From: Dave Sill (extropians@dave.sill.org)
Date: Wed May 01 2002 - 17:54:10 MDT
Mike Lorrey <mlorrey@datamann.com> wrote:
>
> As one whose genius IQ is likely the result of such experiences (near
> constant ear infections until age 6, severe abuse by school peers from
> 4th grade onwards, use of corporal punishment by parents) while I
> certainly disliked intensely the experiences I went through, I can also
> certainly say that I would much rather have the IQ I have than to be
> average/normal.
Would you have made that choice at the time?
> If high IQ is the reward for enduring such things, I think I got the
> better end of the deal. What is pain anyways? You could look at it as
> mental boot camp. Is physical training from childhood onward to become a
> world class athlete tantamount to abuse? If not, why should similar
> treatment to get top level IQ be any different?
Because nobody can force an athlete to train. Sure, you force someone
to be there, and you could force them to go through the motions, but
you couldn't force them to put any effort into it.
Subjecting someone to physical or mental anguish "for their own good"
and without their consent is wrong. You might make them smarter or
more creative--something we have only anecdotal evidence to
support--but you might also cause mental damage. History is filled
with tortured geniuses who would probably have traded their talent for
happiness, or at least sanity/normalcy.
> Should we be charging Tiger Shaw's parents with abuse? How about
> Michelle Kwan's dad?
No, of course not. They didn't *have* to train. Besides, they're
perfectly capable of defending themselves now.
> The fact is that you can't reach any great degree of accomplishment
> without having to go through the pain of training your body to
> achieve it.
Perhaps, but the question is whether you can or should decide to put
someone else through that without their consent.
-Dave
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