Robert evans links silicon valley elitism to francis galton
- Francis Galton created eugenics by overriding his own scientific data with class prejudice.
- Modern tech figures revive Galtonian logic to prioritize hypothetical future humans over living people.
- Galton's flawed genetics helped justify forced sterilizations that shaped 20th-century state policies worldwide.
Francis Galton built eugenics on bad science and rich Victorian anxieties.
In September 2026, host Robert Evans detailed on Behind the Bastards how Galton coined nature versus nurture in 1874 to claim human genius was purely inherited. When his survey of nearly 100 Royal Society fellows showed firstborn sons were twice as likely to become scientists, Galton ignored wealth and primogeniture. Natural selection co-discoverer Alfred Russel Wallace dismissed Galton's work as arrogant scientific priestcraft, arguing environmental fixes would elevate humanity naturally. Galton ignored him, framing social compassion as a threat to the gene pool.
That Victorian elitism has taken root in modern Silicon Valley. Evans highlighted how Effective Altruism forums use Galtonian logic to prioritize hypothetical future generations over present suffering. Long-termist philosopher Nick Bostrom promoted these views until Oxford University shut down his Future of Humanity Institute in April 2024 following controversy over past racist statements. Critics noted the Center for Effective Altruism even experimented with scoring systems that docked points for lower IQs while elevating tech workers.
Galton built his racial panic on total genetic ignorance. Writing before Gregor Mendel's research gained traction, Galton assumed traits blended like liquid and warned that cross-population breeding caused degeneration. Modern genetics proves the opposite: intermixing reduces harmful recessive conditions like cystic fibrosis and Tay-Sachs disease. Galton mistook his class prejudices for natural laws, missing how biological diversity actually strengthens human health.
Two days later, Evans tracked how Galton twisted data to preserve his ideology. In 1888, Galton cataloged 8,000 fingerprint samples, proving their uniqueness and creating the loop and whorl classification system still used today. But when thousands of samples revealed zero structural differences between races, Galton discarded his evidence. In his 1892 book Fingerprints, he asserted non-white prints felt simpler based on personal impression alone.
Those flawed theories quickly became state coercion. British intellectuals including Winston Churchill and H.G. Wells pushed for forced institutionalization, while American researcher Charles Davenport established the Eugenics Record Office in 1910. After Indiana enacted the first compulsory sterilization law in 1907, fifteen states followed. The Supreme Court validated the practice in the 1927 Buck v. Bell ruling, leading to over 60,000 forced sterilizations across America.
Galton even consulted novelist Arthur Conan Doyle for technical validation, mistaking detective fiction for empirical research. Modern tech elites carry on that same tradition, wrapping Victorian class bias in algorithms and long-termist jargon. The math changes, but the self-serving priestcraft stays the same.
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Part Four: Francis Galton: Inventor of Eugenics • Sep 17
- Prominent British intellectuals embraced Galton's theories, pushing them toward coercive measures. Robert Evans notes that author H.G. Wells publicly advocated for the sterilization of societal failures rather than relying on selective breeding.
Also discussed on this episode: (9)
History (9)
- Francis Galton contributed heavily to modern statistics, population surveys, and twin studies. Robert Evans notes that Galton also created one of the first weather maps, which was published in the Times of London in April 1875.
- In 1888, Galton opened an Anthropometric Laboratory in London, testing over 10,000 people to predict criminal behavior. Robert Evans highlights that the laboratory's registration forms contained the first known privacy guarantee for biometric data.
- Galton proved the uniqueness of fingerprints by collecting 8,000 samples and establishing the classification of arches, loops, and whorls. Robert Evans explains that Galton unsuccessfully tried to use this data to identify non-white ancestry.
- Obsessed with Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, Galton modeled his forensic aspirations on the fictional detective. Robert Evans notes that Galton even wrote to Doyle in 1903 seeking experimental data for a fictional fingerprint forgery technique.
- Evolution co-discoverer Alfred Russel Wallace fiercely opposed Galton's eugenics theories. Wallace argued that society must prioritize environmental reforms like education and nutrition before attempting to measure or influence the effects of heredity.
- Following Galton's death, Winston Churchill and other British leaders championed eugenic policies. Robert Evans explains that Churchill backed the 1913 Mental Deficiency Act, which allowed for the forced institutionalization of tens of thousands of people.
- Charles Davenport established the American eugenics movement, founding the Eugenics Record Office in 1910 after consulting with Galton. Davenport's lobbying helped lead to Indiana passing the first compulsory sterilization law in 1907.
- In 1927, the US Supreme Court ruled that compulsory sterilization was constitutional in the landmark Buck v. Bell decision. Robert Evans points out that this ruling led to the forced sterilization of over 60,000 Americans.
- Alfred Ploetz brought eugenics to Germany, coining the term race hygiene after a disappointing stay at an Iowa socialist commune. Ploetz founded the Racial Hygiene Society in 1905, naming Galton its honorary vice president.
Part Three: Francis Galton: Inventor of Eugenics • Sep 15
- Biologist Alfred Russell Wallace, co-developer of natural selection, became an early critic of eugenics. Robert Evans notes that Wallace dismissed the movement as an arrogant scientific priestcraft, arguing that improving environmental conditions would naturally elevate humanity.
- Galton advocated for the extinction of colonized populations he deemed inferior, suggesting they be outbred by superior groups. Robert Evans argues eugenics provided a secular moral legitimacy for late nineteenth-century colonialism, replacing Christian justifications with heredity laws.
- Modern Effective Altruist spaces exhibit eugenics entryism. Robert Evans highlights a 2023 forum post arguing that because societies regulate incest to prevent birth defects, most people already endorse some form of eugenics.
- Effective Altruists face criticism for using mathematical metrics to rank human value. Robert Evans points to reports that the Center for Effective Altruism tested a system deducting points from individuals with IQs under 120.
- Long-termism founder Nick Bostrom faced public scandal after a 1996 email surfaced in which he claimed black people are less intelligent than white people. Oxford University shut down Bostrom's Future of Humanity Institute in April following the incident.
- Galton's eugenic panic was rooted in Victorian classism. Robert Evans explains that Galton feared London's urban poor would outbreed the upper classes, and blamed social welfare programs for breaking natural selection by keeping vulnerable people alive.
Also discussed on this episode: (6)
History (5)
- Francis Galton coined the phrase "nature vs. nurture" in his 1874 study of 190 scientific fellows. Though he found firstborn sons were twice as likely to become scientists due to social advantages, he dismissed nurture's overall significance.
- Galton compiled composite photographs of convicts and asylum patients to identify physical indicators of criminality. When the technique failed to identify actual criminals, Galton claimed he had instead discovered a facial structure predictive of future criminal behavior.
- Galton constructed a beauty map of the British Isles by secretly cataloging the physical attractiveness of passing women. Using a pocket needle-pricker to register data without detection, he ranked London's women the most attractive and Aberdeen's the least.
- In 1886, Galton surveyed Jewish communities in London, claiming they possessed biological traits of inferiority. Anthropologist Joseph Jacobs countered that any distinct characteristics in the Jewish population were the result of social oppression rather than heredity.
- Galton attempted to prove that tuberculosis was a hereditary defect identifiable by a narrow facial structure. Though his photographic composites showed no link, Galton refused to abandon his theory, asserting that future studies would eventually validate his claims.
Biology (1)
- Galton's breeding theories were fundamentally flawed because he lacked an understanding of dominant and recessive genes. Gregor Mendel's work with pea plants was ignored by mainstream scientists, including Galton, until 1900.