new start

--- In spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com, "Xenophile"
wrote:
> OK, everybody, calm down.

This discussion is good mental exercise. It's controversial and it
makes you think. Well, for me anyway.

> And had it ended with that, Nazi eugenics would be merely an
amusing
> example of how very silly human beings can be. As we all know, it
> did not end with that.

If only it had ended with that. And it is ironic that in one
paragraph I'm comparing Jews and Nazis, but the Jews are actually a
success story of cultural breeding towards excellence. They score a
standard deviation higher than the general population. Nature,
nurture, both. Very open to debate. But the results are impressive.

>> But there is another reason, a reason that goes to the heart of
the
> problems with eugenics. These problems are:
>
> a) it takes so long.

No, just make women really want to hook up with scientists and
computer programmers and mathematicians. Make these the new sex
symbols and you start seeing improvement in the next generation.

>
> b) the attempt to "improve" one section of the population tends to
> take place in an area where other groups are also found.

True. But if you can raise just a small portion of your population a
1/2 S.D. to the right, the society will reap many benefits because
the extreme tail end of the bell curve will yield a significant
increase in the very brightest. Imagine the scientific, cultural and
economic benefits.

TangoMan