited in light of evidence

00:15:41.221 --> 00:15:44.879
confirming that there are no
biologically distinct groups

00:15:44.881 --> 00:15:48.123
that we call races to
compare in the first place.

00:15:49.650 --> 00:15:51.269
- There is no genetic definition

00:15:51.271 --> 00:15:55.169
of white or Black or Asian or Latino.

00:15:55.171 --> 00:15:58.019
You can't actually identify a gene,

00:15:58.021 --> 00:16:01.169
a sequence of DNA or any component

00:16:01.171 --> 00:16:03.659
that is ubiquitous in
any of those populations.

00:16:03.661 --> 00:16:06.389
There's a very, very
deep ingrained tradition

00:16:06.391 --> 00:16:08.969
of thinking that there are
distinct categories of humans

00:16:08.971 --> 00:16:12.659
and those categories
have a biological basis,

00:16:12.661 --> 00:16:14.429
but it's actually wrong.

00:16:14.431 --> 00:16:16.979
There are tens of
thousands of populations.

00:16:16.981 --> 00:16:20.699
Biological variation
is enormous in humans,

00:16:20.701 --> 00:16:24.089
but it does not group into races.

00:16:24.091 --> 00:16:26.189
So if you recognize that there is

00:16:26.191 --> 00:16:27.659
no biological basis for race,

00:16:27.661 --> 00:16:29.399
that race is a real, social, political

00:16:29.401 --> 00:16:30.689
and historical reality,

00:16:30.691 --> 00:16:33.059
but it's not underpinned by biology,

00:16:33.061 --> 00:16:35.879
then you're stuck
with a moral dilemma.

00:16:35.881 --> 00:16:37.859
Inequality based on something

00:16:37.861 --> 00:16:39.629
that is not biology is out there,

00:16:39.631 --> 00:16:41.369
so either you do something about it

00:16:41.371 --> 00:16:43.113
or you feign ignorance and don't.

00:16:46.950 --> 00:16:50.159
- [Narrator] Race, poverty,
IQ and genetics are

00:16:50.161 --> 00:16:52.559
coming together in a surprising arena,

00:16:52.561 --> 00:16:55.023
the national crisis of lead poisoning.

00:16:55.890 --> 00:16:57.659
Parents are suing the lead industry

00:16:57.661 --> 00:16:59.039
for the devastating impacts

00:16:59.041 --> 00:17:01.499
the neurotoxin has had
on their children.

00:17:01.501 --> 00:17:03.689
The stakes are high.

00:17:03.691 --> 00:17:06.029
To avoid a precedent that
would make them liable

00:17:06.031 --> 00:17:08.849
for billions in damages
and cleanup costs,

00:17:08.851 --> 00:17:11.579
the industry is blaming young victims,

00:17:11.581 --> 00:17:13.923
claiming they have bad genes.

00:17:17.430 --> 00:17:18.749
- My law firm has been involved

00:17:18.751 --> 00:17:20.909
in representing children
with lead poisoning

00:17:20.911 --> 00:17:22.559
for a few decades now,

00:17:22.561 --> 00:17:24.839
and never once through this day

00:17:24.841 --> 00:17:28.889
has this industry ever
taken any steps at all

00:17:28.891 --> 00:17:32.279
to get lead paint out of the dwellings

00:17:32.281 --> 00:17:33.749
where our children are living today,

00:17:33.751 --> 00:17:36.089
where our children
continue to get poisoned

00:17:36.091 --> 00:17:39.089
and where they recognized back in 1957

00:17:39.091 --> 00:17:40.289
that children were dying

00:17:40.291 --> 00:17:42.363
and becoming
permanently brain damaged.

00:17:45.480 --> 00:17:49.079
- Steven was born here in
Milwaukee in June of 1990,

00:17:49.081 --> 00:17:51.899
and between age one and age three

00:17:51.901 --> 00:17:55.289
he ingested lead paint in his home,

00:17:55.291 --> 00:17:56.519
which caused him to be poisoned.

00:17:56.521 --> 00:17:59.729
He was poisoned so severely
he had to be hospitalized.

00:17:59.731 --> 00:18:01.859
- [Narrator] Even after
medical treatment,

00:18:01.861 --> 00:18:04.859
Steven suffered
permanent brain damage.

00:18:04.861 --> 00:18:07.529
His mother, Carol, decided
to take legal action

00:18:07.531 --> 00:18:09.749
against those responsible.

00:18:09.751 --> 00:18:11.219
- She fought for this case.

00:18:11.221 --> 00:18:13.799
She wanted the lead
pigment industry to account

00:18:13.801 --> 00:18:15.269
for what they did to her child,

00:18:15.271 --> 00:18:17.639
not only because of her
love for her own child,

00:18:17.641 --> 00:18:19.529
but she really was concerned

00:18:19.531 --> 00:18:21.989
about all the other children

00:18:21.991 --> 00:18:24.843
who've been poisoned
by these manufacturers.

00:18:29.550 --> 00:18:32.039
- The industry staked out a defense

00:18:32.041 --> 00:18:35.759
where they blamed the victim.

00:18:35.761 --> 00:18:38.459
They blamed Steven,
they blamed his mother,

00:18:38.461 --> 00:18:39.779
they blamed his family,

00:18:39.781 --> 00:18:43.949
and one of their favorite
defenses in this suit was to say

00:18:43.951 --> 00:18:46.033
this is genetics.

00:18:46.035 --> 00:18:49.286
(somber music)

00:18:49.288 --> 00:18:50.969
- [Lawyer] Dr. Hebben, would you agree

00:18:50.971 --> 00:18:52.233
you're not a neurologist?

00:18:53.208 --> 00:18:54.239
- No, I'm not a neurologist.

00:18:54.241 --> 00:18:55.711
- [Lawyer] You're not a physician.

00:18:55.713 --> 00:18:56.939
- I'm not a physician.

00:18:56.941 --> 00:18:58.349
- [Lawyer] You're not a geneticist.

00:18:58.351 --> 00:18:59.500
- I'm not a geneticist.

00:19:00.930 --> 00:19:03.359
- There was a
neuropsychologist out of Boston

00:19:03.361 --> 00:19:05.039
whose name is Nancy Hebben,

00:19:05.041 --> 00:19:07.409
and she's made her living testifying

00:19:07.411 --> 00:19:09.869
on behalf of the lead industry.

00:19:09.871 --> 00:19:14.249
And she would take full siblings,

00:19:14.251 --> 00:19:16.739
half siblings, cousins,

00:19:16.741 --> 00:19:18.089
cousins three times removed,

00:19:18.091 --> 00:19:19.709
anybody that they could find

00:19:19.711 --> 00:19:22.829
that came within any kind
of genetic relationship

00:19:22.831 --> 00:19:24.643
to Steven at all,

00:19:24.645 --> 00:19:26.909
and would scour their report cards.

00:19:26.911 --> 00:19:28.979
She would ignore every A

00:19:28.981 --> 00:19:31.469
and every B and every
C on that report card.

00:19:31.471 --> 00:19:32.729
- [Lawyer] Have you seen
any evidence of a...?

00:19:32.731 --> 00:19:34.019
- This is Pauline,

00:19:34.021 --> 00:19:35.936
and we see that when
she was in ninth grade

00:19:35.938 --> 00:19:40.109
she had a
grade point average of 0.0,

00:19:40.111 --> 00:19:41.913
which is a pretty low F.

