The geneticists, if you read their papers, have long been using code words. They sort of dropped the term "race" about 1980 or earlier, and instead you see code words like "population" or "population structure." Now that they're able to define race in genetic terms they tend to use other words, like "continental groups" or "continent of origin," which does, indeed, correspond to the everyday conception of race. When I'm writing I prefer to use the word race because that's the word that everyone understands. It's a word with baggage, but it's not necessarily a malign word.


"An interview with Nicholas Wade", American Scientist (April 2006).

Nicholas Wade Quotes

The geneticists, if you read their papers, have long been using code words. They sort of dropped the term race about 1980 or earlier, and instead you ...

The geneticists, if you read their papers, have long been using code words. They sort of dropped the term race about 1980 or earlier, and instead you ...

The geneticists, if you read their papers, have long been using code words. They sort of dropped the term race about 1980 or earlier, and instead you ...

The geneticists, if you read their papers, have long been using code words. They sort of dropped the term race about 1980 or earlier, and instead you ...