Damn. There are so many good arguments here that I wish I could talk to you about this in person over a few drinks. I'll try to limit my response so it doesn't branch out into a bunch of fragmented points.
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Originally Posted by DaveNJ
That's ultimately the issue with folks who worry about our society getting dumber. "Dumb" is a moving target. By continually holding ourselves to higher standards, the things that would not have been regarded as idiotic in the past become comparably worse.
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I really like that point!
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveNJ
The Idiocracy argument bothers me a lot because it's not supported by science, it implies that intelligence is purely heritable, and it leads to subtle advocacy for programs to counter the (nonexistent) problem.
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It definitely comes off as an elitist argument and the "license to have babies" comment almost rolls off the tongue when making this argument. Let me clarify - I'm not trying to argue that someone shouldn't have kids, I'm arguing that people of means tend to not have children and I am encouraging them to have more children.
I've never had anyone counter this argument so you've given me something to think about. Having a high IQ is not a guarantee that you'll be a good parent and many people who aren't having children might be doing so for good reasons.