00:19:43.200 --> 00:19:44.759
- [Narrator] Hebben failed to mention

00:19:44.761 --> 00:19:46.619
that Steven's sister Pauline

00:19:46.621 --> 00:19:50.069
wasn't able to attend
school regularly that year.

00:19:50.071 --> 00:19:53.789
Hebben simply used any low
grades and IQ test scores

00:19:53.791 --> 00:19:56.459
she could find to lead
the jury to believe

00:19:56.461 --> 00:20:00.219
that the Thomas family was
genetically unintelligent.

00:20:00.221 --> 00:20:02.306
- ...um, Jennifer.

00:20:02.308 --> 00:20:03.152
This is Steven's...

00:20:03.154 --> 00:20:04.679
- That was horrible.

00:20:04.681 --> 00:20:05.789
I already had a good idea

00:20:05.791 --> 00:20:07.409
that these people were not my friend,

00:20:07.411 --> 00:20:09.239
but when I got in there

00:20:09.241 --> 00:20:12.509
some of the things they were
saying was just, like, so untrue.

00:20:12.511 --> 00:20:15.153
They pulled report cards I
didn't even remember I had,

00:20:16.170 --> 00:20:19.199
report cards I, like, forgot all about

00:20:19.201 --> 00:20:20.339
because I have got--

00:20:20.341 --> 00:20:23.429
I picked myself back up
and overcame all of that.

00:20:23.431 --> 00:20:25.019
What did my report card have to do

00:20:25.021 --> 00:20:27.393
with the things you did
to my little brother?

00:20:29.010 --> 00:20:30.569
- And she eventually concluded

00:20:30.571 --> 00:20:33.539
that it didn't really
matter even if lead had

00:20:33.541 --> 00:20:37.173
affected Steven because he
wasn't gonna be anything anyhow.

00:20:38.700 --> 00:20:40.859
- [Narrator] The lead
pigment industry dragged out

00:20:40.861 --> 00:20:44.459
the Thomas trial for
nearly eight years.

00:20:44.461 --> 00:20:46.679
- [Peter] Carol Thomas
was deposed six times.

00:20:46.681 --> 00:20:47.819
- [Lawyer 2] That he's
never been exposed

00:20:47.821 --> 00:20:50.009
to a single product made by my people

00:20:50.011 --> 00:20:51.239
at Sherman Williams, isn't that right?

00:20:51.241 --> 00:20:52.112
- I can't say.

00:20:52.114 --> 00:20:55.349
- Hour after hour after
hour of questions designed

00:20:55.351 --> 00:20:56.579
to humiliate the family,

00:20:56.581 --> 00:20:58.709
designed to intimidate the family,

00:20:58.711 --> 00:21:00.449
only because these lawyers wanna lay

00:21:00.451 --> 00:21:04.048
the predicates for
their genetic defense.

00:21:04.050 --> 00:21:05.189
(melancholy music)

00:21:05.191 --> 00:21:07.259
- [Narrator] Carol Thomas
never knew the outcome

00:21:07.261 --> 00:21:08.819
of her son's case.

00:21:08.821 --> 00:21:12.183
She died of lung cancer
before the trial ended.

00:21:16.620 --> 00:21:18.719
- Unfortunately at the end of the day,

00:21:18.721 --> 00:21:22.649
this phony genetic excuse

00:21:22.651 --> 00:21:25.079
that was invented by the defendants

00:21:25.081 --> 00:21:26.309
resonated with the jury,

00:21:26.311 --> 00:21:31.169
and the jury really seemed
to be persuaded

00:21:31.171 --> 00:21:32.939
by a lot of the argument

00:21:32.941 --> 00:21:34.979
that we think was
completely inappropriate

00:21:34.981 --> 00:21:36.430
and completely impermissible.

00:21:37.500 --> 00:21:38.549
And this is America.

00:21:38.551 --> 00:21:42.149
That is not the way that
our society should work.

00:21:42.151 --> 00:21:44.189
This is not the way
science should work.

00:21:44.191 --> 00:21:47.849
It allows people to just
write off these children

00:21:47.851 --> 00:21:49.739
simply because of who they are

00:21:49.741 --> 00:21:50.990
and where they come from.

00:21:52.830 --> 00:21:56.459
- We need to expose the fact
that this is junk science.

00:21:56.461 --> 00:21:58.979
There is no foundation for
this kind of an argument.

00:21:58.981 --> 00:22:02.129
And someday, hopefully
science will make that clear,

00:22:02.131 --> 00:22:04.465
that it's not science at all.

00:22:04.467 --> 00:22:07.229
(tense music)

00:22:07.231 --> 00:22:09.029
- [Narrator] While the
gene defense continues

00:22:09.031 --> 00:22:10.529
and genetic determinants label

00:22:10.531 --> 00:22:14.489
whole segments of our population
as biologically inferior,

00:22:14.491 --> 00:22:16.769
many scientists say
that the key to creating

00:22:16.771 --> 00:22:19.709
a more equal society lies in eugenics,

00:22:19.711 --> 00:22:21.449
improving the human population

00:22:21.451 --> 00:22:24.419
through better breeding
and genetic engineering.

00:22:24.421 --> 00:22:26.909
The only way to change
the world, they say,

00:22:26.911 --> 00:22:28.596
is to change the genes.

00:22:28.598 --> 00:22:29.729
(machine whirring)

00:22:29.731 --> 00:22:32.219
- [TV Show Host] This is
the biomolecular revolution.

00:22:32.221 --> 00:22:35.099
It promises the almost
God-like ability

00:22:35.101 --> 00:22:38.819
to manipulate life at the
most fundamental level.

00:22:38.821 --> 00:22:42.809
It will enable us to change
our genetic heritage,

00:22:42.811 --> 00:22:44.523
enhance our abilities,

00:22:45.630 --> 00:22:48.974
even shape the evolution of mankind.

00:22:48.976 --> 00:22:51.989
(pensive orchestral music)

00:22:51.991 --> 00:22:55.859
- A lot of scientists carry
with them this myth of the gene,

00:22:55.861 --> 00:22:57.929
almost to its furthest extent,

00:22:57.931 --> 00:22:59.429
that there is a thing called the gene

00:22:59.431 --> 00:23:01.019
and once we understand that,

00:23:01.021 --> 00:23:02.909
we're gonna be able to
manipulate it and modify it

00:23:02.911 --> 00:23:05.249
to explain why people are unequal

00:23:05.251 --> 00:23:07.153
and to make some people better.

00:23:07.155 --> 00:23:09.179
(machine whirring)

00:23:09.181 --> 00:23:12.869
- The lower 10% who
really have difficulty,

00:23:12.871 --> 00:23:15.479
you know, even in elementary school,

00:23:15.481 --> 00:23:16.773
what's the cause of it?

00:23:18.870 --> 00:23:19.919
A lot of people would like to say,

00:23:19.921 --> 00:23:22.876
"Well it's the, you know, poverty"
and things like that,

00:23:22.878 --> 00:23:25.169
but it probably isn't.

00:23:25.171 --> 00:23:26.003
And, uh...

00:23:27.360 --> 00:23:29.999
so I'd like to get rid of, you know,

00:23:30.001 --> 00:23:33.031
help that lower 10%.

00:23:33.033 --> 00:23:35.615
(tense music)

00:23:37.680 --> 00:23:39.389
- Suppose we have a gene therapy

00:23:39.391 --> 00:23:43.049
which will raise IQs by 15 points.

