Show Notes
This release contains only the music track from Base by Base Episode 341.
Song title: The Genetic Lottery of Tomorrow
Original Base by Base episode: 341: The Genetic Lottery and the Value of an Extra Year of School
Article metadata:
Article title: Estimating returns to education using the genetic lottery
Journal: PNAS
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2537049123
Reference: Widding-Havneraas T, Demange PA, Zachrisson HD, Borgen N, Ystrom E, Elwert F. Estimating returns to education using the genetic lottery. PNAS. 2026;123(15):e2537049123. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2537049123. Published April 8, 2026.
Lyrics:
Verse 1
I watched the numbers line up on a late-night screen,
Families, twins, and siblings in between.
Everybody says, “It’s just who you know,”
But I saw a quieter force underneath the glow.
Pre-Chorus
Not a wish, not a vibe, not a lucky break,
Just one more year for the future to take.
When the noise falls away and the signal is true,
The door keeps opening—if you walk it through.
Chorus
So let it ride, let it climb, let it pay you back,
Put time in the books and you don’t lose track.
One more year, and the line moves straight,
A brighter lifetime sealed by a higher rate.
And if you ask me what the data says—
Education wins in a thousand ways.
Verse 2
Old-school estimates, they were close but shy,
Then the gene-markers pointed higher in the sky.
Through life-cycle seasons, the pattern stayed,
Returns kept showing up like a debt repaid.
I heard the skeptics talk in a careful tone,
But the robustness held when you tested bone to bone.
Bridge
Yeah, assumptions aren’t promises carved in stone,
And every method has an unknown.
Still the story stands when the models fight:
The market’s rate is lower than the learning’s light.
So build the ladder, step by step,
Invest in the years you haven’t met yet.
Final Chorus
So let it ride, let it climb, let it pay you back,
Put time in the books and you don’t lose track.
One more year, and the line moves straight,
A brighter lifetime sealed by a higher rate.
From the cradle to the working days—
Education wins in a thousand ways.
