[hmkpoker]

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so the statement blacks tend to live in a culture that makes them better runners true?

If so it's still sterotypical and racist to many people. Now I understand that many people misuse these facts but that doesn't mean the statement here is wrong.

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It's an issue we tackled back in my cultural psychology classes. Usually the tendency for a certain group to perform better in a certain area is due to a greater prevalence of practice of that activity by members of that community. Blacks and athletics was a major issue that we covered. (I apologize for not providing a source, I simply have neither the time or interest)

There are occasions where slight genetic differences {and the word "slight" must be emphasized; we are all of the same species) can result in physical results that may alter performance...for example, blacks typically have a slightly higher bone density than whites, which may make them slightly less apt to be champion swimmers...however, the cultural influences are much more conducive to the prevalence of white competitive swimmers.

We're talking about averages and small percentages here; I don't think it's rascist, and if it is, I don't care. There's no genetic obstacle preventing a black person from winning the Nobel prize in physics, or preventing a white person from winning a slam dunk contest.

However, claiming that blacks developed their athletic prowess from the jungle is unfounded. There's no reason to think that basketball shooting is useful to survival in the African wilderness; it's more likely that the kinds of evolved adaptive traits would include different kinds of metabolic enzymes that are specific to the available foods there.