2003.05.13
2003.05.12
i’ve created two desktop pictures for ann. bill stephens in our photography department did the scanning and i did some simple manipulations with photoshop. click on the pictures to get the higher resolution pics. these are PC (ann has a PC unfortunately) oriented; i can send you macintosh oriented if you are interested. just email me.
meanwhile i’ve come across this great book outline, by ole eichhorn, called unnatural selection. i’ve written about this before, though it is archived in the diary section so i won’t link to it here. “Once upon a time the fittest, smartest people were the ones having kids. Their kids were fit and smart, and each generation was smarter than the last. But that stopped happening a long time ago, and these days, less fit, less intelligent people are the ones having kids. So their kids are not as fit and not as smart, and each generation is less and less intelligent. This is Unnatural Selection.” this ties into a related article he links to on salon, called to breed or not to breed (unfortunately requiring a subscription for the full article). the article is basically about how many couples are happier not having children.
my fear is that, if only the stupid people breed, that we will become a world of stupid people. intelligence is to a degree genetic, both nature and nurture, and truly mis(brain)wired people can only be so smart. it is sad, but probably too true. if the smart people, who are apparently disinclined to have children who will carry on their streamlined mental abilities, stop then how will the world continue to develop?
even ideas will slow to a crawl as less and less people will be able to comprehend the difference between schroedinger’s cat and the tabby that lives down the street.
how much of this is a part of the advancing age of a civilization? in our culture, while intelligence is still prized it is in decline. now the ability to make money is key, and making money to support a family is does not require intelligence. in other countries, however, it takes intelligence and strength to be able to survive even, and these are the people who are winning mates and breeding (to be crude about it). will their civilizations eclipse ours? india and china are well on their way.
i will have to ponder these things and write more as i think of it.
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