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Completely off topic, but... it does take a village to raise a child. I understand that instinctively, and I suppose I've read enough factual articles about it

Completely off topic, but... it does take a village to raise a child. I understand that instinctively, and I suppose I've read enough factual articles about it to believe it, but I'm missing a real explanation. Something I could point people at in lieu of trying to explain why that is, myself, which covers everything from "A higher diversity of 'parents' is helpful" to "it's not good to segregate children by age, actually". I don't suppose you'd have something? Or perhaps more likely, fiction which demonstrates the same thing would be valuable. Fictional evidence may not be evidence, but it's good at convincing people all the same. My personal favorite in the genre is Non Non Biyori; if you want to take a look, it's an excellent and relaxing story for these times.

ggm 6y ago
Depends who you ask: It doesn't: * https://phys.org/news/2011-09-child-doesnt-village.html https://phys.org/news/2011-09-child-doesnt-village.html It does: * https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol34/34/34-34.pdf https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol34/34/34-34.... * https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9781137386724_5 https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9781137386724_5 * https://theconversation.com/it-takes-a-village-to-raise-a-child-101279 https://theconversation.com/it-takes-a-village-to-raise-a-ch... I think, if you go into genetics, you would be looking to the altruistic benefits to the gene pool of non-gene transfer roles in the community and effect on the gene overall. Lots of organisms show collective child rearing, for defense against predators, for food management, to ensure 'sneaky fucker' offspring get raised (that whole top-dog king-lion thing is a bit of a myth: everybody gets some, if they can..)
- Filligree 6y ago
  It's got to be cultural, right? In humanity's case... Anyway, my personal opinion isn't so much about long-term outcomes. Those seem almost wholly determined by genetics, anyway. It's instead a question of-- How happy is the child? How much do they enjoy life? I feel like that's a question which researchers tend to miss, and/or assume doesn't matter -- perhaps because it's harder to measure -- but isn't enjoyment of life the entire goal, in the first place? And childhood is a significant fraction of life.

ggm 6y ago

Depends who you ask: It doesn't: * https://phys.org/news/2011-09-child-doesnt-village.html https://phys.org/news/2011-09-child-doesnt-village.html It does: * https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol34/34/34-34.pdf https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol34/34/34-34.... * https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9781137386724_5 https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9781137386724_5 * https://theconversation.com/it-takes-a-village-to-raise-a-child-101279 https://theconversation.com/it-takes-a-village-to-raise-a-ch... I think, if you go into genetics, you would be looking to the altruistic benefits to the gene pool of non-gene transfer roles in the community and effect on the gene overall. Lots of organisms show collective child rearing, for defense against predators, for food management, to ensure 'sneaky fucker' offspring get raised (that whole top-dog king-lion thing is a bit of a myth: everybody gets some, if they can..)

Filligree 6y ago
It's got to be cultural, right? In humanity's case... Anyway, my personal opinion isn't so much about long-term outcomes. Those seem almost wholly determined by genetics, anyway. It's instead a question of-- How happy is the child? How much do they enjoy life? I feel like that's a question which researchers tend to miss, and/or assume doesn't matter -- perhaps because it's harder to measure -- but isn't enjoyment of life the entire goal, in the first place? And childhood is a significant fraction of life.