Is there a Japanese phrase equivalent to "Chopstick gene"?


Is there a Japanese phrase equivalent to "Chopstick gene" (or "Chopsticks
gene")? Here's a
[link](http://www.nature.com/mp/journal/v5/n1/full/4000662a.html) to a
description in the scientific journal Molecular Psychiatry, and here's one to
[everything2.com](http://everything2.com/title/chopstick+gene), but the idea
is this:

A naive scientist, acting in good faith, tries to determine if there's a
genetic component to the ability to use chopsticks. Lo and behold, the
scientist finds genetic differences between those who are good at it, and
those who are bad at it. However, the findings are useless: the genetic
differences have no bearing on chopstick using ability, it's just that some
genetic variations are common in Asian people, and some are common in non-
Asians, and the scientist didn't think of checking that.

Just to clarify, the "chopstick gene" isn't meant to be about scientists
trying to argue that there are innate differences between different races
based on genetic differences, such as people claiming that a so-called
"warrior gene" (a different version of the MAO-A gene) is more common in Maori
people than non-Maoris.

I tried doing a search based on 箸遺伝子 (the Japanese for chopstick, plus the
Japanese for gene), but I didn't notice anything relevant.

The phrase "Chopstick gene" isn't very common in English, so there may not be
a Japanese equivalent.




I could find two people who refer to this fallacy as “箸の誤り”:

  * [集団の構造化による箸の誤り - NATROMの日記](http://d.hatena.ne.jp/NATROM/20041210)
  * [天才遺伝子は存在するか](http://www.pluto.dti.ne.jp/~ohto/nw/nw98/nw980526.html)

But as commenters have noted, it is probably not an established phrase, even
within the domain.

The words
[相関関係と因果関係](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%9B%B8%E9%96%A2%E9%96%A2%E4%BF%82%E3%81%A8%E5%9B%A0%E6%9E%9C%E9%96%A2%E4%BF%82)
(correlation and causation) are more widely understood.

Something like “虚偽の原因の誤謬{ごびゅう}” or “因果関係の誤謬” will work too, especially in the
context of logic/skepticism. (An average person off the street may not know
what a 誤謬 is.)




I could find two people who refer to this fallacy as “箸の誤り”:

  * [集団の構造化による箸の誤り - NATROMの日記](http://d.hatena.ne.jp/NATROM/20041210)
  * [天才遺伝子は存在するか](http://www.pluto.dti.ne.jp/~ohto/nw/nw98/nw980526.html)

But as commenters have noted, it is probably not an established phrase, even
within the domain.

The words
[相関関係と因果関係](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%9B%B8%E9%96%A2%E9%96%A2%E4%BF%82%E3%81%A8%E5%9B%A0%E6%9E%9C%E9%96%A2%E4%BF%82)
(correlation and causation) are more widely understood.

Something like “虚偽の原因の誤謬{ごびゅう}” or “因果関係の誤謬” will work too, especially in the
context of logic/skepticism. (An average person off the street may not know
what a 誤謬 is.)

