[66543] in Cypherpunks
Re: Public Schools
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Dale Thorn)
Thu Sep 26 03:05:38 1996
Date: Wed, 25 Sep 1996 23:19:24 -0700
From: Dale Thorn <dthorn@gte.net>
To: "Dr.Dimitri Vulis KOTM" <dlv@bwalk.dm.com>
Cc: cypherpunks@toad.com
Dr.Dimitri Vulis KOTM wrote:
> Phil Fraering <pgf@acadian.net> writes:
> > Without vouchers, you don't say anything about the intelligence of
> > your test subjects; to a _very_ large degree, intelligence isn't
> > genetic. Or
> That's the political correct thing to say, but do you have any
> scientific evidence to support this claim?
People have argued for genetic disposition to certain things, and I
think they are sometimes (most times?) confused between genetics per se
(genes et al) and the way environment creates much of the being
indirectly. For example, you are born with a chemical factory inside of
you. The amount and timing of hormonal secretions from myriad sources
inside the body has a dramatic effect on the development of the being,
and environment has a dramatic effect on the amount and timing of said
hormonal secretions. You can bias the formula all you want, but it can
go in unpredictable directions, due to the great variety of influences.