00:23:43.051 --> 00:23:45.089
I think parents, it's okay
if they have the right

00:23:45.091 --> 00:23:48.423
to introduce those kinds of
changes in their own children.

00:23:50.580 --> 00:23:54.029
- If we say that there is a gene

00:23:54.031 --> 00:23:56.729
that can make somebody brighter

00:23:56.731 --> 00:24:00.929
or a gene for criminality,

00:24:00.931 --> 00:24:03.839
that gives the illusion

00:24:03.841 --> 00:24:05.999
that you could deal with it

00:24:06.001 --> 00:24:08.459
by identifying that gene

00:24:08.461 --> 00:24:09.490
and either

00:24:10.470 --> 00:24:14.699
predicting it in embryos or fetuses

00:24:14.701 --> 00:24:17.429
and not let them be born,

00:24:17.431 --> 00:24:22.430
or maybe find treatments
with so-called gene therapy.

00:24:23.430 --> 00:24:26.159
- They predict that about
1% of the population has

00:24:26.161 --> 00:24:28.349
these violence or bad behavior genes,

00:24:28.351 --> 00:24:29.459
which is fascinating.

00:24:29.461 --> 00:24:31.109
The real goal,
according to the doctors

00:24:31.111 --> 00:24:32.519
that we spoke with about this,

00:24:32.521 --> 00:24:34.439
is to eventually develop treatments

00:24:34.441 --> 00:24:37.649
to counteract those genes
and get rid of violence.

00:24:37.651 --> 00:24:39.153
Really interesting stuff.

00:24:42.615 --> 00:24:45.629
(eerie piano music)

00:24:45.631 --> 00:24:47.429
- [Narrator] No technology exists

00:24:47.431 --> 00:24:50.069
that would allow scientists
to genetically engineer

00:24:50.071 --> 00:24:53.339
our personalities or
control evolution.

00:24:53.341 --> 00:24:55.199
But there are people living today

00:24:55.201 --> 00:24:57.809
who bear the physical and mental scars

00:24:57.811 --> 00:25:01.683
of past attempts to control
heredity through eugenics.

00:25:03.300 --> 00:25:05.279
- My name is Willis C. Lynch.

00:25:05.281 --> 00:25:08.636
I'm from Wilmington, North
Carolina, 77 years old.

00:25:08.638 --> 00:25:11.849
And I was operated on in 1948

00:25:11.851 --> 00:25:13.263
when I was 14 years old,

00:25:14.280 --> 00:25:15.363
63 years ago.

00:25:16.920 --> 00:25:18.719
- [Narrator] Thousands of
women and men

00:25:18.721 --> 00:25:21.419
across the United States
are coming forward

00:25:21.421 --> 00:25:25.023
to share their stories of
being forcibly sterilized.

00:25:26.490 --> 00:25:28.049
- My name is Elaine Riddick.

00:25:28.051 --> 00:25:31.409
I am a victim of eugenics.

00:25:31.411 --> 00:25:34.229
- [Narrator] The State of
North Carolina sterilized

00:25:34.231 --> 00:25:39.230
Elaine Riddick Jessie in 1968
when she was 14 years old.

00:25:39.480 --> 00:25:42.599
It considered the practice
a solution to poverty

00:25:42.601 --> 00:25:44.643
and it was legal at the state level.

00:25:45.930 --> 00:25:48.899
- The Eugenics Board
was a board of five men

00:25:48.901 --> 00:25:50.009
that sat around the table,

00:25:50.011 --> 00:25:52.109
and of course they were white men too.

00:25:52.111 --> 00:25:53.579
They sat around a table

00:25:53.581 --> 00:25:54.989
and they just marked the paper.

00:25:54.991 --> 00:25:58.829
Anybody that the
social worker would deem

00:25:58.831 --> 00:26:01.469
feeble-minded or slow

00:26:01.471 --> 00:26:04.019
or having a problem,

00:26:04.021 --> 00:26:06.089
"I want this person sterilized."

00:26:06.091 --> 00:26:08.373
And boom, they stamped
it and that was that.

00:26:11.250 --> 00:26:12.899
- [Narrator] Then in the early '70s,

00:26:12.901 --> 00:26:15.209
the Nixon administration issued a memo

00:26:15.211 --> 00:26:18.359
to hundreds of family planning
clinics across the country,

00:26:18.361 --> 00:26:21.689
informing them that
federal funds could be used

00:26:21.691 --> 00:26:24.119
to cover the costs of sterilizations

00:26:24.121 --> 00:26:26.193
for people who couldn't afford them.

00:26:27.899 --> 00:26:28.731
(tone beeps)

00:26:28.733 --> 00:26:32.275
- [Nixon] The people in
what we call our class

00:26:32.277 --> 00:26:34.225
control their populations.

00:26:34.227 --> 00:26:36.553
People who don't control
their families are

00:26:36.555 --> 00:26:39.689
the people that shouldn't have kids.

00:26:39.691 --> 00:26:41.279
- [Narrator] The memo was exposed

00:26:41.281 --> 00:26:43.529
during a lawsuit
involving two young girls,

00:26:43.531 --> 00:26:45.449
age 14 and 12,

00:26:45.451 --> 00:26:47.069
who were secretly sterilized

00:26:47.071 --> 00:26:49.769
at a clinic in Montgomery, Alabama.

00:26:49.771 --> 00:26:51.929
Their parents sued the
Nixon administration

00:26:51.931 --> 00:26:55.679
because it never issued
regulations to clinics to ensure

00:26:55.681 --> 00:26:58.529
that people were fully
informed about the procedure,

00:26:58.531 --> 00:27:01.203
gave permission, and were not coerced.

00:27:02.070 --> 00:27:05.009
- Talking about the
deprivation and the genocide

00:27:05.011 --> 00:27:06.179
of American Indian people,

00:27:06.181 --> 00:27:07.709
I'm talking about our women,

00:27:07.711 --> 00:27:10.829
42% who were sterilized

00:27:10.831 --> 00:27:12.839
from 1971 to 1975

00:27:12.841 --> 00:27:14.189
and not a whimper from the--

00:27:14.191 --> 00:27:17.369
of indignation from this country.

00:27:17.371 --> 00:27:19.109
- [Narrator] The US
District Court judge

00:27:19.111 --> 00:27:21.389
who resided over the Relf case

00:27:21.391 --> 00:27:23.489
found that during the
Nixon administration,

00:27:23.491 --> 00:27:26.699
nearly 400,000 poor people
were sterilized

00:27:26.701 --> 00:27:28.413
without being fully informed.

00:27:29.550 --> 00:27:31.409
There was evidence, the judge said,

00:27:31.411 --> 00:27:34.049
that an indefinite number
had been coerced

00:27:34.051 --> 00:27:35.729
into operations under the threat

00:27:35.731 --> 00:27:37.563
of losing federal assistance.

00:27:38.850 --> 00:27:41.853
Many others were sterilized
without their knowledge.

00:27:43.080 --> 00:27:45.179
- It really was a practice of eugenics

00:27:45.181 --> 00:27:48.929
because these clinics
didn't see anything wrong

00:27:48.931 --> 00:27:50.200
with controlling

00:27:51.420 --> 00:27:52.919
the birth rate of people

00:27:52.921 --> 00:27:55.649
who they viewed as
a burden on society.

00:27:55.651 --> 00:27:57.449
That simple.

00:27:57.451 --> 00:28:00.029
It was sort of up to the
nurses and the doctors

00:28:00.031 --> 00:28:01.349
as to who got what,

00:28:01.351 --> 00:28:02.759
and they made their judgment

00:28:02.761 --> 00:28:04.923
about who was worthy and who wasn't.

