I'm struggling to understand the argument here. > Every day I see attractive, intelligent, productive, highly empathetic couples justifying their decision to

I'm struggling to understand the argument here. > Every day I see attractive, intelligent, productive, highly empathetic couples justifying their decision to not have children ... The total fertility rate for North America is 1.7 [1]. Meanwhile, the total fertility rate for Sub-Saharan Africa is 4.7 [2]. HN requires I give the best interpretation here. It sounds like there's an observation bias: you see prime individuals not reproducing, but what about elsewhere? It certainly seems possible the same cohort in Saharan Africa are not making the same choice, given the higher birth rate. > ...IQ is 50-70% heritable. Alright, but IQ doesn't translate to attractiveness or productivity. My school's valedictorian went on to work an IT Support job. Should we be saddened if they don't reproduce? Lastly, there are plenty of poor, intelligent people. Your comment sets up this narrative that intelligence is split by continent, and humanity will be worse off, since the smart continent has a lower reproductive rate. The facts don't support that. Most people alive today are the progeny of serfs of the Middle Ages. They were poor, but certainly not all were unintelligent.