"Inheritance"
of musical talent in the pedigree of the Johann Sebastian Bach
(from EC
Colin.1942. Elements of
Genetics, 2nd ed.).
The pedigree
has been used as evidence to show that musical talent 'ran'
in the Bach family, and is therefore a consequence of genetic
heredity. The pedigree confuses heredity with familiality,
the tendency of traits to run in families because of similar home
lives. JS Bach's
children all received musical training from their father,
and WF, CPE, GH, JCF, JC,
and JCA Bach in particular became well-respected
musicians in their own right.
The pedigree shows several other forms of ascertainment bias,
the misreporting of a phenomenon because of errors in the way it
is measured. The pedigree is selective, emphasizing those with the
trait of interest, so as to suggest a 'dominant' inheritance pattern. All but two "highly talented"
members are male (circle & arrow), disregarding the
limited opportunities for women to show talent. No 'untalented'
members are included (except for JS Bach's mother). [The
pedigree also excludes the lesser-known PDQ Bach]
Colin 1942 was my
father's Biology textbook; Text material © 2024 by Steven M. Carr
