The Glade 4.0

From the article In Defense of Dangerous Ideas, by Steven Pinker



How would you guys respond to these?

I'd respond that he's trying to imply that there's an answer everyone already knows and is uncomfortable with. That may be true in some cases, but in most cases the question itself is an oversimplification of a complex issue.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

Do women, on average, have a different profile of aptitudes and emotions than men?
-Probably, yes.

Were the events in the Bible fictitious -- not just the miracles, but those involving kings and empires?
-Much of the bible is shown by archaeology to be historically accurate. Anyone who claims it's all fiction just has a bone to pick with religion and is not being objective. That said, far less of the bible is historically verifiable than many people believe. It requires a degree of faith to trust it all as fact.


Has the state of the environment improved in the last 50 years?
-Certainly, in some ways.

Do most victims of sexual abuse suffer no lifelong damage?
-I have no idea.

Did Native Americans engage in genocide and despoil the landscape?
-Yes, duh.

Do men have an innate tendency to rape?
-I see no evidence of this.

Did the crime rate go down in the 1990s because two decades earlier poor women aborted children who would have been prone to violence?
-No idea. I doubt the rate of abortion is high enough for this to be notable even if it were true.

Are suicide terrorists well-educated, mentally healthy and morally driven?
-Well educated? Probably not. Mentally healthy? Sometimes. Morally driven? Absolutely--whether one agrees with those morals is another matter.

Would the incidence of rape go down if prostitution were legalized?
-Not much, if at all. Rape usually isn't about sex, it's about power.

Do African-American men have higher levels of testosterone, on average, than white men?
-Measure it and find out.

Is morality just a product of the evolution of our brains, with no inherent reality?
-Yes.

Would society be better off if heroin and cocaine were legalized?
-There would be some improvements, and some drawbacks. I don't know the net result.

Is homosexuality the symptom of an infectious disease?
-Obviously not. You can't catch the gay by hanging out with FarSky.

Would it be consistent with our moral principles to give parents the option of euthanizing newborns with birth defects that would consign them to a life of pain and disability?
-No.

Do parents have any effect on the character or intelligence of their children?
-Yes.

Have religions killed a greater proportion of people than Nazism?
-If taken as a proportion to the population at the time, then probably yes. Maybe not in terms of total numbers.

Would damage from terrorism be reduced if the police could torture suspects in special circumstances?
-Yes. Doesn't make it a good idea to legalize it.

Would Africa have a better chance of rising out of poverty if it hosted more polluting industries or accepted Europe's nuclear waste?
-I don't know much about this issue.

Is the average intelligence of Western nations declining because duller people are having more children than smarter people?
-Interesting thought. Probably.

Would unwanted children be better off if there were a market in adoption rights, with babies going to the highest bidder?
-I doubt it.

Would lives be saved if we instituted a free market in organs for transplantation?
-Yes. More people (or their next-of-kin) would donate.

Should people have the right to clone themselves, or enhance the genetic traits of their children?
-I don't see why not.

_________________
Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherezade had a thousand tales
But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves you got a brand of magic never fails...
...Mister Aladdin, sir, What will your pleasure be?
Let me take your order, Jot it down -You ain't never had a friend like me
█ ♣ █

Do women, on average, have a different profile of aptitudes and emotions than men?
Yes

Were the events in the Bible fictitious -- not just the miracles, but those involving kings and empires?
No - the question seems kind of open to interpretation, but much has been documented

Has the state of the environment improved in the last 50 years?
Yes - documented

Do most victims of sexual abuse suffer no lifelong damage?
I don't know

Did Native Americans engage in genocide and despoil the landscape?
Yes - documented

Do men have an innate tendency to rape?
No

Did the crime rate go down in the 1990s because two decades earlier poor women aborted children who would have been prone to violence?
Yes - you abort millions of babies and numbers of poor, uneducated, fatherless, teen males goes down so the crime rate goes down proportionately.

Are suicide terrorists well-educated, mentally healthy and morally driven?
IN the Middle-East? I don't know
In the West? Yes

Would the incidence of rape go down if prostitution were legalized?
Not substantially

Do African-American men have higher levels of testosterone, on average, than white men?
Yes - Young black males have higher levels of testosterone

Is morality just a product of the evolution of our brains, with no inherent reality?
Ummm, "inherent reality"?

Would society be better off if heroin and cocaine were legalized?
Yes

Is homosexuality the symptom of an infectious disease?
No

Would it be consistent with our moral principles to give parents the option of euthanizing newborns with birth defects that would consign them to a life of pain and disability?
No - Depending on who "our moral principles" is referring to, it's subjective

Do parents have any effect on the character or intelligence of their children?
Yes

Have religions killed a greater proportion of people than Nazism?
Religions haven't killed anyone, neither has Nazism.

