While populations vary genetically, this genetic variation does not follow patterns of racial categories articulated by Blumenbach, Morton, and others. If that statement surprises you, it is because these concepts are so deeply engrained within our culture. Humans’ DNA is 99.9% identical. It is that tiny difference—just 0.1%—along with what we loosely call the “environment”xiv that accounts for the variation in our remarkable outward appearance, or phenotype.
