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Richard Dawkins Puts Foot in Mouth Again With Tweets About How Eugenics “Works”
#1

Richard Dawkins Puts Foot in Mouth Again With Tweets About How Eugenics “Works”
https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2020...ics-works/

I don't know enough about Eugenics, but I should, considering I was born with a genetic disorder and therefore am "genetically inferior".
“For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.” -Carl Sagan.
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#2

Richard Dawkins Puts Foot in Mouth Again With Tweets About How Eugenics “Works”
A controversy created by snowflakes. Deadpan Coffee Drinker
“Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet. 
Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich.”
― Napoleon Bonaparte
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#3

Richard Dawkins Puts Foot in Mouth Again With Tweets About How Eugenics “Works”
What do people think genetic counseling, both pre and post conception, is about? It provides a choice to the individuals involved.

To many people that hear "eugenics" think of the distant past when individual choice was not an option.

Edit: GN, is your condition considered inherited (~10%) or random?
Being told you're delusional does not necessarily mean you're mental. 
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#4

Richard Dawkins Puts Foot in Mouth Again With Tweets About How Eugenics “Works”
I have nothing against eugenics.

It's going happen anyways.
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#5

Richard Dawkins Puts Foot in Mouth Again With Tweets About How Eugenics “Works”
(02-17-2020, 03:13 AM)brewerb Wrote: What do people think genetic counseling, both pre and post conception, is about? It provides a choice to the individuals involved.

To many people that hear "eugenics" think of the distant past when individual choice was not an option.

Edit: GN, is your condition considered inherited (~10%) or random?

It's inherited.
“For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.” -Carl Sagan.
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#6

Richard Dawkins Puts Foot in Mouth Again With Tweets About How Eugenics “Works”
What if it isn't the government doing it?


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/...odigy-kids

Quote:Chinese Parents Test DNA to Check If Kids Will Become Prodigies

A wave of companies promises to uncover everything from talents to emotional intelligence.
Robert G. Ingersoll : “No man with a sense of humor ever founded a religion.”
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#7

Richard Dawkins Puts Foot in Mouth Again With Tweets About How Eugenics “Works”
(02-17-2020, 05:42 AM)Minimalist Wrote: What if it isn't the government doing it?


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/...odigy-kids

Quote:Chinese Parents Test DNA to Check If Kids Will Become Prodigies

A wave of companies promises to uncover everything from talents to emotional intelligence.

There's a sucker born every minute?

SWIDT
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#8

Richard Dawkins Puts Foot in Mouth Again With Tweets About How Eugenics “Works”
(02-17-2020, 05:42 AM)Minimalist Wrote: What if it isn't the government doing it?


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/...odigy-kids

Quote:Chinese Parents Test DNA to Check If Kids Will Become Prodigies

A wave of companies promises to uncover everything from talents to emotional intelligence.

I'm highly skeptical we already have that capability. Also I'm sure you're well aware parents can be just as tyrannical as governments. Tongue
“For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.” -Carl Sagan.
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#9

Richard Dawkins Puts Foot in Mouth Again With Tweets About How Eugenics “Works”
The Friendly Atheist wilfully misrepresents what Dawkins was getting at, and tried to paint him as a supporter
of eugenics—which is absurd.  

Dawkins said, "For those determined to miss the point, I deplore the idea of a eugenic policy.
I simply said deploring it doesn’t mean it wouldn’t work.   Just as we breed cows to yield more
milk, we could breed humans to run faster or jump higher. But heaven [sic ] forbid that we should do it."
I'm a creationist;   I believe that man created God.
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#10

Richard Dawkins Puts Foot in Mouth Again With Tweets About How Eugenics “Works”
(02-17-2020, 02:22 PM)SYZ Wrote: The Friendly Atheist wilfully misrepresents what Dawkins was getting at, and tried to paint him as a supporter
of eugenics—which is absurd.  

Dawkins said, "For those determined to miss the point, I deplore the idea of a eugenic policy.
I simply said deploring it doesn’t mean it wouldn’t work.   Just as we breed cows to yield more
milk, we could breed humans to run faster or jump higher. But heaven [sic ] forbid that we should do it."

They make note of the fact he didn't condone it: 

Quote: People will inevitably take him out of context. He’s not supporting what the Nazis did. He’s not condoning how eugenics has been used in the past. But his desire to make a point that eugenics works in theory — in a space where he can’t expand on his thinking just seems… like a horrible idea for someone whose career has been built on communicating science.
“For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.” -Carl Sagan.
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#11

Richard Dawkins Puts Foot in Mouth Again With Tweets About How Eugenics “Works”
(02-17-2020, 12:49 PM)GenesisNemesis Wrote:
(02-17-2020, 05:42 AM)Minimalist Wrote: What if it isn't the government doing it?


