Re: Unveiled Stupidity

In article <fctrv2$gbs$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Steve Goldfarb <slg@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
In <2007Sep20.082648@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> moshes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:

I just saw part of an absolutely horrible movie based on this very
premise -- Idiocracy, it's called, and the premise is that all the
smart people don't reproduce so society ends up really, really stupid.

I don't think that's necessarily how it works, though

Well, in Judaism, the -first_ mitzvah is to reproduce!

But does that simply mean "give birth to as many children as each woman is
physically capable of" or perhaps something more subtle? That is, does "be
fruitful and multiply" mean just have babies, or can it also mean build a
sustainable, expanding future?

The first three clauses of the commandment are

Be fruitful, and multiply, and FILL haaretz

This is a literal translation.

It states "fill", not keep going until it is overcrowded.

-- I don't know that these proles, as I perhaps insensitively
referred to them, would be inherently less intelligent or anything
else than the elites, they just wouldn't have the advantages of
education, wealth, etc.

Well, if they revolted, I suppose they would take over the wealth.
But if their _inclination_ was to TV, beer, and snack foods, the
question is, what would they _do_ with the wealth?

Wealth is an illusion, albeit an essential one. Destroying the systems of
the economy, as such a revolution would do, would also destroy wealth. You
can't eat gold.

The entire evolution of civilization is that of getting a
class of individuals who could make wise decisions. Those
who founded the US were scared of a type of society in
which a majority could stifle the others. Advancement
needs those who do not agree with the majority, and in fact
will fly in the face of those who "know" what is RIGHT.


--
This address is for information only. I do not claim that these views
are those of the Statistics Department or of Purdue University.
Herman Rubin, Department of Statistics, Purdue University
hrubin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Phone: (765)494-6054 FAX: (765)494-0558
.

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