Pedigrees
At the forefront of the eugenic effort was the collection of pedigrees, in which traits, often arbitrarily and having near-nothing to do with genetics, were assigned in the Mendelian one-gene set style pedigree. In the above image, the musicality of a family is being mapped, fallaciously, much in the way a genetic disorder such as hemophilia would be mapped. Characteristic of pedigrees like this one were the highly subjective method by which the values, in this case ‘musically inclined,’ ‘untalented,’ and ‘highly talented musically,’ are assigned to an individual. There is not much in the way of criteria, other than a brief description of their abilities given after the chart. This is one methodological error that was rampant in eugenic work, whether it be musical talent, artistic ability, and promiscuity being gauged.
Another issue, more at the heart of eugenics than just the methods, is that of the ignoring the circumstances in which individuals exist. For an example, in the above image, the context in which the chart is being made is flawed, as it does not account for the fact that being around music as a child can often influence one to try a hand at it, especially with musical parents ("Eugenics Archive")
Another issue, more at the heart of eugenics than just the methods, is that of the ignoring the circumstances in which individuals exist. For an example, in the above image, the context in which the chart is being made is flawed, as it does not account for the fact that being around music as a child can often influence one to try a hand at it, especially with musical parents ("Eugenics Archive")