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/...odigy-kids

Quote:Chinese Parents Test DNA to Check If Kids Will Become Prodigies

A wave of companies promises to uncover everything from talents to emotional intelligence.

I'm highly skeptical we already have that capability. Also I'm sure you're well aware parents can be just as tyrannical as governments. Tongue



Of course, but when governments do something it is always nefarious while when parents do it its because they are assholes.

If current history has taught us anything it is that governments can be assholes, too.
Robert G. Ingersoll : “No man with a sense of humor ever founded a religion.”
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#12

Richard Dawkins Puts Foot in Mouth Again With Tweets About How Eugenics “Works”
(02-17-2020, 03:06 PM)GenesisNemesis Wrote: They make note of the fact he didn't condone it...

Yeah nah... they also said "Of course eugenics was also used by the Nazis in an attempt to create an Aryan
race.  They forcibly sterilized people who didn’t meet their demands — or just flat-out murdered them."

Guilt by association?
I'm a creationist;   I believe that man created God.
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#13

Richard Dawkins Puts Foot in Mouth Again With Tweets About How Eugenics “Works”
(02-17-2020, 04:20 PM)SYZ Wrote:
(02-17-2020, 03:06 PM)GenesisNemesis Wrote: They make note of the fact he didn't condone it...

Yeah nah... they also said "Of course eugenics was also used by the Nazis in an attempt to create an Aryan
race.  They forcibly sterilized people who didn’t meet their demands — or just flat-out murdered them."

Guilt by association?

No, I think that fits with the claim that saying Eugenics works is kind of sketchy at best.
“For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.” -Carl Sagan.
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#14

Richard Dawkins Puts Foot in Mouth Again With Tweets About How Eugenics “Works”
(02-17-2020, 03:30 AM)Free Wrote: I have nothing against eugenics.

It's going happen anyways.

Anyway” is an adverb meaning regardless. Simply put, “anyway” without an S is correct.
Always use it without the S. “Anyways” with the S is considered slang, and is a part of nonstandard, colloquial, or informal English."
Test
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#15

Richard Dawkins Puts Foot in Mouth Again With Tweets About How Eugenics “Works”
Meh, Dawkins is a gasbag and I don't see any reason to pay attention to his opinions.

-Teresa
There is in the universe only one true divide, one real binary, life and death. Either you are living or you are not. Everything else is molten, malleable.

-Susan Faludi, In the Darkroom
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#16

Richard Dawkins Puts Foot in Mouth Again With Tweets About How Eugenics “Works”
(02-17-2020, 05:28 PM)Bucky Ball Wrote:
(02-17-2020, 03:30 AM)Free Wrote: I have nothing against eugenics.

It's going happen anyways.

Anyway” is an adverb meaning regardless. Simply put, “anyway” without an S is correct.
Always use it without the S. “Anyways” with the S is considered slang, and is a part of nonstandard, colloquial, or informal English."

I think I've actually read another one of your comments mentioning this, and that made me stop saying "anyways". Tongue
“For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.” -Carl Sagan.
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#17

Richard Dawkins Puts Foot in Mouth Again With Tweets About How Eugenics “Works”
(02-17-2020, 05:28 PM)Bucky Ball Wrote:
(02-17-2020, 03:30 AM)Free Wrote: I have nothing against eugenics.

It's going happen anyways.

Anyway” is an adverb meaning regardless. Simply put, “anyway” without an S is correct.
Always use it without the S. “Anyways” with the S is considered slang, and is a part of nonstandard, colloquial, or informal English."

Lexicon is the rule.

But, you know, I don't really care anyways.

Dance
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#18

Richard Dawkins Puts Foot in Mouth Again With Tweets About How Eugenics “Works”
(02-17-2020, 06:57 PM)Free Wrote:
(02-17-2020, 05:28 PM)Bucky Ball Wrote:
(02-17-2020, 03:30 AM)Free Wrote: I have nothing against eugenics.

It's going happen anyways.

Anyway” is an adverb meaning regardless. Simply put, “anyway” without an S is correct.
Always use it without the S. “Anyways” with the S is considered slang, and is a part of nonstandard, colloquial, or informal English."

Lexicon is the rule.

But, you know, I don't really care anyways.

Dance

I ain't got no issues with "anyways" anyways.
[Image: color%5D%5Bcolor=#333333%5D%5Bsize=small%5D%5Bfont=T...ans-Serif%5D]
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#19

Richard Dawkins Puts Foot in Mouth Again With Tweets About How Eugenics “Works”
(02-17-2020, 01:02 AM)GenesisNemesis Wrote: https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2020...ics-works/

I don't know enough about Eugenics, but I should, considering I was born with a genetic disorder and therefore am "genetically inferior".