Would damage from terrorism be reduced if the police could torture suspects in special circumstances?
Yup - But let's not do that mmm'kay?

Would Africa have a better chance of rising out of poverty if it hosted more polluting industries or accepted Europe's nuclear waste?
No - the problem isn't money it's social structures and government controls. Africa already hosts plenty of polluting industries, and accepting Europe's nuclear waste wouldn't be that significant of a fiscal benefit that it would "raise Africa out of poverty".

Is the average intelligence of Western nations declining because duller people are having more children than smarter people?
Yup

Would unwanted children be better off if there were a market in adoption rights, with babies going to the highest bidder?
No

Would lives be saved if we instituted a free market in organs for transplantation?
Yes

Should people have the right to clone themselves, or enhance the genetic traits of their children?
Yup - People already have the "right" it's whether governments would abrogate it.

Quite a few loaded and/or vague words and phrases used in those questions.

_________________
"Dress cops up as soldiers, give them military equipment, train them in military tactics, tell them they’re fighting a ‘war,’ and the consequences are predictable." —Radley Balko

Do women, on average, have a different profile of aptitudes and emotions than men?
To an extent. The average man is probably more suited to physical labor than the average woman.

Were the events in the Bible fictitious -- not just the miracles, but those involving kings and empires? No.

Has the state of the environment improved in the last 50 years?
Probably.

Do most victims of sexual abuse suffer no lifelong damage?
No clue

Did Native Americans engage in genocide and despoil the landscape?
No more or less than any other people.

Do men have an innate tendency to rape?
Probably not.

Did the crime rate go down in the 1990s because two decades earlier poor women aborted children who would have been prone to violence?
I'm not a professional nor have I studied this, but I assume many factors are involved, including earlier sucesses on the war on drugs.

Are suicide terrorists well-educated, mentally healthy and morally driven?
Some probably are.

Would the incidence of rape go down if prostitution were legalized?
What Taly Said.

Do African-American men have higher levels of testosterone, on average, than white men?
No clue.

Is morality just a product of the evolution of our brains, with no inherent reality?
No. I'd argue that while we may quibble on the scope of all terms all societies agree that certain things (stealing, murder, lying) are against their moral systems, at least on the individual level. This points to a higher God-power.

Would society be better off if heroin and cocaine were legalized?
No. People commit crimes over money to indulge in legal adictions such as alcohol, tobacco, gambling and pornography. So you'd just be trading one set of problems for another.

Is homosexuality the symptom of an infectious disease?
Your behavior can be influenced by those around you but, you can't "catch the gays"

Would it be consistent with our moral principles to give parents the option of euthanizing newborns with birth defects that would consign them to a life of pain and disability?
Not with mine but i'm not everybody.

Do parents have any effect on the character or intelligence of their children?
Yes.


Have religions killed a greater proportion of people than Nazism?
Yes, but that's a loaded question.


Would damage from terrorism be reduced if the police could torture suspects in special circumstances?
No clue.

Would Africa have a better chance of rising out of poverty if it hosted more polluting industries or accepted Europe's nuclear waste?
No Africa's current warlord dynamic pretty much screws up most large scale attempts to modernize the continent. Any money from these programs would likely to go to the few elite.

Is the average intelligence of Western nations declining because duller people are having more children than smarter people?
I don't think it's a breeding problem, it's an attitude problem.

Would unwanted children be better off if there were a market in adoption rights, with babies going to the highest bidder?
No, but there are more parents waiting to adopt in this country than there are unwanted children, especially newborns. Hense why most people end up having to go overseas.

Would lives be saved if we instituted a free market in organs for transplantation?
Rich people's lives.

Should people have the right to clone themselves, or enhance the genetic traits of their children?
Not sure, but right and good idea are not necessarily the same thing. (I'm looking at you Ground Zero Mosque). Also most Sci-Fi stories point to this at the begining of the end of humanity as we know it.

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I prefer to think of them as "Fighting evil in another dimension"

Do women, on average, have a different profile of aptitudes and emotions than men?
Yes, tho some of that is due to how they are raised in our society.

Were the events in the Bible fictitious -- not just the miracles, but those involving kings and empires?
There are many events in the bible which seem to tie to acheologically verifiable events. However, there are also many things in the Bible that are fictitious.

Has the state of the environment improved in the last 50 years?
In some areas, large national parks for instance, almost certainly. In other areas not at all. Looking globally, I would suspect that the overall environment has not improved but degraded slightly.

Do most victims of sexual abuse suffer no lifelong damage?
Doubtful, but I don't know for sure.

Did Native Americans engage in genocide and despoil the landscape?
Genocide sure, I'm not sure about despoiling the landscape. I guess it depends on what you mean by despoil and which tribes you're talking about.

Do men have an innate tendency to rape?
No.

Did the crime rate go down in the 1990s because two decades earlier poor women aborted children who would have been prone to violence?
Doubtful.

