Human Heredity 11th Edition by Michael Cummings

Exercise 22

In July 1996, The Independent , a popular newspaper published in London, England, reported a study conducted by Dr. Aikarakudy Alias, a psychiatrist who had been working on the relationship between body hair and intelligence for 22 years. Dr. Alias told the 8th Congress of the Association of European Psychiatrists that hairy chests are more likely to be found among the most intelligent and highly educated than in the general population. According to this new research, excessive body hair could also mean higher intelligence. Is correlating body hair with intelligence a valid method for studying the genetics of intelligence? Why or why not? What factors are known to contribute to intelligence? Is it logical to assume that individuals with little or no body hair are consistently less intelligent than their hairy counterparts? What type of study could be done to prove or disprove this idea?