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Reading: Alleged Dangers of Cigarette Smoking

Please read the two-page article, published in the Nature written by Ronald A. Fisher. [Link Here].

fisher-image

Let us provide some context about Fisher: he was an unabashed eugenecist. This is important to know because: (1) Understanding the primacy he placed on genes helps to understand the argument that he makes in this article; and, (2) Fisher held views that are deeply problematic and out-of-line with Berkeley's principles of community. We should engage with these views.

  • Fisher is a very influential statistician. Statisticians and historians of science write:
    • "[Fisher is] a genius who almost single-handedly created the foundations for modern statistical science," (Anders 1998).
    • "[Fisher is] the single most important figure in 20th century statistics," (Efron 1998)

But, notice that historians are careful to locate their plaudits to his scientific contributions to statistics. This is because...

  • Fisher was also a dogmatic eugenicist. He was the founding chairman of the Cambridge Eugenics Society; maintained beliefs in the importance of eugenics even after WWII; and incredibly held preposterous and on-their-face racist views.

Fisher wrote in The Race Question, a document produced by UNESCO in 1950 that has been criticized and revised several times since its initial release:

It appears to me unmistakable that gene differences which influence the growth or physiological development of an organism will ordinarily pari passu influence the congenital inclinations and capacities of the mind. In fact, I should say that, [...] available scientific knowledge provides a firm basis for believing that the groups of mankind differ in their innate capacity for intellectual and emotional development,' seeing that such groups do differ undoubtedly in a very large number of their genes." (UNESCO 1952).

Article Implications

  • What connection does Fisher argue might exist through his examination of monozygotic and dizygotic a twins?
  • What connection does Fisher argue might exist (though he provides no evidence in support of the claim)?
  • What is the causal graph that Fisher argues might exist?

References

Hald, Anders (1998). A History of Mathematical Statistics. New York: Wiley. ISBN 978-0-471-17912-2.

Efron, Bradley (1998), "R. A. Fisher in the 21st century", Statistical Science, 13 (2): 95–122, doi:10.1214/ss/1028905930.

"The Race Concept: Results of an Inquiry" (PDF). UNESCO. 1952.