Are suicide terrorists well-educated, mentally healthy and morally driven?
I'm sure some are. I'm also sure that others, perhaps a majority, are not well-educated or mentally healthy. They are all morally driven.

Would the incidence of rape go down if prostitution were legalized?
Doubtful. Rape is about power and control, not getting laid.

Do African-American men have higher levels of testosterone, on average, than white men?
No idea.

Is morality just a product of the evolution of our brains, with no inherent reality?
Yes.

Would society be better off if heroin and cocaine were legalized?
If it were legalized properly, yes.

Is homosexuality the symptom of an infectious disease?
No and it's an absurd notion.

Would it be consistent with our moral principles to give parents the option of euthanizing newborns with birth defects that would consign them to a life of pain and disability?
No.

Do parents have any effect on the character or intelligence of their children?
Absolutely.

Have religions killed a greater proportion of people than Nazism?
Poorly worded question. If you mean made possible, then my gut says yes.

Would damage from terrorism be reduced if the police could torture suspects in special circumstances?
Doubtful. I seem to recall there is a lot of evidence that information received via torture is unreliable.

Would Africa have a better chance of rising out of poverty if it hosted more polluting industries or accepted Europe's nuclear waste?
Doubtful.

Is the average intelligence of Western nations declining because duller people are having more children than smarter people?
Wouldn't surprise me, but I have no idea.

Would unwanted children be better off if there were a market in adoption rights, with babies going to the highest bidder?
Unlikely. Babies are in HUGE demand. It's children that are older than 3 or so that have difficulties finding permanent parents.

Would lives be saved if we instituted a free market in organs for transplantation?
Probably.

Should people have the right to clone themselves, or enhance the genetic traits of their children?
Sure.

Do women, on average, have a different profile of aptitudes and emotions than men? Likely

Were the events in the Bible fictitious -- not just the miracles, but those involving kings and empires? No, not all

Has the state of the environment improved in the last 50 years? yes, demonstrably so overall. of course, this depends on what specific environment you are talking about. many are worse

Do most victims of sexual abuse suffer no lifelong damage?"damage" is too subjective.

Did Native Americans engage in genocide and despoil the landscape?i'm sure some did

Do men have an innate tendency to rape?no

Did the crime rate go down in the 1990s because two decades earlier poor women aborted children who would have been prone to violence?data is needed to answer this

Are suicide terrorists well-educated, mentally healthy and morally driven?this is easily answered by a statistical analysis. this is not an opinion question

Would the incidence of rape go down if prostitution were legalized?doubt it

Do African-American men have higher levels of testosterone, on average, than white men?again, do a blood test, don't ask me

Is morality just a product of the evolution of our brains, with no inherent reality? no

Would society be better off if heroin and cocaine were legalized? i doubt it

Is homosexuality the symptom of an infectious disease? that's absurd.

Would it be consistent with our moral principles to give parents the option of euthanizing newborns with birth defects that would consign them to a life of pain and disability? no

Do parents have any effect on the character or intelligence of their children? yes

Have religions killed a greater proportion of people than Nazism? easily analyzed with statistics

Would damage from terrorism be reduced if the police could torture suspects in special circumstances? no

Would Africa have a better chance of rising out of poverty if it hosted more polluting industries or accepted Europe's nuclear waste? accepting waste =/ polluting. To the first point, no.

Is the average intelligence of Western nations declining because duller people are having more children than smarter people? no

Would unwanted children be better off if there were a market in adoption rights, with babies going to the highest bidder? no, this would just create a larger black market

Would lives be saved if we instituted a free market in organs for transplantation? no, this would just create a larger black market

Should people have the right to clone themselves, or enhance the genetic traits of their children? no, i've watched too much scifi.

Do women, on average, have a different profile of aptitudes and emotions than men?
I don't think gender roles play as big a part as everyone likes to thing. Each individual has different aptitudes and emotions.

Were the events in the Bible fictitious -- not just the miracles, but those involving kings and empires?
Allegory. I don't think there were 7 plagues in Egypt. I don't think Sodom and Gomorra were struck from the planet.

Has the state of the environment improved in the last 50 years?
No.

Do most victims of sexual abuse suffer no lifelong damage?
No. All of the victims I have ever known were severely changed and traumatized.

Did Native Americans engage in genocide and despoil the landscape?
Yes. No.

Do men have an innate tendency to rape?
No idea. I don't.

Did the crime rate go down in the 1990s because two decades earlier poor women aborted children who would have been prone to violence?
Unknowable.

Are suicide terrorists well-educated, mentally healthy and morally driven?
I don't know any.

Would the incidence of rape go down if prostitution were legalized?
That depends on why rape occurs.

Do African-American men have higher levels of testosterone, on average, than white men?
Sounds like this could be clinically tested rather than speculated on.