00:28:06.120 --> 00:28:08.639
- And I wanna know who in
the world give these people

00:28:08.641 --> 00:28:10.679
the right to go and do
these sort of things

00:28:10.681 --> 00:28:11.973
to another human being.

00:28:13.020 --> 00:28:16.270
(contemplative music)

00:28:17.220 --> 00:28:18.389
- [Narrator] The United States has

00:28:18.391 --> 00:28:20.939
a long history of eugenics

00:28:20.941 --> 00:28:23.253
going back to the turn
of the 20th century.

00:28:24.480 --> 00:28:27.779
The crimes that took place
in the name of the gene were

00:28:27.781 --> 00:28:30.179
based on a pseudoscientific belief

00:28:30.181 --> 00:28:32.583
that biology determines who we are.

00:28:33.600 --> 00:28:36.779
But that part of the story
hasn't been told very often.

00:28:36.781 --> 00:28:40.529
It puts the very notion
of a gene into question

00:28:40.531 --> 00:28:43.229
and reveals that the
concept itself has

00:28:43.231 --> 00:28:45.569
never been more than
a century-long figment

00:28:45.571 --> 00:28:47.493
of our collective imagination.

00:28:51.210 --> 00:28:53.639
- The gene was never discovered.

00:28:53.641 --> 00:28:56.519
It was not a discovery
that somebody did,

00:28:56.521 --> 00:28:58.026
looked down a microscope and said,

00:28:58.028 --> 00:29:00.599
"Ha, behold the gene."

00:29:00.601 --> 00:29:03.959
Instead of that,
the gene was a concept.

00:29:03.961 --> 00:29:06.569
And so we can see
throughout the 20th century

00:29:06.571 --> 00:29:10.649
how different
discoveries in science were

00:29:10.651 --> 00:29:13.649
fitted into the box,

00:29:13.651 --> 00:29:16.886
the pre-made conceptual
box of the gene.

00:29:16.888 --> 00:29:20.054
(contemplative music)

00:29:21.420 --> 00:29:23.729
- [Narrator] The Austrian
monk, Gregor Mendel,

00:29:23.731 --> 00:29:25.829
never knew that his garden experiments

00:29:25.831 --> 00:29:27.569
would eventually be used to explain

00:29:27.571 --> 00:29:29.493
human heredity and behavior.

00:29:30.600 --> 00:29:32.939
His work on sweet peas convinced him

00:29:32.941 --> 00:29:35.819
that plants carried
discrete biological elements

00:29:35.821 --> 00:29:37.649
from one generation to the next

00:29:37.651 --> 00:29:40.379
in a mathematical, predictable way,

00:29:40.381 --> 00:29:43.379
and that traits such as
the color of a flower

00:29:43.381 --> 00:29:46.293
could not be changed by
changing the environment.

00:29:48.510 --> 00:29:50.429
- So they translated immediately

00:29:50.431 --> 00:29:53.069
without really having to test it

00:29:53.071 --> 00:29:55.649
the work on the piece
that Mendel had done,

00:29:55.651 --> 00:29:58.709
and they just assumed
that the same principle

00:29:58.711 --> 00:30:02.523
would apply in all other
organisms, especially humans.

00:30:03.930 --> 00:30:06.899
It allows you to separate

00:30:06.901 --> 00:30:09.119
anything that is biological

00:30:09.121 --> 00:30:12.479
from anything that is
so-called environment

00:30:12.481 --> 00:30:16.679
in such a way that you
are born with instructions

00:30:16.681 --> 00:30:18.869
of who you're going to be

00:30:18.871 --> 00:30:21.668
and there's nothing you
can do to change that.

00:30:21.670 --> 00:30:23.489
(playful music)

00:30:23.491 --> 00:30:25.769
- The word was coined
with the expectation

00:30:25.771 --> 00:30:29.969
that there existed a hereditary unit

00:30:29.971 --> 00:30:32.939
that would have certain properties.

00:30:32.941 --> 00:30:36.989
It was to determine the
traits of an organism.

00:30:36.991 --> 00:30:40.856
It was to pilot life's
journey, if you will.

00:30:40.858 --> 00:30:45.449
And the question for the first
half of the 20th century was,

00:30:45.451 --> 00:30:48.933
what kind of an entity
would have these properties?

00:30:50.940 --> 00:30:52.409
- The race was on

00:30:52.411 --> 00:30:55.109
when very many different labs start

00:30:55.111 --> 00:30:57.273
chasing their own favorite molecule.

00:30:58.470 --> 00:31:01.379
And these biologists and
physicists and chemists are

00:31:01.381 --> 00:31:03.659
all scrambling to come up with

00:31:03.661 --> 00:31:06.628
some physical embodiment of the gene.

00:31:06.630 --> 00:31:10.046
(music continues)

00:31:15.390 --> 00:31:16.889
- [Dr. Keller] And in 1953,

00:31:16.891 --> 00:31:21.890
with Watson and Crick's
identification of the double helix,

00:31:22.110 --> 00:31:23.733
a candidate appeared.

00:31:25.462 --> 00:31:28.462
(suspenseful music)

00:31:30.720 --> 00:31:32.639
- Could this complicated substance

00:31:32.641 --> 00:31:36.809
with a long name be Mendel's
particle of heredity,

00:31:36.811 --> 00:31:38.593
the gene itself?

00:31:38.595 --> 00:31:40.499
(playful music)

00:31:40.501 --> 00:31:43.829
- [Narrator] Watson and
Crick's team had focused on DNA

00:31:43.831 --> 00:31:45.663
and they felt they'd won the race.

00:31:46.680 --> 00:31:49.559
Four chemicals made up
the DNA molecule

00:31:49.561 --> 00:31:52.499
and they believed different
sequences of these chemicals

00:31:52.501 --> 00:31:54.273
determined different traits.

00:31:58.590 --> 00:32:00.209
To explain how it all worked,

00:32:00.211 --> 00:32:04.263
Francis Crick created the famous
central dogma of genetics.

00:32:05.190 --> 00:32:07.919
Crick's theory was much
like the chain of command

00:32:07.921 --> 00:32:10.829
in a typical 1950s corporation.

00:32:10.831 --> 00:32:15.830
DNA was the gene, the CEO in
total control of heredity.

00:32:16.470 --> 00:32:19.409
DNA gave orders in the
form of the genetic code

00:32:19.411 --> 00:32:20.969
to middle management.

00:32:20.971 --> 00:32:23.189
RNA transcribed that message

00:32:23.191 --> 00:32:26.369
and passed it on to the
workers, the proteins,

00:32:26.371 --> 00:32:28.739
and the proteins
translated the unique code

00:32:28.741 --> 00:32:30.089
of each living thing

00:32:30.091 --> 00:32:33.299
and constructed them
according to the blueprint.

00:32:33.301 --> 00:32:36.179
Under Crick's dogma,
more complex organisms

00:32:36.181 --> 00:32:39.539
like human beings must
have millions of genes,

00:32:39.541 --> 00:32:41.462
unlike simpler creatures.

00:32:41.464 --> 00:32:43.880
(baby crying)

00:32:45.030 --> 00:32:46.139
- We need to remember

00:32:46.141 --> 00:32:50.069
that when Watson and Crick
presented all this theory,

00:32:50.071 --> 00:32:54.809
they said flat out that
it was a hypothesis,

00:32:54.811 --> 00:32:56.647
there was no evidence for it.

