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Noteworthy families (modern science) : $b An index to kinships in near degrees between persons whose achievements are honourable, and have been publicly recorded — John Shaqi

Noteworthy families (modern science) : $b An index to kinships in near degrees between persons whose achievements are honourable, and have been publicly recordedGalton, Francis

Science

Noteworthy families (modern science) : $b An index to kinships in near degrees between persons whose achievements are honourable, and have been publicly recorded

Name: Noteworthy families (modern science) : $b An index to kinships in near degrees between persons whose achievements are honourable, and have been publicly recorded
Author: Galton, Francis

Galton, Francis

Eugenics

TABLE VII.--NUMBER OF NOTEWORTHY KINSMEN RECORDED
                            IN 207 RETURNS.
      __________________________________________________________
     |                 |          ||                |           |
     |    Kinship.     | Numbers  ||   Kinship.     | Numbers   |
     |                 | Recorded.||                | Recorded. |
     |_________________|__________||________________| __________|
     |                 |          ||                |           |
     | _fa_            |    81    ||      ---       |    ---    |
     | _bro_           |   104    ||      ---       |    ---    |
     |                 |          ||                |           |
     | _fa fa_         |    40    ||  _fa fa fa_    |     11    |
     | _me fa_         |    42    ||  _fa me fa_    |      2    |
     | _fa bro_        |    45    ||  _me fa fa_    |      5    |
     | _me bro_        |    52    ||  _me me fa_    |      1    |
     |                 |          ||                |           |
     | _fa bro son_    |    30    ||  _fa fa bro_   |     12    |
     | _me bro son_    |    19    ||  _fa me bro_   |      2    |
     | _fa si son_     |    28    ||  _me fa bro_   |      6    |
     | _me si son_     |    22    ||  _me me bro_   |      2    |
     |_________________|__________||________________|___________|

Thus, for the fathers of F.R.S., 81 are recorded as noteworthy,
against 3.37 of fathers of the generality--that is, they are 24.1
times as numerous. For the first cousins of F.R.S. there are 99
noteworthies, divided amongst four kinds of male first-cousins, or
24.75 on an average to each kind, against the 3.37 of the
generality--that is, they are 7.3 times as numerous.

On this principle the expectation of noteworthiness in a kinsman of
an F.R.S. (or of other noteworthy person) is greater in the following
proportion than in one who has no such kinsman: If he be a father, 24
times as great; if a brother, 31 times; if a grandfather, 12 times;
if an uncle, 14 times; if a male first cousin, 7 times; if a
great-great-grandfather on the paternal line, 31/2 times.

The reader may work out results for himself on other hypotheses as to
the percentage of noteworthiness among the generality. A considerably
larger proportion would be noteworthy in the higher classes of
society, but a far smaller one in the lower; it is to the bulk, say,
to three-quarters of them, that the 1 per cent. estimate applies, the
extreme variations from it tending to balance one another.

The figures on which the above calculations depend may each or all of
them be changed to any reasonable amount, without shaking the truth
of the great fact upon which Eugenics is based, that able fathers
produce able children in a much larger proportion than the
generality.

                 *       *       *       *       *

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Noteworthy families (modern science) : $b An index to kinships in near degrees between persons whose achievements are honourable, and have been publicly recorded

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