Personally, I think the comic is using the whole "intelligent people should have more kids" debate... thing more to make a point about people who panic about things, than to really say something about the debate itself, or any part of it
( ... )
I do agree that freaking out about societal ills is usually useless at best and counterproductive at worst. And I do take issue with people having more kids than they can support.
That said, the Duggar family and other "Quiverfull" folks drive me up the f***ing wall.
Intelligence isn't all that heritable. You get a lot more effect out of making sure everyone grows up with good nutrition and a decent education, so that each person can reach something close to their maximum potential intelligence, than out of trying to increase the maximum potential intelligence of a population that's not reaching the potential it has now. (Making sure that artificial barriers, such as lack of access to required training, aren't keeping bright people out of professions that could use them also helps.)
I'm sure your kids will be smart, but that's because you value intelligence and will nurture it, regardless of their genetic heritage. Well, that and people are trending smarter anyway.
Oh, hey, this is an interesting article about family size vs. educational attainment. Older, but an intriguing hypothesis.
True! Genetics helps, but nurture helps more. I'd like to have a couple of bio kids, but after that I'd be just as happy adopting if we wanted more kids and had the means to support them. Though I referred to "breeding" in my post, I really meant raising/nurturing, whether that involved breeding or adopting or just being involved in a child's life.
My biggest complaint about "stupid people breeding" is that they often don't have the means to care for their children to the fullest extent, whether that means trouble putting food on the table or trouble getting their kids off to a good college.
Good articles, btw, especially the last. I firmly believe that the reason I adapted so well to TAMS (and regular college life afterward) and was frequently thought to be older than I was, was because I spent a lot more time with adults growing up than I did with my age peers.
Part of your commentary made me realize why I have a very small circle of people I call friends. I just can't connect on the shallow level of 'average'. Or at least, not for extended periods.
Sure, I can natter on about the weather, or girly things. But I can only stand it for so long. When talk starts to diverge in music, television, movies, books, food, etc, differences start to become clear. My tastes are very ecclectic and I value being able to derive pleasure from a wide variety of things, rather than a narrow set few.
Mostly what I think the comic points out, are the loud mouthed intellects who lack social graces and filters between their mouth and their brain.
I think your analysis of the comic is spot-on. I will readily admit that I'm an intellectual narcissist, but I'm generally polite and can at least pantomime social graces... lol.
What really got me about this comic was seeing a comparison between some of my own thoughts and feelings and those of the religious zealots that drive me crazy.
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That said, the Duggar family and other "Quiverfull" folks drive me up the f***ing wall.
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I'm sure your kids will be smart, but that's because you value intelligence and will nurture it, regardless of their genetic heritage. Well, that and people are trending smarter anyway.
Oh, hey, this is an interesting article about family size vs. educational attainment. Older, but an intriguing hypothesis.
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My biggest complaint about "stupid people breeding" is that they often don't have the means to care for their children to the fullest extent, whether that means trouble putting food on the table or trouble getting their kids off to a good college.
Good articles, btw, especially the last. I firmly believe that the reason I adapted so well to TAMS (and regular college life afterward) and was frequently thought to be older than I was, was because I spent a lot more time with adults growing up than I did with my age peers.
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Sure, I can natter on about the weather, or girly things. But I can only stand it for so long. When talk starts to diverge in music, television, movies, books, food, etc, differences start to become clear. My tastes are very ecclectic and I value being able to derive pleasure from a wide variety of things, rather than a narrow set few.
Mostly what I think the comic points out, are the loud mouthed intellects who lack social graces and filters between their mouth and their brain.
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What really got me about this comic was seeing a comparison between some of my own thoughts and feelings and those of the religious zealots that drive me crazy.
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But I can't see you going on about such things to complete strangers in an evangelical preachy manner either. ;)
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They die twice as much/kill their kids more often due to pure stupidity. Just read the news. :P
They have to replace their numbers!
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