All Humans Have Identical Dexterity
False Assumption: Human populations possess uniform physical traits like finger size and manual dexterity, with no innate group differences affecting precision assembly.
Written by FARAgent on February 10, 2026
Human uniformity took hold as the bedrock of polite discourse. Elites assumed all groups shared identical abilities in body and mind. This view shaped economic arguments, insisting culture alone drove disparities.
The New York Times reported Apple resists US iPhone production. China offers small hands from young women, nimble for miniature parts. Apple found no such skills in America.
Steve Sailer noted his 1998 counter to David Landes. Landes credited chopsticks for East Asian dexterity. Sailer proposed small nimble fingers came first. Critics question uniformity, but mainstream discourse denies biological group differences.
People Involved
- David Landes, a Harvard economic historian, promoted the notion that East Asians gained manual dexterity for micro-assembly through chopstick use. He offered this as a cultural explanation and steered clear of biological ones. [1]
- Steve Sailer, writing in National Review, challenged that view in 1998. He argued East Asians possessed small, nimble fingers due to biology and dismissed cultural accounts as insufficient. [1]
- Tripp Mickle, a New York Times reporter, later spotlighted how Chinese women's small fingers enabled iPhone production. He did so while holding to the broader assumption of human uniformity. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (3)
“Landes attributes the supremacy of the Japanese and other East Asians in micro-assembly in part to the "exceptional manual dexterity that comes with eating with chopsticks."”— The New York Times discovers Human Biodiversity
“I countered that maybe East Asians use chopsticks because they have “small, nimble fingers.””— The New York Times discovers Human Biodiversity
“Young Chinese women have small fingers, and that has made them a valuable contributor to iPhone production because they are more nimble at installing screws and other miniature parts in the small device”— The New York Times discovers Human Biodiversity
Organizations Involved
The New York Times upheld the idea of human uniformity in its polite discourse for years. Yet it eventually published an analysis that conceded group differences in finger size made U.S. iPhone production impractical. [1] Apple, for its part, concluded American workers lacked the nimble skills seen in young Chinese women. This assessment drove the company to offshore manufacturing and reinforced assumptions of uniform abilities across populations. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (2)
“Human uniformity is the bedrock assumption of polite discourse today.”— The New York Times discovers Human Biodiversity
“In a recent analysis the company did to explore the feasibility of moving production to the United States, the company determined that it couldn’t find people with those skills in the United States”— The New York Times discovers Human Biodiversity
The Foundation
The assumption rested on claims that chopsticks built manual dexterity among East Asians for tasks like micro-assembly. This cultural angle appeared credible at first, tied to everyday practices, but it overlooked potential innate traits like smaller, nimbler fingers. [1] Another pillar held that geography influenced culture without touching genes. Proponents cited this as an anti-racist stance, yet critics argue environmental pressures can select for biological adaptations, including dexterity differences. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (2)
“Landes attributes the supremacy of the Japanese and other East Asians in micro-assembly in part to the "exceptional manual dexterity that comes with eating with chopsticks."”— The New York Times discovers Human Biodiversity
“He claims that stressing the impact of geographical differences is the anti-racist alternative to admitting the importance of human biodiversity, but that's a shallow dichotomy.”— The New York Times discovers Human Biodiversity
How It Spread
Polite discourse and academia treated human uniformity as unquestioned dogma. They dismissed biological distinctions between groups as racist and unworthy of discussion. [1] Mainstream academia pushed cultural relativism, which critics say attacks genuine knowledge by denying real differences among populations. [1] This enforcement spread the assumption through social pressure and sidelined dissenting voices.
▶ Supporting Quotes (2)
“Human uniformity is the bedrock assumption of polite discourse today.”— The New York Times discovers Human Biodiversity
“Landes denounces mainstream academia's dogma of absolute cultural relativism as "an attack on knowledge," because "distinctions are the stuff of understanding."”— The New York Times discovers Human Biodiversity
Resulting Policies
Efforts to produce iPhones in America faltered under the assumption. Experts deemed it a fantasy, citing the absence of non-Asian workers with the required nimble hands. [1] This blocked any serious revival of U.S. manufacturing in precision assembly and shaped corporate decisions to look elsewhere.
▶ Supporting Quotes (1)
“Is Trump’s ‘Made in America’ iPhone a Fantasy?”— The New York Times discovers Human Biodiversity
Harm Caused
The United States lost out on iPhone production and the jobs that came with it. Apple shifted operations to India and China, driven by the belief in uniform skills across human groups. [1] Growing questions surround whether this offshoring stemmed from overlooked biological realities, leaving American workers sidelined in high-precision industries.
▶ Supporting Quotes (1)
“Apple has resisted pressure to make its most important product in the United States since 2016, and instead has moved some production to India.”— The New York Times discovers Human Biodiversity
Downfall
A New York Times article began to chip away at the uniformity assumption. It admitted that the small, nimble fingers of Chinese women proved essential for iPhone assembly and could not be matched in the U.S. workforce. [1] Critics argue this exposure highlights flaws in the orthodoxy, though the debate continues amid official consensus.
▶ Supporting Quotes (1)
“What does China offer that the United States doesn’t? Small hands, a massive, seasonal work force and millions of engineers.”— The New York Times discovers Human Biodiversity
Sources
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[1]
The New York Times discovers Human Biodiversityreputable_journalism