3 ms·

Blog post is terrible. First quote talks about of the stupidity of the idea "hereditary wise man". That idea is indeed stupid, but what it has to do with the id

Blog post is terrible. First quote talks about of the stupidity of the idea "hereditary wise man". That idea is indeed stupid, but what it has to do with the idea of "natural born"? And while my ability to play basketball can indeed be developed to some degree, can it be developed to be good enough to play it professionally? I doubt that. Now, some my say that there is difference between physical and mental abilities, but really, are we so sure that we are all born with exactly equal mental setup and potential? Or is this a problem which is better avoided, because it does not play well with polit-correctness? For the last point: does this "belief in natural born ability" apply only to programming and math? What hurts technology is not those "childish believes" but belief that it is at the centre of the universe.

davedx 13y ago
> First quote talks about of the stupidity of the idea "hereditary wise man". That idea is indeed stupid, but what it has to do with the idea of "natural born"? Because "natural born" means "genetically determined", and your genes are something you get from your parents, right?
- 3minus1 13y ago
  There's a huge difference between saying "Some people are born smart because of their genes" and "Some people must necessarily be smart because of their parents"
stonemetal 13y ago
can it be developed to be good enough to play it professionally? I doubt that. Maybe not NBA but probably NBADL(the NBA's farm league). Personally I believe it is sort of a sliding scale(not sure if that is the right term), natural talent makes hard work more effective but doesn't negate the need for it. Hard work can compensate for some lack of natural ability but not all of it. Kind of like the tortoise and the hair, the one with the highest average speed will win the race but that isn't necessarily the point in time fastest. What hurts technology is not those "childish believes" but belief that it is at the centre of the universe. Fully agree with that.
pessimizer 13y ago
>while my ability to play basketball can indeed be developed to some degree, can it be developed to be good enough to play it professionally? I doubt that. According to studies, this will make it a lot more difficult for you to get your basketball playing to a professional level.

davedx 13y ago

> First quote talks about of the stupidity of the idea "hereditary wise man". That idea is indeed stupid, but what it has to do with the idea of "natural born"? Because "natural born" means "genetically determined", and your genes are something you get from your parents, right?

3minus1 13y ago
There's a huge difference between saying "Some people are born smart because of their genes" and "Some people must necessarily be smart because of their parents"

stonemetal 13y ago

can it be developed to be good enough to play it professionally? I doubt that. Maybe not NBA but probably NBADL(the NBA's farm league). Personally I believe it is sort of a sliding scale(not sure if that is the right term), natural talent makes hard work more effective but doesn't negate the need for it. Hard work can compensate for some lack of natural ability but not all of it. Kind of like the tortoise and the hair, the one with the highest average speed will win the race but that isn't necessarily the point in time fastest. What hurts technology is not those "childish believes" but belief that it is at the centre of the universe. Fully agree with that.

pessimizer 13y ago

>while my ability to play basketball can indeed be developed to some degree, can it be developed to be good enough to play it professionally? I doubt that. According to studies, this will make it a lot more difficult for you to get your basketball playing to a professional level.