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> racism Sorry, but I didn't actually say anything about drawing final conclusions about individuals' predeterminations based on their ancestry. What I will g

> racism Sorry, but I didn't actually say anything about drawing final conclusions about individuals' predeterminations based on their ancestry. What I will gladly say, however, is that individuals who don't contribute to the good of society (and this is easily measurable economically), are not worth being kept alive at others' expense. (... except insofar as individuals voluntarily commit acts of charity.)

buboard 8y ago
genetic predetermination == ancestry It's a very weird idea that the universe belongs to a class of people.
- mmirate 8y ago
  > genetic predetermination == ancestry You're the best kind of correct: technically correct. Different ethnicity+gender combinations do in fact produce differing relative-frequencies of IQs (and EQs, and VO2Max'es, etc.). However. These are only averages. Statistics. Scalar summaries of large groups. Human genetic diversity being what it is, you cannot confidently tell what someone's intelligence or strength is, based on solely their ethnicity. Attempting to do so, is what racism is. Furthermore, I am reasonably confident that there is no ethnicity in the entire human species which is incapable of producing, under the correct environment, an Einstein, a Gandhi and a Ryan Kipchoge. However, if you were to examine an individual's specific genetics, and if we knew enough about the details of how every specific gene interacts to produce the phenomemon of the human body ... then you could indeed determine the maximum, predestined mental and physical potential of that individual. Not their children, not their parents, not their brothers, not their close cousins. Meiosis and mutation are (one of the few aspects of biology that I actually think to be) beautiful.
dang 8y ago
If you keep posting trollish comments to HN we're going to ban you, so please stop.
- mmirate 8y ago
  I truly believe every word that I post here. How can that be trolling? (Or are you using "trollish" as a shorthand for "things that disagree with the virtues that SV claims to espouse"?)
  - dang 8y ago
    I use "trollish" to mean having trollish effects. Intent isn't a helpful category for moderation since it's impossible to observe. But alas we can and do observe the flamewars that comments like that one lead to.

buboard 8y ago

genetic predetermination == ancestry It's a very weird idea that the universe belongs to a class of people.

mmirate 8y ago
> genetic predetermination == ancestry You're the best kind of correct: technically correct. Different ethnicity+gender combinations do in fact produce differing relative-frequencies of IQs (and EQs, and VO2Max'es, etc.). However. These are only averages. Statistics. Scalar summaries of large groups. Human genetic diversity being what it is, you cannot confidently tell what someone's intelligence or strength is, based on solely their ethnicity. Attempting to do so, is what racism is. Furthermore, I am reasonably confident that there is no ethnicity in the entire human species which is incapable of producing, under the correct environment, an Einstein, a Gandhi and a Ryan Kipchoge. However, if you were to examine an individual's specific genetics, and if we knew enough about the details of how every specific gene interacts to produce the phenomemon of the human body ... then you could indeed determine the maximum, predestined mental and physical potential of that individual. Not their children, not their parents, not their brothers, not their close cousins. Meiosis and mutation are (one of the few aspects of biology that I actually think to be) beautiful.

dang 8y ago

If you keep posting trollish comments to HN we're going to ban you, so please stop.

mmirate 8y ago
I truly believe every word that I post here. How can that be trolling? (Or are you using "trollish" as a shorthand for "things that disagree with the virtues that SV claims to espouse"?)
- dang 8y ago
  I use "trollish" to mean having trollish effects. Intent isn't a helpful category for moderation since it's impossible to observe. But alas we can and do observe the flamewars that comments like that one lead to.