Is morality just a product of the evolution of our brains, with no inherent reality?
Morality is an offshoot of living in societies. It is neither biological nor related to our brains.

Would society be better off if heroin and cocaine were legalized?
NO, NO, NO. Go hang out with a serious heroin or cocaine addict and tell me if society would be better if we condoned it.

Is homosexuality the symptom of an infectious disease?
No.

Would it be consistent with our moral principles to give parents the option of euthanizing newborns with birth defects that would consign them to a life of pain and disability?
Whose moral principles? Not mine.

Do parents have any effect on the character or intelligence of their children?
Yes.

Have religions killed a greater proportion of people than Nazism?
Yes.

Would damage from terrorism be reduced if the police could torture suspects in special circumstances?
I don't know.

Would Africa have a better chance of rising out of poverty if it hosted more polluting industries or accepted Europe's nuclear waste?
No.

Is the average intelligence of Western nations declining because duller people are having more children than smarter people?
No. Our society no longer values intelligence or creativity. In the 50's rocket scientists were superstars. Now they are marginalized "freaks" worthy of ridicule.

Would unwanted children be better off if there were a market in adoption rights, with babies going to the highest bidder?
No.

Would lives be saved if we instituted a free market in organs for transplantation?
Yes. But only for non-vital organs.

Should people have the right to clone themselves, or enhance the genetic traits of their children?
Sure.

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While we're on the subject of stuff that didn't happen, the other three out of the ten plagues probably didn't happen, either.

_________________
Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherezade had a thousand tales
But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves you got a brand of magic never fails...
...Mister Aladdin, sir, What will your pleasure be?
Let me take your order, Jot it down -You ain't never had a friend like me
█ ♣ █

Those I believe ironically. 7 of them I don't.

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Which "non-vital organ" sales would save lives?

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"Dress cops up as soldiers, give them military equipment, train them in military tactics, tell them they’re fighting a ‘war,’ and the consequences are predictable." —Radley Balko

This is...interesting. Which three do you believe, again?

I mean, if I were remotely religious as a christian, jew or muslim, I'd rather have to believe the final, tenth plague. The angel that killed all the firstborn of Egypt but passed over the houses with lamb's blood sprinkled on the doorposts is a cornerstone for the Jewish and Christian (and therefore also, to a lesser extent, Islamic) faiths. And if I were to believe in this ultimate, most drastic of plagues, I'd also be inclined to think the rest of them were not that unlikely.

_________________
Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherezade had a thousand tales
But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves you got a brand of magic never fails...
...Mister Aladdin, sir, What will your pleasure be?
Let me take your order, Jot it down -You ain't never had a friend like me
█ ♣ █

A single kidney, a single lung, part of a liver. Hearts? No. Both kidneys? No. Full liver? No.

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I don't believe God intervenes in flashy ways but I could see some of the plagues arising around about the same time as a result of "natural" events. Specifically, Frogs, Flies and Locusts as all three seem to tie together neatly with a very rainy season.

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Ahhh, so you're saying someone shouldn't be able to sell their heart (for example) if they're still alive?

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"Dress cops up as soldiers, give them military equipment, train them in military tactics, tell them they’re fighting a ‘war,’ and the consequences are predictable." —Radley Balko

Yes, you can't sell anything that would result in your own (or someone else's) death.

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Of course, to play devil's advocate, nothing would stop unscrupulous individuals from killing someone, harvesting both of their kidneys, and selling them separately. A black market would arise involving the sale of stolen organs, either way.

However, overall, I still think it would save lives because more people would be inclined to donate organs if it meant money for themselves or those that survived after them. More donated organs = more people who get the transplants they need.

_________________
Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherezade had a thousand tales
But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves you got a brand of magic never fails...
...Mister Aladdin, sir, What will your pleasure be?
Let me take your order, Jot it down -You ain't never had a friend like me
█ ♣ █

So then you just should not allow third party organ sales no?

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And, Taly, much like the legalization of drugs, sale of organs = more donated organs = more people who get the transplants they need = a less lucrative black market.

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"Dress cops up as soldiers, give them military equipment, train them in military tactics, tell them they’re fighting a ‘war,’ and the consequences are predictable." —Radley Balko

Of course.

_________________
Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherezade had a thousand tales
But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves you got a brand of magic never fails...
...Mister Aladdin, sir, What will your pleasure be?
Let me take your order, Jot it down -You ain't never had a friend like me
█ ♣ █

I think 3rd party sales would be the only way this would ever work. Next of kin sells organs, etc. You're not going to find a huge market of people trying to sell their own organs.

Actually, I take that back. I'm an organ donor now. If I could sell my organs for a good bit of cash now, for delivery after my (natural, ****, stay away from me) death, I'd do it.

Creating a third party vendor system would create a black market. Which is why I said creating one for non-vital organs (if that is the proper phrase here?).

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