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Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing.

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Jaimie Vandenbergh <jaimie@sometimes.sessile.org> wrote:
> On Fri, 22 Jun 2018 14:23:21 +0300, Juho Julkunen <giaotanj@hotmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>>In article <6fbe18e9-da5a-4b66-9f17-f0fe95e34744@googlegroups.com>,
>>j.halpenny@rogers.com says...
>>>
>>> Birth control, modern medicine and expensive college have certainly
>>> changed the situation, but have they changed it enough?  If I have
>>> one child and all of the advantages of modern technology, and you
>>> have 10 kids and 5 of then die, your kids still outnumber  mine, and
>>> your grandchildren will outnumber mine by 25 to 1. Since I can't say
>>> that this is a good or bad thing, perhaps we shouldn't even talk
>>> about it.
>>
>>Three things:
>>
>>1) Genetics of intelligence, which still lacks a satisfactory
>>definition, are complicated.
>>
>>2) Smart parents tend to have less smart children, and dumb parents
>>tend to have smarter children, because reversion to the mean is a
>>thing.
>>
>>3) The elite have worried about the unchecked procreation of the
>>unwashed masses dumbing the population down for at least two centuries,
>>quite possibly a lot longer.
>
> The elite are not necessarily any brighter than the unwashed masses,
> either. Luckier, perhaps, but outside of Known Space that isn't a
> heritable characteristic (although trust funds can be).

Callidetic [1] genes may also play a role on Earth, where only males who
"get lucky" (so to speak) with the fairer sex are allowed to procreate.

Note.

1. "The Weapon Shops of Isher" (van Vogt) uses "callidetic" to describe
people with endemic, chronic, good luck. One of the things that's on my
back-burner is to figure out that word's etymology.
    It originally struck me as a combination of calli + detic. Calli
comes from the Greek word Kallos 'beauty,' which left the suffix detic
behind as an enigmatic part of the puzzle.
    This morning, a combination of callid + etic seems more plausible.
Although the callid prefix doesn't appear in my _Oxford Dictionary_, it 
does appear online [1]. It means "characterized by cunning or 
shrewdness; crafty." For our purposes, the suffix etic more-or-less 
means "outside of society" or "outsider." 
    Following this line-of-thought, callidetic means "crafty outsider." 
There's also a fly-in-the-ointment. The prefix comes from Latin while
the suffix comes from Greek. Does that sort of thing happen in the 
English language? 

Note.

1. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/callid

✍

Thank you,

-- 
Don

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OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. a425couple <a425couple@hotmail.com> - 2018-06-20 10:25 -0700
  Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Jibini Kula Tumbili Kujisalimisha <taustinca@gmail.com> - 2018-06-20 14:40 -0700
    Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2018-06-20 21:55 +0000
      Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> - 2018-06-20 15:28 -0700
      Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Jibini Kula Tumbili Kujisalimisha <taustinca@gmail.com> - 2018-06-20 15:54 -0700
    Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. John Halpenny <j.halpenny@rogers.com> - 2018-06-20 15:21 -0700
      Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> - 2018-06-20 15:29 -0700
        Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Jibini Kula Tumbili Kujisalimisha <taustinca@gmail.com> - 2018-06-20 15:57 -0700
        Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2018-06-20 22:34 +0000
      Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. jdnicoll@panix.com (James Nicoll) - 2018-06-20 22:34 +0000
        Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. peterwezeman@hotmail.com - 2018-06-21 00:48 -0700
          Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Peter Trei <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2018-06-21 06:11 -0700
            Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Jibini Kula Tumbili Kujisalimisha <taustinca@gmail.com> - 2018-06-22 10:40 -0700
              Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Cryptoengineer <treifamily@gmail.com> - 2018-06-22 21:10 -0500
                Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2018-06-23 03:38 +0000
                Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Ninapenda Jibini <taustinca@gmail.com> - 2018-06-23 05:37 +0000
                Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Cryptoengineer <treifamily@gmail.com> - 2018-06-23 22:32 -0500
                Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Ninapenda Jibini <taustinca@gmail.com> - 2018-06-24 07:34 +0000
                Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Cryptoengineer <treifamily@gmail.com> - 2018-06-24 10:03 -0500
                Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Ninapenda Jibini <taustinca@gmail.com> - 2018-06-24 19:12 +0000
                Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. mcdowell_ag@sky.com - 2018-06-25 21:41 -0700
                Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Jibini Kula Tumbili Kujisalimisha <taustinca@gmail.com> - 2018-06-26 08:32 -0700
                Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> - 2018-06-26 10:49 -0700
                Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Jibini Kula Tumbili Kujisalimisha <taustinca@gmail.com> - 2018-06-26 11:06 -0700
                Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> - 2018-06-26 12:19 -0700
                Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Jibini Kula Tumbili Kujisalimisha <taustinca@gmail.com> - 2018-06-26 12:44 -0700
                Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Ahasuerus <ahasuerus@email.com> - 2018-06-26 10:06 -0700
            Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Greg Goss <gossg@gossg.org> - 2018-06-26 00:19 -0600
              Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. hamish.laws@gmail.com - 2018-06-26 00:04 -0700
                Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2018-06-26 14:42 +0000
                Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. David Johnston <davidjohnston29@yahoo.com> - 2018-06-26 10:46 -0600
                Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Jibini Kula Tumbili Kujisalimisha <taustinca@gmail.com> - 2018-06-26 10:07 -0700
              Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Lawrence Watt-Evans <misenchantedpress@gmail.com> - 2018-06-26 10:50 -0400
                Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Greg Goss <gossg@gossg.org> - 2018-06-27 08:30 -0600
              Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> - 2018-06-26 08:17 -0700
      Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2018-06-20 22:29 +0000
        Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Jibini Kula Tumbili Kujisalimisha <taustinca@gmail.com> - 2018-06-20 16:00 -0700
          Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. John Halpenny <j.halpenny@rogers.com> - 2018-06-20 16:30 -0700
            Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Jibini Kula Tumbili Kujisalimisha <taustinca@gmail.com> - 2018-06-20 16:53 -0700
      Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Jibini Kula Tumbili Kujisalimisha <taustinca@gmail.com> - 2018-06-20 15:56 -0700
        Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. mcdowell_ag@sky.com - 2018-06-20 21:22 -0700
          Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Kevrob <kevrob@my-deja.com> - 2018-06-21 14:53 -0700
          Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Jibini Kula Tumbili Kujisalimisha <taustinca@gmail.com> - 2018-06-22 10:38 -0700
      Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Robert Carnegie <rja.carnegie@excite.com> - 2018-06-21 13:12 -0700
        Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2018-06-21 20:43 +0000
          Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Robert Carnegie <rja.carnegie@excite.com> - 2018-06-21 14:39 -0700
            Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Kevrob <kevrob@my-deja.com> - 2018-06-21 14:59 -0700
              Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. John Halpenny <j.halpenny@rogers.com> - 2018-06-21 18:28 -0700
                Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2018-06-22 03:53 +0000
                Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Greg Goss <gossg@gossg.org> - 2018-06-26 00:25 -0600
                Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2018-06-26 14:49 +0000
                Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Greg Goss <gossg@gossg.org> - 2018-06-27 08:32 -0600
                Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Juho Julkunen <giaotanj@hotmail.com> - 2018-06-22 14:23 +0300
                Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> - 2018-06-22 07:49 -0700
                Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. John Halpenny <j.halpenny@rogers.com> - 2018-06-22 09:11 -0700
                Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2018-06-22 16:43 +0000
                Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. jdnicoll@panix.com (James Nicoll) - 2018-06-22 17:13 +0000
                Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Greg Goss <gossg@gossg.org> - 2018-06-26 00:28 -0600
                Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Jaimie Vandenbergh <jaimie@sometimes.sessile.org> - 2018-06-23 10:50 +0100
                Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. D B Davis <g@crcomp.net> - 2018-06-23 13:34 +0000
                Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Robert Carnegie <rja.carnegie@excite.com> - 2018-06-23 07:13 -0700
                Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. D B Davis <g@crcomp.net> - 2018-06-23 15:35 +0000
                Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Jaimie Vandenbergh <jaimie@sometimes.sessile.org> - 2018-06-23 17:13 +0100
                Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. D B Davis <g@crcomp.net> - 2018-06-24 16:27 +0000
                Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Kevrob <kevrob@my-deja.com> - 2018-06-23 07:49 -0700
  Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Steve Dodds <sdodds@nova-optical.com> - 2018-06-20 16:42 -0600
  Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> - 2018-06-20 18:01 -0500
    Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Jibini Kula Tumbili Kujisalimisha <taustinca@gmail.com> - 2018-06-20 16:16 -0700
  Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. Ahasuerus <ahasuerus@email.com> - 2018-06-22 19:20 -0700
  Re: OT - For most of history, humans got smarter. That's now reversing. "artyw2@yahoo.com" <artyw2@yahoo.com> - 2018-06-24 09:40 -0700

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