I'm with you on your stress on the importance of the support of a loving family; and I can't see a place for eugenics (except perhaps in screening pregnant women for serious abnormalities in the foetus).
I think that current tests for intelligence tend to uncover the kind of nous that makes some people champion chess players or outstanding mathematicians. We've all met people who would be no-hopers at maths and chess but strike one as very bright indeed - musicians, artists, activists, . . . you name it - I'm wondering if "creativity" might be the common factor. I suspect that creative people are found equally distributed across the human family but I don't rule out the suggestion that certain traits like an ability to excel at abstract thinking (eg, chess) could ON AVERAGE be more likely to be found in certain racial groups. Like I said: the science is so brain-numbingly complex and based very much on the dismal field of statistics that I can't be arsed to do the necessary work to reach a conclusion. But keeping an open mind is always the best policy. (And, yes, we all know that bigots and racists will milk any results that support their program, but the bigots and racists I've seen seem to be from the more stupid end of the bell curve.) Not being myself Jewish or east Asian (who seem to punch above their weight in these abstract fields ON AVERAGE) it doesn't bother me in the slightest if scientists eventually confirmed these findings. It wouldn't affect how I respond to individuals of various races - nor make me feel inferior. My putting *creativity* as a higher, more inclusive category that *intelligence* in the narrow sense I mention ties in rather nicely with Maharishi's suggestion that doing TM is to contact the Field of Creative Intelligence that underlies all of us. As people become more creative the differences in ability to spot a mate in three moves will seem of interest but not of real significance. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <fairfieldlife@yahoogroups.com> wrote: Seraphita, Based on historical records, it's apparent that the family unit is the best natural way to maintain or improve the quality of people in a given society. There is no doubt that genetics are involved in some individuals who excel in science, business or sports. As such, the natural way of selection is promoted to let people enjoy the quality of life that is most beneficial for the entire world. IMO, this is the reason why eugenics, as practiced by the Nazi's and some people here in the USA, won't work as it would interfere with nature's functioning. Similarly, this is the reason why Osho's experiment of having a communal family didn't work. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <fairfieldlife@yahoogroups.com> wrote: Re "Thus, there is a strong argument for having a cohesive family unit in order to have a stable population in any country.": That makes good sense . . . but would you *completely* rule out a genetic component in this case? It's such a controversial minefield, and - rather like global warming - you need to invest so much effort into studying the relevant data that I can't be bothered. I'd keep an open mind though. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <fairfieldlife@yahoogroups.com> wrote: Carde, According to Wikipedia, the Jewish population is only about 2 percent of the entire US population. But they do appear to have many successful people in this country, including Einstein and Barbara Streisand. IMO, it shows that the Jewish families encourage their children to be successful in whatever field they choose to work in. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Jews http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Jews Thus, there is a strong argument for having a cohesive family unit in order to have a stable population in any country. If the family unit is in disarray, guess what would happen to the entire country? ---In fairfieldlife@yahoogroups.com, <cardemaister@...> wrote: I'm afraid without Abraham's descendants US might be way worse off, or stuff. In scientific documentaries from the US of A, usually at least a half of the experts interviewed appear to have Jewish family names?? ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <fairfieldlife@yahoogroups.com> wrote: Would you believe Russia is on top of this list? And, the USA is only on the 5th place. But the US has a secret weapon by offering "Genius" visas to the best and brightest from countries around the world. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/most-educated-countries-world-102232490.html http://finance.yahoo.com/news/most-educated-countries-world-102232490.html
