Pearson eventually replaced Gayre as editor of The Mankind Quarterly. Pearson, more than most, saw the potential in manipulating genetics for political goals when, in 1959, he wrote Eugenics and Race. In 1982 Pearson even received a letter from Ronald Reagan thanking him for his contribution to the Conservative cause. The history and continuation of race-science shows the complexity with which scientific and political ideas can become interwoven. However in the midst of this complexity a number of patterns are distinctly visible.
Scientists often like to think of themselves as dispassionate seekers of knowledge.
Isolated in their laboratories they pursue their goals far removed from the clamour of common prejudices and bigotry. However for scientists hoping to build a science of race, this claim of detachment is frequently either illusory or hypocritical. The growth of scientific ideas within society is not normally haphazard. The ideas of scientists usually do not arise in some vacuum, but can be connected with underlying political or economic trends.