00:32:56.649 --> 00:32:58.379
(playful music)

00:32:58.381 --> 00:33:01.169
- [Narrator] Biologist Barry
Commoner immediately dismissed

00:33:01.171 --> 00:33:02.819
the central dogma,

00:33:02.821 --> 00:33:04.979
including the notion that DNA could

00:33:04.981 --> 00:33:06.813
somehow reproduce itself.

00:33:08.160 --> 00:33:10.739
- It offended my sense

00:33:10.741 --> 00:33:13.270
of the uniqueness of living things

00:33:14.310 --> 00:33:17.999
because here was a paper

00:33:18.001 --> 00:33:21.453
that insisted that
something quite dead,

00:33:22.320 --> 00:33:23.969
a chemical,

00:33:23.971 --> 00:33:27.393
was the source of the
uniqueness of life.

00:33:29.040 --> 00:33:32.249
- That notion of a
magical double helix maps

00:33:32.251 --> 00:33:34.349
so perfectly onto this idea

00:33:34.351 --> 00:33:37.349
that at our core there's
a biological unit,

00:33:37.351 --> 00:33:39.179
a thing right there

00:33:39.181 --> 00:33:41.159
that I pass to my children,

00:33:41.161 --> 00:33:42.959
that you pass to your children,

00:33:42.961 --> 00:33:45.869
that that thing is identifiable
and knowable

00:33:45.871 --> 00:33:48.749
as a single entity
and that entity is DNA.

00:33:48.751 --> 00:33:50.099
That's not the case,

00:33:50.101 --> 00:33:52.169
but it's a powerful metaphor

00:33:52.171 --> 00:33:53.868
and a really good story.

00:33:53.870 --> 00:33:57.286
(triumphant brass fanfare)

00:34:04.980 --> 00:34:08.069
- We will radically change the
way we think about ourselves

00:34:08.071 --> 00:34:11.279
as persons and also eventually
as people in society.

00:34:11.281 --> 00:34:14.568
And I think this is a scientific
revolution that is coming.

00:34:14.570 --> 00:34:16.889
(contemplative music)

00:34:16.891 --> 00:34:19.469
- [Narrator] The belief
that DNA was the gene

00:34:19.471 --> 00:34:22.799
allowed it to be imbued
with more and more power.

00:34:22.801 --> 00:34:24.329
Some scientists believed it was

00:34:24.331 --> 00:34:26.159
the mechanism they'd been looking for

00:34:26.161 --> 00:34:28.949
to explain Charles Darwin's
theory of evolution

00:34:28.951 --> 00:34:30.869
by natural selection.

00:34:30.871 --> 00:34:33.809
Random mutations in
DNA sequences could be

00:34:33.811 --> 00:34:35.669
the source of changes in traits

00:34:35.671 --> 00:34:38.339
that made some organisms
better able to adapt,

00:34:38.341 --> 00:34:42.003
survive, and pass those traits
on to the next generation.

00:34:43.416 --> 00:34:45.359
(rhythmic pulsing music)

00:34:45.361 --> 00:34:47.999
By the 1980s, the gene concept reached

00:34:48.001 --> 00:34:50.429
its pinnacle of power
when Richard Dawkins,

00:34:50.431 --> 00:34:53.189
author of the bestselling
book, "The Selfish Gene",

00:34:53.191 --> 00:34:54.543
introduced his theory:

00:34:55.470 --> 00:34:58.139
Human beings and all
other living things were

00:34:58.141 --> 00:35:00.239
simply temporary vehicles,

00:35:00.241 --> 00:35:02.579
robots controlled body and mind

00:35:02.581 --> 00:35:04.383
by the genes that built them.

00:35:06.420 --> 00:35:09.089
- I was wanting to conjure
up in the mind of the reader

00:35:09.091 --> 00:35:11.009
the image of the organism,

00:35:11.011 --> 00:35:14.159
including ourselves, as a
machine for passing on genes.

00:35:14.161 --> 00:35:15.959
I wanted to shift the focus

00:35:15.961 --> 00:35:17.669
away from the idea of the organism

00:35:17.671 --> 00:35:21.389
as being the agent in life

00:35:21.391 --> 00:35:23.519
to the immortal replicator,

00:35:23.521 --> 00:35:24.352
which is the gene,

00:35:24.354 --> 00:35:25.979
because that was the logic
of natural selection.

00:35:25.981 --> 00:35:27.930
That is the logic of
natural selection.

00:35:29.970 --> 00:35:31.769
- [Narrator] But the notion
that DNA was

00:35:31.771 --> 00:35:34.799
the all-powerful gene
was seriously challenged

00:35:34.801 --> 00:35:36.179
when scientists found

00:35:36.181 --> 00:35:38.429
that only 2% of the molecule was

00:35:38.431 --> 00:35:41.279
associated with creating proteins.

00:35:41.281 --> 00:35:45.119
The majority of DNA appeared
to have no purpose at all.

00:35:45.121 --> 00:35:49.233
So they referred to the
remaining 98% as junk DNA.

00:35:50.340 --> 00:35:54.903
How could only 2% of a molecule
hold the blueprint for life?

00:35:56.970 --> 00:35:59.849
The discovery came at
an inconvenient time.

00:35:59.851 --> 00:36:02.999
University and government
labs had gone molecular,

00:36:03.001 --> 00:36:05.819
spending millions on DNA research.

00:36:05.821 --> 00:36:08.519
Rapid developments in
sequencing technology

00:36:08.521 --> 00:36:11.969
laid the ground for
the supreme gene dream,

00:36:11.971 --> 00:36:15.209
to construct a map of the
entirety of human DNA,

00:36:15.211 --> 00:36:16.679
junk and all,

00:36:16.681 --> 00:36:19.349
the Human Genome Project.

00:36:19.351 --> 00:36:21.400
- [Newscaster] Locating the
100,000 genes

00:36:22.623 --> 00:36:25.109
that are blueprints for humanity.

00:36:25.111 --> 00:36:27.179
- [Dr. Collins] The genome
project in this effort

00:36:27.181 --> 00:36:31.199
to identify the 100,000 genes
that make us what we are will...

00:36:31.201 --> 00:36:33.869
- [Narrator] Dr. Francis
Collins directed the project,

00:36:33.871 --> 00:36:36.869
coordinating thousands of
university and government labs

00:36:36.871 --> 00:36:37.983
that participated.

00:36:39.283 --> 00:36:42.149
(uptempo music)

00:36:42.151 --> 00:36:45.059
Hype about the
Genome Project also excited

00:36:45.061 --> 00:36:46.649
private investors.

00:36:46.651 --> 00:36:48.929
Scientist J. Craig Venter attracted

00:36:48.931 --> 00:36:50.519
billions in venture capital

00:36:50.521 --> 00:36:53.459
when he began his own effort
to map the human genome

00:36:53.461 --> 00:36:56.159
and became the government's
heated competitor.

00:36:56.161 --> 00:36:58.109
A race was on to stake claims

00:36:58.111 --> 00:37:00.689
on virtually any stretch of DNA

00:37:00.691 --> 00:37:04.529
with the promise of
profitable patents on genes.

00:37:04.531 --> 00:37:06.149
- [Newscaster]
Think of the possibilities,

00:37:06.151 --> 00:37:07.289
think of the profits.

00:37:07.291 --> 00:37:08.399
A lot of people are,

00:37:08.401 --> 00:37:10.319
the 300 companies already

00:37:10.321 --> 00:37:13.621
in the billion dollar
biotechnology business.

