From: John Grigg (starman2100@lycos.com)
Date: Tue May 14 2002 - 22:23:20 MDT
Phil Osborn wrote:
I'm NOT claiming that there aren't plenty of highly
valuable women out there, or that in such a random
sample there wouldn't be women who got left out who
might be more valuable than most of the men. I'm just
going by the law of averages. Most men are better
educated, more knowledgeable about life in general,
and more rational. Not hugely so, for sure, but
enough to notice.
(end)
Phil, should you attend the next Extro I would suggest you wear a disguise!! And stay away from any extropian women who might come your way to give you a well deserved bop on the noggin! ; )
you continue:
Children, on the other hand, and especially infants,
are generally nowhere near as valuable as a a healthy
adult. It really sickens me to hear that some mother
- or father - has chosen his or her baby's life over
his or her own. For the typical infant these days, it
will take almost two decades before he or she will be
pulling his or her own weight, after a huge additional
investment by adults - and maybe not then. Meanwhile
- like there's a shortage of infants - in the
intervening two decades, potentially twenty
replacement infants could be provided, with the loss
of, on average, only half the years, whereas losing a
typical adult means throwing away that entire
investment - the average adult having around
twenty-five productive years ahead of him, with that
huge start-up cost already paid.
(end)
But to the actual parents of that child there is already a fairly major investment of time and effort. And they have high hopes for this child to be their immortality vehicle by carrying the family genes into the future! If this one is killed off, the next might be nowhere as gifted in various crucial and very unique ways. So both the couple and the community may greatly benefit by preserving that particular child.
Nature and nurture has caused both human couples and communities to prize at the very least the healthy offspring produced. Phil, next time you are on a sinking oceanliner with no hope of rescue and not enough lifeboats, go ahead and strongly suggest your ideas to your fellow travellers to see their immediate reaction. I hope the ocean water isn't too cold for you...
best wishes,
John : )
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