How about “malleability”? Obesity is malleable either way (overeating, liposuction). IQ is highly malleable downwards (hammer to head), not so much upwards (a year of schooling gives +2 points). Eye color, 0% malleable. Maybe take a derivative in effort/time/money to change a trait in the desired direction.
This will be both more useful socially and vastly easier to estimate than “heritability”, if we accept Shalizi’s proof that “heritability” is almost impossible to measure. By the way, the original post relies upon that proof.
How about “malleability”? Obesity is malleable either way (overeating, liposuction). IQ is highly malleable downwards (hammer to head), not so much upwards (a year of schooling gives +2 points). Eye color, 0% malleable. Maybe take a derivative in effort/time/money to change a trait in the desired direction.
This will be both more useful socially and vastly easier to estimate than “heritability”, if we accept Shalizi’s proof that “heritability” is almost impossible to measure. By the way, the original post relies upon that proof.