Ralph Ellison once said, “There must be possible a fiction which, leaving sociology and case histories to the scientists, can arrive at the truth about the human condition, here and now, with all the bright magic of the fairy tale (Ellison).” With the help of great sociological researchers like Dorothy Robert and Michael Root, this paper will expose some of the sociological fairy tales that exist here in today’s society that have been perpetuated for decades. Many times, there are issues that people of a particular demographic suffer because of characteristics of themselves that they either did not chose or those from which these sociological victims cannot escape, but it is the undying hunger to dissect these problems that is the only remedy
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Michael Root also hold the same position as Tishkoff and makes very similar points. In Tishkoff’s work, she explains the meaning of genetic variation and gives scientific background about genetic variation that aids in the understanding of the many arguments that occur in the race and medicine connection (Tishkoff 1). The main point that was extracted from her prose was the section about the actual amounts of genetic variation as well as the global pattern of genetic sequencing because even though many say that there is genetic variation, without having actual statistics about this idea is pointless because it is only relative and therefore not specific enough to be analyzed properly. Furthermore, understanding the global patterns allows researchers to better understand the genetic variation that occurs between people of different areas. Tishkoff states in her prose that Homo sapiens are approximately 98% genetically similar to chimpanzees (Tishkoff 1). This begs the question that Root explains in “The Problem of Race in Medicine.” He proposes that since humans are so similar to a creature that, at face value, seems completely different from it as far as body structure and mannerism, and there are humans that differ only when it comes to characteristics like eye color, skin color, and hair texture, are humans really that different from each other (Root 52)? Tishkoff then goes into detail about the global genetics variances. She states, “Most studies of genetic variation in autosomes, the X chromosome and mtDNA, using many types of markers, show higher levels of genetic variation in African populations than in non-African population (Tishkoff).”
Michael Root also hold the same position as Tishkoff and makes very similar points. In Tishkoff’s work, she explains the meaning of genetic variation and gives scientific background about genetic variation that aids in the understanding of the many arguments that occur in the race and medicine connection (Tishkoff 1). The main point that was extracted from her prose was the section about the actual amounts of genetic variation as well as the global pattern of genetic sequencing because even though many say that there is genetic variation, without having actual statistics about this idea is pointless because it is only relative and therefore not specific enough to be analyzed properly. Furthermore, understanding the global patterns allows researchers to better understand the genetic variation that occurs between people of different areas. Tishkoff states in her prose that Homo sapiens are approximately 98% genetically similar to chimpanzees (Tishkoff 1). This begs the question that Root explains in “The Problem of Race in Medicine.” He proposes that since humans are so similar to a creature that, at face value, seems completely different from it as far as body structure and mannerism, and there are humans that differ only when it comes to characteristics like eye color, skin color, and hair texture, are humans really that different from each other (Root 52)? Tishkoff then goes into detail about the global genetics variances. She states, “Most studies of genetic variation in autosomes, the X chromosome and mtDNA, using many types of markers, show higher levels of genetic variation in African populations than in non-African population (Tishkoff).”