Did Dawkins use the words "genetically inferior"?

Fact based speculations shouldn't be taken personally.  Saying eugenics would result in certain outcomes in the speculative realm is the same as saying "Here is what would have happened if Hitler had won WWII" or something like that.
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#20

Richard Dawkins Puts Foot in Mouth Again With Tweets About How Eugenics “Works”
(02-17-2020, 05:29 PM)Tres Leches Wrote: Meh, Dawkins is a gasbag and I don't see any reason to pay attention to his opinions.

-Teresa

He's one of the most interesting and insightful experts in his field, I would encourage you to reconsider and check out some of his work.
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#21

Richard Dawkins Puts Foot in Mouth Again With Tweets About How Eugenics “Works”
(02-17-2020, 04:53 PM)GenesisNemesis Wrote:
(02-17-2020, 04:20 PM)SYZ Wrote:
(02-17-2020, 03:06 PM)GenesisNemesis Wrote: They make note of the fact he didn't condone it...

Yeah nah... they also said "Of course eugenics was also used by the Nazis in an attempt to create an Aryan
race.  They forcibly sterilized people who didn’t meet their demands — or just flat-out murdered them."

Guilt by association?

No, I think that fits with the claim that saying Eugenics works is kind of sketchy at best.

If carried out, it would literally work.  Unless you think it doesn't work when humans have attempted to reach certain goals with animals and crops.  That's entirely different than saying it should be carried out.  It's one of the glories of modern civilization that we protect and defend those that if left to pure "natural selection" would die early deaths, and one of the shames of modern civilization that we don't do it better.
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#22

Richard Dawkins Puts Foot in Mouth Again With Tweets About How Eugenics “Works”
(02-17-2020, 04:53 PM)GenesisNemesis Wrote:
(02-17-2020, 04:20 PM)SYZ Wrote:
(02-17-2020, 03:06 PM)GenesisNemesis Wrote: They make note of the fact he didn't condone it...

Yeah nah... they also said "Of course eugenics was also used by the Nazis in an attempt to create an Aryan
race.  They forcibly sterilized people who didn’t meet their demands — or just flat-out murdered them."

Guilt by association?

No, I think that fits with the claim that saying Eugenics works is kind of sketchy at best.

And because it’s also redundant(I don’t know anyone he may be addressing that suggests it doesn’t work), you have to wonder why. Dawkins may be many things but he is definitely not ignorant of the baggage that eugenics carries. He is a troll at a minimum.
If it doesn't work, it doesn't matter how fast it doesn't work. ~ ???
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#23

Richard Dawkins Puts Foot in Mouth Again With Tweets About How Eugenics “Works”
(02-18-2020, 01:38 AM)tomilay Wrote:
(02-17-2020, 04:53 PM)GenesisNemesis Wrote:
(02-17-2020, 04:20 PM)SYZ Wrote: Yeah nah... they also said "Of course eugenics was also used by the Nazis in an attempt to create an Aryan
race.  They forcibly sterilized people who didn’t meet their demands — or just flat-out murdered them."

Guilt by association?

No, I think that fits with the claim that saying Eugenics works is kind of sketchy at best.

And because it’s also redundant(I don’t know anyone he may be addressing that suggests it doesn’t work), you have to wonder why.  Dawkins may be many things but he is definitely not ignorant of the baggage that eugenics carries.  He is a troll at a minimum.

Maybe, maybe at minimum he's a troll.  I doubt it but okay.  But at maximum, guess what, he's still merely a troll. (feel free to suggest otherwise)
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#24

Richard Dawkins Puts Foot in Mouth Again With Tweets About How Eugenics “Works”
I guess you have to define "works."  They tried the one-child policy in China and it resulted in a staggering demographic bubble where there are too many boys and not enough girls because parents "selected" for boys.  But, technically it did "work."

I suppose the one thing you can say about eugenics of any sort is that the law of unintended consequences will bite you in the ass every time.
Robert G. Ingersoll : “No man with a sense of humor ever founded a religion.”
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#25

Richard Dawkins Puts Foot in Mouth Again With Tweets About How Eugenics “Works”
(02-18-2020, 01:16 AM)jerry mcmasters Wrote:
(02-17-2020, 01:02 AM)GenesisNemesis Wrote: https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2020...ics-works/

I don't know enough about Eugenics, but I should, considering I was born with a genetic disorder and therefore am "genetically inferior".

Did Dawkins use the words "genetically inferior"?

Fact based speculations shouldn't be taken personally.  Saying eugenics would result in certain outcomes in the speculative realm is the same as saying "Here is what would have happened if Hitler had won WWII" or something like that.

I never claimed Dawkins supported Eugenics.  Tongue

Was sarcasm. Sheesh.
“For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.” -Carl Sagan.
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