00:37:13.623 --> 00:37:17.289
(crowd shouts indistinctly)

00:37:18.187 --> 00:37:19.619
(suspenseful music)

00:37:19.621 --> 00:37:21.659
- The purpose of the project was

00:37:21.661 --> 00:37:25.870
to find out all about
human genetic structure

00:37:26.760 --> 00:37:29.969
and as a consequence, we'd
know all about health.

00:37:29.971 --> 00:37:31.229
But within a very short time,

00:37:31.231 --> 00:37:34.559
it became clear that
crime and alcoholism

00:37:34.561 --> 00:37:37.053
and intelligence were on the agenda.

00:37:41.010 --> 00:37:43.259
- How far are we from discovering

00:37:43.261 --> 00:37:45.603
the genetic causes of human nature?

00:37:46.890 --> 00:37:48.509
- Very close.

00:37:48.511 --> 00:37:51.149
What it's going to do is

00:37:51.151 --> 00:37:56.129
to blow apart a lot of
the egalitarian dogma

00:37:56.131 --> 00:37:57.269
that we have now.

00:37:57.271 --> 00:38:00.303
That whole way of looking
at the world has to change.

00:38:03.630 --> 00:38:06.599
- It is humbling for me and
awe-inspiring to realize

00:38:06.601 --> 00:38:08.219
that we have caught the first glimpse

00:38:08.221 --> 00:38:12.165
of our own instruction book
previously known only to God.

00:38:12.167 --> 00:38:14.916
(ethereal music)

00:38:18.990 --> 00:38:21.689
- [Narrator] Scientists began
delving into their data,

00:38:21.691 --> 00:38:23.013
searching for genes.

00:38:26.340 --> 00:38:28.589
- And there's big
scientific news today.

00:38:28.591 --> 00:38:31.259
If your DNA is the book
of who you are,

00:38:31.261 --> 00:38:34.349
it turns out to be
closer to a short story.

00:38:34.351 --> 00:38:35.639
New studies suggest

00:38:35.641 --> 00:38:38.819
that some past assumptions
about our genetic makeup

00:38:38.821 --> 00:38:40.512
were off base.

00:38:40.514 --> 00:38:42.629
(rhythmic techno music)

00:38:42.631 --> 00:38:45.119
- As soon as they crack
the human genome,

00:38:45.121 --> 00:38:46.409
immediately it's obvious

00:38:46.411 --> 00:38:49.439
that there are some very
anomalous things about it.

00:38:49.441 --> 00:38:50.909
- [Interviewer] Dr. Collins,
were you surprised

00:38:50.911 --> 00:38:54.299
at the relatively small number
of human genes that we carry?

00:38:54.301 --> 00:38:55.409
- I certainly was.

00:38:55.411 --> 00:38:56.909
I was one of those that expected

00:38:56.911 --> 00:38:58.799
the count to be around 100,000.

00:38:58.801 --> 00:39:00.809
And what do you know,
we turn out to have,

00:39:00.811 --> 00:39:03.329
oh, slightly less than
twice as many genes

00:39:03.331 --> 00:39:05.639
as a roundworm or a fruit fly.

00:39:05.641 --> 00:39:07.829
But oh well, I guess
we're still complicated

00:39:07.831 --> 00:39:10.683
and that complication must
come from other features.

00:39:12.360 --> 00:39:14.519
- [Narrator] Francis
Collins didn't elaborate

00:39:14.521 --> 00:39:17.013
on what he meant by other features.

00:39:18.720 --> 00:39:20.519
He was faced with
the shocking evidence

00:39:20.521 --> 00:39:23.219
that human beings
had fewer than 20,000

00:39:23.221 --> 00:39:27.487
of these important DNA
sequences he called genes.

00:39:27.489 --> 00:39:28.320
(house fly buzzing)

00:39:28.322 --> 00:39:30.310
Not too different than
the humble house fly

00:39:31.530 --> 00:39:33.209
and less than a tomato,

00:39:33.211 --> 00:39:35.077
which had over 30,000.

00:39:36.000 --> 00:39:39.340
Pinot noir grapes and
rabbits had twice as many,

00:39:40.470 --> 00:39:42.963
and wheat had five times as many.

00:39:44.250 --> 00:39:45.399
- So this was sort of like

00:39:45.401 --> 00:39:47.669
"Houston, we have a problem",

00:39:47.671 --> 00:39:50.099
because if these sequences of DNA

00:39:50.101 --> 00:39:51.629
that they were calling genes were

00:39:51.631 --> 00:39:54.449
really the Mendelian-like determinants

00:39:54.451 --> 00:39:57.059
of all of our traits and
all of our complexity,

00:39:57.061 --> 00:39:58.049
we would of course have to have

00:39:58.051 --> 00:40:01.469
a lot more of them than
much simpler creatures.

00:40:01.471 --> 00:40:03.149
So at that moment, you know,

00:40:03.151 --> 00:40:06.963
we really see this 50-year
sort of delusion shattered.

00:40:08.070 --> 00:40:10.889
- In fact, one of the people

00:40:10.891 --> 00:40:15.149
who was instrumental in
working out the genome

00:40:15.151 --> 00:40:17.279
is quoted as having said

00:40:17.281 --> 00:40:20.943
that we don't know shit
about how the genome works.

00:40:22.650 --> 00:40:24.539
- Our understanding of
the human genome has

00:40:24.541 --> 00:40:26.853
changed in the most fundamental ways.

00:40:27.780 --> 00:40:29.699
The small number of genes supports

00:40:29.701 --> 00:40:32.702
the notion that we're not hardwired.

00:40:32.704 --> 00:40:34.409
(playful music)

00:40:34.411 --> 00:40:35.519
- [Narrator] Then scientists came

00:40:35.521 --> 00:40:38.069
to an even more shocking revelation.

00:40:38.071 --> 00:40:40.559
Not only did simpler
creatures often have

00:40:40.561 --> 00:40:43.679
more of these important DNA sequences,

00:40:43.681 --> 00:40:46.833
the sequences themselves
are basically the same.

00:40:48.360 --> 00:40:50.703
50% the same as bananas,

00:40:51.630 --> 00:40:54.479
70% the same as a sea urchin.

00:40:54.481 --> 00:40:58.419
And we share virtually all
of our sequences with mice.

00:40:58.421 --> 00:40:59.252
(mouse squeaking)

00:40:59.254 --> 00:41:00.149
- I mean, mice are very nice

00:41:00.151 --> 00:41:01.739
but they certainly don't write novels

00:41:01.741 --> 00:41:03.299
or compose symphonies.

00:41:03.301 --> 00:41:07.210
So it couldn't be that
small difference in DNA

00:41:08.160 --> 00:41:11.729
that creates the enormous
differences in physiology,

00:41:11.731 --> 00:41:14.309
in behavior and development

00:41:14.311 --> 00:41:15.989
between a human being and a banana

00:41:15.991 --> 00:41:17.819
or a human being and a sea urchin

00:41:17.821 --> 00:41:19.692
or a human being and a mouse.

00:41:19.694 --> 00:41:20.819
(playful music)

00:41:20.821 --> 00:41:23.069
- And up until very recently,

00:41:23.071 --> 00:41:24.629
you know, there is
an evolutionary story

00:41:24.631 --> 00:41:27.809
about natural selection acting
on random mutation of genes.

00:41:27.811 --> 00:41:29.249
Which genes, where are they?

