Removing a child from tribe at birth

[MagnumPI]

If one were to take a child born to a primitive tribe, at birth, would he incorporate into civilization? Would his IQ be demonstrably lower simply based on his background?

 

I've read a little about the Flynn effect and how IQ's rise 3 points per decade. I got into a "debate" with some coworkers, but the basic argument that just running around in your underwear, not pursuing agriculture or innovation does not denote lower IQ and that a baby taken at birth from a tribe would be indistinguishable from anyone else.

 

My argument was that if IQ were based even in part on genetics, this would be necessarily false, that they would be at least some amount lower. They did concede that they thought IQ was both a result of environmental and genetic conditions. Another argument was that if these tribes were indeed of a higher IQ, what is the explanation for their not using it? Empirically, they have shown no advancement from 100's or thousands of years ago. So, that if there were higher intelligence members they were cast out and left for, presumably, civilization. Which goes right back to the tribe remaining of a lower IQ.

 

Thoughts or critiques. Sources for more info all appreciated.

[J. D. Stembal]

I recently finished reading Grain Brain by David Perlmutter.

 

In the chapter called Brain Drain, he describes how WGA (wheat germ agglutinin, or gluten) lowers scholastic achievement in children and contributes to the so-called childhood behavioral disorders, and the prevalence of depression and autism.

 

Also, through the various hormonal mechanisms of insulin, eating wheat causes spikes in blood sugar which negatively affect the availability of neurotransmitters in the brain. Ultimately, chronic grain consumption causes the centers of your brain responsible for memory and cognitive ability to degenerate, hence, why older people are so prone to senility in modern society.

 

All other factors being equal, the society that eschews wheat exposure should have higher IQ scores. Granted, hunter-gathers don't have much need for text books or schools. Civilized man has progressed in spite of all the negative nutritional effects of wheat and grain consumption. There is also the fact that it was only very recently (since 1950) that agricultural scientists began mucking about with mutagenic chemicals to alter the natural properties of wheat, but to what effect?

 

As with any nature versus nurture discussion, genetics is meaningless without considering the environment surrounding the organism. Different environments trigger different genes to manifest in the body, causing various processes, such as weight gain, brain degeneration or even the growth of new neurons.

 

The real interesting - and controversial - discourse would be surrounding an experiment to find out whether the IQ disparity between blacks, whites and Asians is hardwired or caused by environment and parenting.