rop omet rics ▁and ▁personal ▁identity , ▁mental ▁typ ology , ▁person ality , ▁c ran ial ▁v ault ▁and ▁brain ▁size , ▁and ▁other ▁factors . ▁ ▁At ▁various ▁times ▁in ▁history , ▁applications ▁of ▁anth rop ometry ▁have ▁r anged ▁vast ly — from ▁accurate ▁scientific ▁description ▁and ▁ep ide mi ological ▁analysis ▁to ▁rational es ▁for ▁e ugen ics ▁and ▁over t ly ▁rac ist ▁social ▁movements — and ▁its ▁points ▁of ▁concern ▁have ▁been ▁numerous , ▁diverse , ▁and ▁sometimes ▁highly ▁unexpected . ▁ ▁Ind ividual ▁variation ▁ ▁A ux olog ic ▁ ▁A ux olog ic ▁is ▁a ▁broad ▁term ▁covering ▁the ▁study ▁of ▁all ▁aspects ▁of ▁human ▁physical ▁growth . ▁ ▁Height ▁ ▁Human ▁height ▁var ies ▁greatly ▁between ▁individuals ▁and ▁across ▁populations ▁for ▁a ▁variety ▁of ▁complex ▁bi ological , ▁gen etic , ▁and ▁environmental ▁factors , ▁among ▁others . ▁Due ▁to ▁method ological ▁and ▁practical ▁problems , ▁its ▁measurement ▁is ▁also ▁subject ▁to ▁considerable ▁error ▁in ▁statistical ▁sampling . ▁ ▁The ▁average ▁height ▁in ▁gen et ically ▁and ▁environment ally ▁hom ogeneous ▁populations ▁is ▁often ▁proportional ▁across ▁a ▁large ▁number ▁of ▁individuals . ▁Exception al ▁height ▁variation ▁( around ▁ 2 0 % ▁deviation ▁from ▁a ▁population ' s ▁average ) ▁within ▁such ▁a ▁population ▁is ▁sometimes ▁due ▁to ▁gig ant ism ▁or ▁d war f ism , ▁which ▁are ▁caused ▁by ▁specific ▁gen es ▁or ▁end ocr ine ▁ab normal ities . ▁It ▁is ▁important ▁to ▁note ▁that ▁a ▁great ▁degree ▁of ▁variation ▁occurs