new start

--- In spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com, Ian Woollard
wrote:
> orionaut wrote:
>
> > --- In spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com, "victoriatangoman"
> > wrote:
> > > The fact that they are becoming rarer, for instance Tays Sachs
> > > diesease in the Jewish community, is a result of eugenic
practices.
> > > You'll note that the Jews are NOT killing or sterilizing each
other.
> >
> > Au contraire: The Jews stand as a shining example of THE most
> > successful long-term eugenics program in the history of the
planet.
> > They have bred for intelligence very successfully indeed!
>
> Yes. Only a few problems with the Jews as an example of successful
eugenics:
>
> a) rather a large number of millions of them were wiped out under
the
> auspices of eugenics
> b) the population of Jews apparently seems to be decreasing over
time

Ian, you are indeed a skilled rhetorician, but I see the flaws in
your arguments. First, you're conflating two definitions of the word
eugenics. To compare a self-directed cultural practice directed at
procreation to the heinous attempt at extermination of the group by
evil men is an improper rhetorical tactic. The two are distinct and
different, thus your argument crumbles from lack of internal
consistency.

Secondly, if it is indeed true that the Jewish population is
decreasing over time, you must show causality to cultural eugenic
practices. If they data are simply part of a modern trend of well-
educated having a below replacement birth rate, as I suspect is the
case, then causality isn't demonstrated.

Nice try, keep at it.

>
> > One of my favorite examples of their historical methods in this
is
> > encouraging their smartest and most personable male children to
> > become rabbis; rabbis are in turn encouraged to have as many
children
> > as they can possibly support. Smart father match-made to a smart
> > mother; lots of kids; brought up with a high emphasis on
shcolarship;
> > chhez Louise, how could they NOT produce generations upon
generation
> > sof a population with the higest mean IQ on the planet?!
>
> I love a pretty theory, and it is a pretty theory. Still, if the
theory
> doesn't actually work very well in the real world I throw it out.
> Various kinds of eugenics have been tried over the centuries,
inbreeding
> and population collapse seems to be the result.

Again, you don't follow through. You cast an aspersion on Orionaut's
theory but do not refute it. An appeal to the general doesn't
invalidate the specific. It doesn't matter that you make vague
reference to other groups, without providing any evidence, when the
case you should be invalidating is the one the author raised.
Further, I don't buy into your inbreeding and population collapse
rationales absent any evidence.

>
> > Catholic Europe, OTOH, set itself back CENTURIES in this regard
via
> > one critical modification to this model: they encouraged their
> > brightest and most personable male children to become
PRIESTS...and
> > by so doing, _de facto_ deleted excpetionally "smart genes" from
> > their breeding pool. (Silly, SILLY European Catholics! :P)
>
> Yeah and european culture has done very badly hasn't it.
>
> > spike

You don't directly attempt to refute the argument so you leave the
reader unsure of your response, other than an attempt at distracting
via sarcasm.

TangoMan