00:41:29.251 --> 00:41:32.452
Tell us, you know, I'll be
very interested to know.

00:41:32.454 --> 00:41:33.809
You know, so they're really, you know,

00:41:33.811 --> 00:41:35.489
they're really in trouble.

00:41:35.491 --> 00:41:36.959
This was not the Holy Grail,

00:41:36.961 --> 00:41:39.512
this was not the Bible of who we are

00:41:39.514 --> 00:41:42.959
that you only had to read
it and understand things.

00:41:42.961 --> 00:41:44.530
It only highlights

00:41:45.570 --> 00:41:47.579
how incredibly,

00:41:47.581 --> 00:41:51.210
incredibly complex biology is.

00:41:51.212 --> 00:41:52.792
(contemplative music)

00:41:52.794 --> 00:41:54.869
(electricity crackling)

00:41:54.871 --> 00:41:58.409
- Strictly speaking, the
DNA doesn't act at all.

00:41:58.411 --> 00:41:59.669
The DNA is inert.

00:41:59.671 --> 00:42:02.579
The DNA has to be acted upon.

00:42:02.581 --> 00:42:04.259
It doesn't replicate itself.

00:42:04.261 --> 00:42:07.863
It has to be uncurled in order
to be able to be expressed.

00:42:08.700 --> 00:42:12.449
There are a zillion agents
around the cell

00:42:12.451 --> 00:42:17.279
that are operating on
this quite passive

00:42:17.281 --> 00:42:19.953
but stable piece of DNA.

00:42:24.180 --> 00:42:27.479
What's so exciting about the
present moment in biology

00:42:27.481 --> 00:42:31.829
has been looking at
the cell as a system

00:42:31.831 --> 00:42:34.679
in which there are many actors

00:42:34.681 --> 00:42:35.849
and many components.

00:42:35.851 --> 00:42:38.099
And DNA is an absolutely critical one,

00:42:38.101 --> 00:42:41.519
but it's not the orchestra leader,

00:42:41.521 --> 00:42:43.131
it's not the whole orchestra.

00:42:43.133 --> 00:42:45.909
It's one component.

00:42:45.911 --> 00:42:48.029
(bubbling melodic tones)

00:42:48.031 --> 00:42:50.609
- [Narrator] DNA doesn't
hold the powerful capacities

00:42:50.611 --> 00:42:53.459
that scientists imagined for the gene,

00:42:53.461 --> 00:42:56.009
but it is an important
molecule in the cell

00:42:56.011 --> 00:42:58.533
that our bodies use in
biological functions.

00:42:59.850 --> 00:43:04.079
DNA can also be regarded as a
sort of cellular fingerprint.

00:43:04.081 --> 00:43:06.389
People who have been
wrongly convicted of a crime

00:43:06.391 --> 00:43:08.159
can be exonerated.

00:43:08.161 --> 00:43:10.319
And we can often match
pieces of our DNA

00:43:10.321 --> 00:43:11.643
with family members.

00:43:12.570 --> 00:43:15.273
But DNA doesn't determine our traits.

00:43:16.800 --> 00:43:19.499
- Despite reports in the
media for many, many years

00:43:19.501 --> 00:43:22.139
that, you know, genes for
intelligence or personality

00:43:22.141 --> 00:43:23.279
have been discovered,

00:43:23.281 --> 00:43:26.309
these results are not substantiated.

00:43:26.311 --> 00:43:29.879
Other research teams try
to duplicate the results

00:43:29.881 --> 00:43:32.579
and they don't, so they turn
out to be false positives.

00:43:32.581 --> 00:43:35.249
They turn out to be
based on poor methodology

00:43:35.251 --> 00:43:38.459
and have erroneously led to the idea

00:43:38.461 --> 00:43:41.309
that genetics play an
important role in psychiatry

00:43:41.311 --> 00:43:45.663
and intelligence and what
researchers define as personality.

00:43:46.740 --> 00:43:48.449
- This is really extraordinary
'cause it tells us

00:43:48.451 --> 00:43:51.269
you know, there are
no biological barriers

00:43:51.271 --> 00:43:55.529
to having a more just, a more
equal, a more humane society.

00:43:55.531 --> 00:43:57.749
You know, what determines
us is in our history

00:43:57.751 --> 00:43:59.729
and our politics
and our social relations,

00:43:59.731 --> 00:44:02.849
not in some or other
part of our anatomy.

00:44:02.851 --> 00:44:04.109
(baby cooing)

00:44:04.111 --> 00:44:07.949
- That is huge, huge implications

00:44:07.951 --> 00:44:09.239
in terms of political economics.

00:44:09.241 --> 00:44:13.769
It suggests that if you get
the childhood history right,

00:44:13.771 --> 00:44:15.839
if you get the society right,

00:44:15.841 --> 00:44:17.193
people will thrive.

00:44:20.190 --> 00:44:22.769
For a long time, you know,
people like Charles Murray

00:44:22.771 --> 00:44:26.110
propounded this view of
why society is like it is

00:44:26.993 --> 00:44:30.843
and the Human Genome Project
has proved that they are wrong.

00:44:31.867 --> 00:44:35.284
(bubbling melodic tones)

00:44:38.340 --> 00:44:40.829
- [Narrator] So we know now
that scientists never found

00:44:40.831 --> 00:44:43.953
the gene they imagined
over 100 years ago...

00:44:45.483 --> 00:44:46.349
(rumbling and shattering)

00:44:46.351 --> 00:44:48.929
...though it may be a while
before textbooks are

00:44:48.931 --> 00:44:50.163
completely rewritten.

00:44:51.086 --> 00:44:52.559
(playful music)

00:44:52.561 --> 00:44:55.649
- One gene can predict your
child's athletic ability.

00:44:55.651 --> 00:44:57.659
- Scientists...
- [Narrator] In the years

00:44:57.661 --> 00:45:00.449
after the revelations
of the Genome Project,

00:45:00.451 --> 00:45:03.869
the media have continued
to enthusiastically report

00:45:03.871 --> 00:45:06.153
on unproven gene discoveries.

00:45:07.500 --> 00:45:10.139
Behind the scenes,
scientists recognize

00:45:10.141 --> 00:45:12.209
their paradigm is in trouble.

00:45:12.211 --> 00:45:13.676
- What's a gene these days?

00:45:13.678 --> 00:45:14.509
(laughing)

00:45:14.511 --> 00:45:16.949
I think a gene is like art, right?

00:45:16.951 --> 00:45:19.079
You know, it's up to
your interpretation.

00:45:19.081 --> 00:45:20.699
- You'll ask 10 different people

00:45:20.701 --> 00:45:23.519
and they'll describe it differently.

00:45:23.521 --> 00:45:24.689
- It's only when you try to do

00:45:24.691 --> 00:45:28.500
the Webster's Dictionary
thing that you get in trouble.

00:45:28.502 --> 00:45:30.119
(machine whirring)

00:45:30.121 --> 00:45:32.069
- They still go on with it.

00:45:32.071 --> 00:45:35.219
Tens of billions are
spent looking for genes.

00:45:35.221 --> 00:45:38.399
They're still talking about
making the perfect baby

00:45:38.401 --> 00:45:41.429
and perhaps in the
not-too-distant future

00:45:41.431 --> 00:45:44.129
actually genetically engineering
the entire human race

00:45:44.131 --> 00:45:46.511
to control evolution itself.

