Glossary

This page is a list of common HBD definitions and acronyms

B

BWIG

Black White IQ Gap, the difference in the median IQs of white and black populations

C

CWT

Cold Winters Theory, the hypothesis that IQ is selected by the low winter temperatures, based on their negative correlation.

G

GSS

The General Social Survey, a national social survey on the demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal trends of adults in the United States

GWAS

Genome-wide Association Study, the study of a sample population's genomes to identify the genetic variants associated with a trait or disease.

M

MENA

Middle East and North Africa

ML

Mutational Load, the build up of deleterious mutations in a population not removed by natural selection.

O

OOA

Out of Africa Theory, posits a single, recent origin of modern Homo sapiens out of Africa, following Homo erectus and Homo Neanderthalensis.

P

p-value

The probability of obtaining a result, given a true null hypothesis/zero correlation.

R

r

In stats, the correlation coefficient ranging from -1 to 1, where 0 means no linear correlation.

r^2

"R squared": In stats, the coefficient of determination, i.e. the proportion of variance in the dependent variable that can be explained by the independent variable. "How well the data fits the model"

Race

A categorization of humans based on phenotype or ancestry, often corroborated with genetic clustering.

S

Sex

In humans, the trait responsible for the divergence of the species into male or female gamete producers.

SNP

Single Nucleotide Polymorphism, the occurrence of a swapped nucleotide at a single point of the genome, in at least 1% of the population

SNV

Single Nucleotide Variant, the occurrence of a swapped nucleotide at a single point of the genome, in < 1% of the population