tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740067042613887004.post4267946997207000716..comments2024-03-24T11:47:12.059+01:00Comments on Those Who Can See: Ghost in the Machine?M.G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06817230141673953233noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740067042613887004.post-21010268546644032002012-03-02T01:59:11.541+01:002012-03-02T01:59:11.541+01:00Knowing one's general destiny enables one to e...Knowing one's general destiny enables one to exercise free will to much greater effect, and to truly see which group of people fit the call of "There, but for the grace of God, go I."<br /><br />A white man's most important duty is not to uplift another race to the white standard, but to improve the race he already has. Don't volunteer in housing projects to feel good; do your best to turn SWPLs into Those Who Can See.<br /><br />"For the poor you will always have with you"(a very 'determinist' quote by Jesus, but it demanded neither hate, nor tons of money lavished to solve the problem, nor a patronizing attitude, the three most common pitfalls of those Christians drawn in by liberal churches. By acknowledging a general determinism, <b>He freed the will of the saved</b> from the three harridans of error and human tradition that shackle the faithful and studious.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740067042613887004.post-52192434470791968762012-02-27T07:45:43.216+01:002012-02-27T07:45:43.216+01:00We should all base our hopes on realistic expectat...We should all base our hopes on realistic expectations. Ideally, even if my I.Q. were 85, I could still find my own niche in society and find happiness.<br /><br />When we entertain unrealistic expectations, it leads to frustration and crime.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740067042613887004.post-28323528393058295642012-01-24T11:09:41.683+01:002012-01-24T11:09:41.683+01:00it's my vague impression that women--being the...<i>it's my vague impression that women--being the more egalitarian sex--actually tend to invest more in their struggling (socially, academically, etc) children than in the ones who excel on their own</i><br /><br />I agree. However, I admit I was thinking of 'love' in the sense of 'feeling very strong affection for.' I have heard of mothers confessing to not experiencing this affection for each of their children in the same amount, and feeling guilt about it.M.G.https://www.blogger.com/profile/06817230141673953233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740067042613887004.post-25673690835888696992012-01-23T23:06:32.213+01:002012-01-23T23:06:32.213+01:00"I love all my children equally."
Is t...<i>"I love all my children equally."</i> <br /><br />Is this not generally the case, at least among mothers? I confess I've never really given it much thought, so I may be missing some obvious insight, but it's my vague impression that women--being the more egalitarian sex--actually tend to invest more in their struggling (socially, academically, etc) children than in the ones who excel on their own (though I suppose that even if this is accurate, it doesn't show equal-handed treatment, but instead a greater 'love' for the offspring that need it most). Among men, on the other hand, the opposite occurs, with fathers secretly (or not so secretly) favoring the children with the greatest prospects (especially among sons).Audacious Epigonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07495507254628580077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740067042613887004.post-46764061890112663942012-01-17T13:10:44.464+01:002012-01-17T13:10:44.464+01:00"HBD is a fundamentally hopeless idea."
..."HBD is a fundamentally hopeless idea."<br /><br />I think the opposite. Race is a collection of trait frequencies determined by genes. You could take a collection of the nastiest black gangbangers and the nerdiest Chinese geeks to two separate islands and (over generations) turn them into each other through selective breeding.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740067042613887004.post-48843894339816226722011-12-13T16:30:34.592+01:002011-12-13T16:30:34.592+01:00Even though those who are accused of being biologi...<i>Even though those who are accused of being biological (or genetic) determinists rarely are of the type that would accept such a proposition.</i><br /><br />Indeed, but even those who admit environmental effects exist are often loathe to accept that genes play a hefty role at all. Any mathematizing of ourselves, any notion that we could be even partly reducible to our brain broth, to our chromosomes, or to a pile of positive and negative charges, is overwhelmingly depressing for such people.<br /><br /><i>the Many Worlds Interpretation does offer a form of determinism for the Universe as a whole</i><br /><br />I wish quantum physicists (or science journalists?) would do a better job vulgarizing such ideas. I may be alone, but I think physicists are best-suited to fill the priest-shaped hole in our lives today. But to the average joe, quantum theory is as still as obscure as antinomianism.<br /><br /><i>I don't think that a well-formed notion of free will theoretically conflicts with physical determinism.</i><br /><br />I think the average blank-slatist would disagree. They appear to feel an instinctive revulsion for even basic HBD-type thinking. It seems to trigger the same emotional fears as the old predestination-free will debate, and that makes HBD a tough sell, including for those who need to hear it most-- policy-makers. As you say: "an intuitive manner that is pleasing to the masses"-- does it exist?M.G.https://www.blogger.com/profile/06817230141673953233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740067042613887004.post-17061820687762709362011-12-13T01:53:29.670+01:002011-12-13T01:53:29.670+01:00This certainly is an interesting problem: that is,...This certainly is an interesting problem: that is, the question of the social and psychological impact of the knowledge of group differences.<br /><br />However, I'm going to deal with two secondary points. First is the question of free will and determinism. In the absence of an omnipotent, omniscient, interventionist God (which admittedly many people, a majority here in the U.S., claim to believe in), I don't think that a well-formed notion of free will theoretically conflicts with physical determinism. I think that it's important to understand the theoretical impact, but it's also worth noting that in light of quantum mechanics, classical determinism probably doesn't exist, though the Many Worlds Interpretation does offer a form of determinism for the Universe as a whole, even if it does not seem so to creatures like us living in it.<br /><br />This leads to the second point which is the term "biological determinism" (and its close cousin "genetic determinism"), which is a general annoyance of mine because its name would seem to suggest in the words of the post that it means:<br /><br /><i>The notion that your every act, every gesture, every desire, is already fated[, d]ecided, as it were, by the composition of your genes</i><br /><br />Even though those who are accused of being biological (or genetic) determinists rarely are of the type that would accept such a proposition. For even someone like me who supposes far more impact of one's biology in his life trajectory than is the median in polite society, it is pretty clear that there are many more factors than the ordering of nucleotides in the 92 strands of DNA in every cell nucleus and 2 strands in every mitochondrion that influence the trajectory of one's life. The fact that the uncanny similarity of identical twins is far short of true identity is testament to that.<br /><br />Of course, the nuances of reality are not easy to communicate in an intuitive manner that is pleasing to the masses, which leaves us at the original conundrum.The Reluctant Apostatehttp://reluctantapostate.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.com