00:45:46.513 --> 00:45:48.029
(crowd chanting indistinctly)

00:45:48.031 --> 00:45:49.649
- [Dr. Dawkins] In the future,
it might be possible

00:45:49.651 --> 00:45:53.591
to engineer a musical
genius for a sprinter,

00:45:53.593 --> 00:45:55.701
a baseball player, an Einstein.

00:45:55.703 --> 00:45:58.878
(crowd applauding)

00:45:58.880 --> 00:46:01.229
- There are people who say,
well, we're playing God.

00:46:03.838 --> 00:46:06.029
And you know, I have a
straightforward answer.

00:46:06.031 --> 00:46:07.863
If we don't play God, who will?

00:46:09.506 --> 00:46:12.173
(ominous music)

00:46:14.340 --> 00:46:16.499
- [Narrator] The demise
of the gene concept

00:46:16.501 --> 00:46:18.839
clearly isn't enough to deter Watson

00:46:18.841 --> 00:46:21.839
and others from fantasies
of playing God.

00:46:21.841 --> 00:46:25.379
And it hasn't stopped the
resurgence of dangerous ideas

00:46:25.381 --> 00:46:28.233
that were prominent during
the days of eugenics.

00:46:29.310 --> 00:46:30.839
- These ideas that were laughable,

00:46:30.841 --> 00:46:33.929
ideas that were just
the discredited ideas

00:46:33.931 --> 00:46:37.979
of the last century
are now back in vogue.

00:46:37.981 --> 00:46:41.647
(crowd chanting indistinctly)

00:46:42.974 --> 00:46:46.474
(ominous music)

00:46:54.810 --> 00:46:56.549
- The immigration debates
going on right now are

00:46:56.551 --> 00:47:00.329
about as virulent as their
counterparts in the 1920s.

00:47:00.331 --> 00:47:01.829
"They're taking our resources

00:47:01.831 --> 00:47:03.569
and they shouldn't be
able to go to school."

00:47:03.571 --> 00:47:05.489
"They shouldn't have
healthcare or they're poor,

00:47:05.491 --> 00:47:09.869
they're uneducated, they're a drain"
and this kind of thing.

00:47:09.871 --> 00:47:11.369
And those were exactly
the same arguments

00:47:11.371 --> 00:47:12.903
that were used in the 1920s.

00:47:14.730 --> 00:47:16.589
- You have a kind of prevailing belief

00:47:16.591 --> 00:47:20.249
amongst the ruling elite
in social Darwinism,

00:47:20.251 --> 00:47:21.089
and it's a closet.

00:47:21.091 --> 00:47:22.649
It's kind of coming through
the back door.

00:47:22.651 --> 00:47:25.019
Very few people are prepared
to actually come out with it

00:47:25.021 --> 00:47:27.329
and say, you know, "I think women are

00:47:27.331 --> 00:47:28.259
born different from men."

00:47:28.261 --> 00:47:30.839
"I think the poor are born inferior."

00:47:30.841 --> 00:47:34.383
But that actually is what they
believe if you talk to them.

00:47:35.610 --> 00:47:40.610
- Their view is harking back
to survival of the fittest.

00:47:40.920 --> 00:47:42.869
The market should determine

00:47:42.871 --> 00:47:47.339
whether or not people,
for example, survive.

00:47:47.341 --> 00:47:49.289
The government should play no role.

00:47:49.291 --> 00:47:53.279
What's really important,
everybody for themselves.

00:47:53.281 --> 00:47:54.419
- You called for scrapping

00:47:54.421 --> 00:47:56.939
the entire federal welfare
and income support structure,

00:47:56.941 --> 00:47:59.219
Medicaid, food stamps, unemployment,

00:47:59.221 --> 00:48:02.016
workers' compensation, subsidized
housing, the whole thing.

00:48:02.018 --> 00:48:02.849
- The whole thing.

00:48:02.851 --> 00:48:04.409
- [Interviewer] And such a step would
leave working-age person

00:48:04.411 --> 00:48:07.319
with no recourse whatsoever
except the job market,

00:48:07.321 --> 00:48:08.279
family members, friends

00:48:08.281 --> 00:48:11.696
and public and private
locally-funded services.

00:48:12.666 --> 00:48:14.759
- There is no more food at this time.

00:48:14.761 --> 00:48:17.969
You can come back next
Monday at two o'clock.

00:48:17.971 --> 00:48:21.434
- Please raise your hand if
you're here to see the dentist.

00:48:21.436 --> 00:48:22.829
- There are a lot of
other good doctors here.

00:48:22.831 --> 00:48:27.113
Cancer doctors, bone doctors,
heart doctors...

00:48:29.580 --> 00:48:32.609
- It's when people get a chance to see

00:48:32.611 --> 00:48:35.009
the actual outcome of these ideas,

00:48:35.011 --> 00:48:36.569
they are repulsed.

00:48:36.571 --> 00:48:38.789
Not just Americans,
people all around the world.

00:48:38.791 --> 00:48:40.649
It is not who humans are.

00:48:40.651 --> 00:48:42.250
It's not who we are.

00:48:42.252 --> 00:48:43.649
(emotive music)

00:48:43.651 --> 00:48:45.149
- If you really look at the core

00:48:45.151 --> 00:48:47.459
of what keeps our society together,

00:48:47.461 --> 00:48:49.199
it is actually altruism.

00:48:49.201 --> 00:48:51.269
It is actually knowing
that each of us has

00:48:51.271 --> 00:48:54.239
to give a little for us
collectively to be better.

00:48:54.241 --> 00:48:56.772
It isn't survival of
the fittest at all.

00:48:56.774 --> 00:48:58.082
♪ Talking ♪

00:48:58.084 --> 00:49:02.000
♪ Marching up to freedom land ♪

00:49:03.180 --> 00:49:04.529
- [Narrator] There is a
growing awareness

00:49:04.531 --> 00:49:07.383
about what has been done
in the name of the gene.

00:49:08.610 --> 00:49:11.009
And many scientists are exploring

00:49:11.011 --> 00:49:13.469
the interconnected, complex reality

00:49:13.471 --> 00:49:16.383
of our life experiences
and our biology.

00:49:17.614 --> 00:49:20.614
(plinking piano notes)

00:49:21.661 --> 00:49:22.949
(water splashing)

00:49:22.951 --> 00:49:26.219
- Realizing that the
concept of the gene is

00:49:26.221 --> 00:49:29.939
really just an empty word is
an incredibly liberating thing.

00:49:29.941 --> 00:49:32.279
You come to realize that yes,

00:49:32.281 --> 00:49:35.879
we are actually very dynamic organisms

00:49:35.881 --> 00:49:39.419
that are influenced and can influence

00:49:39.421 --> 00:49:40.863
everything around us.

00:49:42.240 --> 00:49:43.589
- It is an extraordinary thing.

00:49:43.591 --> 00:49:46.619
The difference it
makes to your life is

00:49:46.621 --> 00:49:48.329
suddenly it is sort of imbued

00:49:48.331 --> 00:49:51.389
with a different sort of
light, a different color,

00:49:51.391 --> 00:49:55.139
and it becomes, in a sense,
much more interesting,

00:49:55.141 --> 00:49:57.313
much more fascinating.

00:49:57.315 --> 00:50:00.814
(music continues)

00:50:06.665 --> 00:50:09.832
(contemplative music)

00:50:43.551 --> 00:50:47.551
(music continues)

00:51:02.150 --> 00:51:04.900
(rhythmic music)

00:51:43.389 --> 00:51:46.972
(music continues)