Human evolution gone awry

[Dis]

I can't help but think there is a serious problem with the human genetic line. It seems the unskilled portion of the population is reproducing at an unprecedented rate. Which isn't unheard of certainly- but often the death rate was high and this was never an issue.

Modern medicine has to have an impact on human evolution somehow. We have a society in which the weak are allowed to survive and reroduce and have offspring that survive. What effect will this have on society?

I can't help but think there will be a crisis. We already have a crisis of competant medical care in the U.S. It is diffcult to find people skilled enough to be doctors for such a large population. In normal times that is OK. But in times of war or disease this will cause a problem. Of course that could be the point. The problem is most likely self correcting. War or disease will "fix" the overpopulation problem.

Or will technology save us all? So far, technology has been doing a great job. We have built machines to do most of the work. We in the U.S. don't have that high a need for skilled labour. We have been getting buy on a large pool of unskilled workers. Our economy is becoming serviced based. So perhaps technology can save us all. But I can't help but think somehow this is a fragile support. That if something happens, most people lack the basic skills of survival.

[Lord Merciless]

It's a common misperception that children of unskilled people are stupid.

It's very common however that children from overachieving and smart parents turn out to be complete morons.

But it's possible that unskilled parents see less value in education which can bury their children's potential.

The environment in which a child grows up is far more important than the societal status of their parents.

[DAVOUT]

We are the descent of unskilled laborers. Do you feel inadapted?

[alva]

Not to mention that childbirth (here) is at an all time low.
-

That if something happens, most people lack the basic skills of survival.

There is no knowing who has the skills to survive until you actually would get in that situation. It's the circomstances that create hero's...

[Urban Ranger]

Re: Human evolution gone awry

Originally posted by Dissident
It seems the unskilled portion of the population is reproducing at an unprecedented rate.

Skills are acquired, which can't be passed down to the next generation by genetics.

[Whaleboy]

I guess that argument depends on "unskilled" labour being an actual evolutionary concept. Each human is unique. There has never been, is not, and will never be another person identical in nature and nurture to any given human.

As such, we are all optimised for certain things, there is something that given human can do better than anyone else. Some refer to that as a talent. It is my belief that when one averages it all out, all humans are as capable as each other (I am reluctant to say intelligence as that carries implications of quantitive subjective tests like IQ, or purely mental capacity where some people are better physically).

The result is that there is no such thing as an "unskilled" person. Of course in reality, society has certain roles to perform, and one who doesnt easily fit into those, are is best suited to a pre-set role that is "unskilled", is likely to be labelled "unskilled". My dispute is in that being genetic.

One often used to hear of business called "soandso and son", implying a family link. The question is, did that son enter the parents business because he was brought up to, or because he was best suited? In many cases, it would be the former.

I think that we should discourage parents from forcing their own aspirations on the children. Of course they are and should try to mould them in a certain way, but there is a line to be crossed, and determining the future of the childs life, as opposed to that child determining it, is past the line.

[Solly]

Take a trip around any British council estate and you see what Dissident is saying. Poorly educated parents who don't think for a second about spending their children's clothing money on booze every Friday, or about swearing to their kids, or about brainwashing them against the police.

[TheStinger]

Originally posted by Boddington's
Take a trip around any British council estate and you see what Dissident is saying. Poorly educated parents who don't think for a second about spending their children's clothing money on booze every Friday, or about swearing to their kids, or about brainwashing them against the police.

Your braver than me, I wouldn't take a trip round one.

[Space05us]

I'll have you know that the good majority of medical personelle I know (my mom work for a hospital so I know a lot) come from lazy unskilled parents.

[Solly]

Originally posted by TheStinger


Your braver than me, I wouldn't take a trip round one.

Go to a precinct near one then. Or a pub.

Actually, the council estates in Aberystwyth haven't been populated by that much scum yet.

How about we lock them into their ****ehole communities and let them fend for themselves.

[Urban Ranger]

Re: Human evolution gone awry

Originally posted by Dissident
That if something happens, most people lack the basic skills of survival.

Hm... this is relative. See how long can you survive in the middle of a rainforest?

[Whaleboy]

"Take a trip around any British council estate and you see what Dissident is saying. Poorly educated parents who don't think for a second about spending their children's clothing money on booze every Friday, or about swearing to their kids, or about brainwashing them against the police"

Thats what I mean! Children are being wasted by their parents because they brainwash them, they paint them, with their own simplistic views, perpetuating a cycle of idiocy, anti-authoritarianism, and ultimately, the social conditions that are often near poverty. It makes it even more admirable when someone breaks that circle and uses their own potential instead of falling back on the way their parents train them.

[Whaleboy]

"Your braver than me, I wouldn't take a trip round one"

Ditto. Got severly beaten up in one in my home town because I:

"look like a tw@t".

Do people purposely not use their brains?

[Whaleboy]

"How about we lock them into their ****ehole communities and let them fend for themselves"

I prefer the idea of helping them break out of the cycle of poverty, and realise the value of education.

[Solly]

Originally posted by elijah
"How about we lock them into their ****ehole communities and let them fend for themselves"

I prefer the idea of helping them break out of the cycle of poverty, and realise the value of education.

Help them help themselves.

Fact is, who wants to educate some kids who are "bored of education" (for a nice phrase) in the ****lands of Salford, Liverpool or London?

The kids' education is ruined by the time they are five anyway, usually.