# Eugenics Is Not Only Possible It Is Trivial by Gregory Cochran
> “With tougher selection, say by kidnapping a year’s worth of National Merit Finalists, you could create a new ethny with far higher average intelligence than any existing. Eugenics is not only possible, it’s trivial.”
> **— Gregory Cochran**, *2017, Edge Annual Question: “WHAT SCIENTIFIC TERM OR CONCEPT OUGHT TO BE MORE WIDELY KNOWN?”*
## Sources and Context
- **Direct Edge response and surrounding essay:** [The Breeder's Equation](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/27199) — the official response page preserves this exact, continuous passage and its surrounding argument.
- **Complete local collection index:** [[research/Edge 2017 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 2017 Full Quotation Curation]] — retained source-first record for the response object and all canonical reminder links derived from it.
## Related Articles and Collections
- **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]]
- **Collection:** [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]]
- **Collection:** [[collections/Neurotech|Neurotech]]
- **Article:** [[articles/Digital Darwinism and the Invisible World of Machine Evolution|Digital Darwinism]]
- **Article:** [[articles/The Organic-Synthetic Brain Atlas|Organic-Synthetic Brain Atlas]]
- **Article:** [[articles/2026 Annual Report on Brain-Computer Interfaces|2026 BCI Report]]
- **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Artificial Selection|Artificial Selection]]
## Related Topics
- [[wiki/Artificial Selection|Artificial Selection]]
- [[wiki/Natural Selection|Natural Selection]]
- [[wiki/Genetic Code|Genetic Code]]
- [[wiki/Human Evolution|Human Evolution]]
## Share on Social Media
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“With tougher selection, say by kidnapping a year’s worth of National Merit Finalists, you could create a new ethny with far higher average intelligence than any existing. Eugenics is not only possible, it’s trivial.”
— Gregory Cochran, 2017, Edge Annual Question: “WHAT SCIENTIFIC TERM OR CONCEPT OUGHT TO BE MORE WIDELY KNOWN?”
https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-gregory-cochran-eugenics-possible-trivial
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