by Jenab6 » Tue 06 Jun 2006, 07:22:32
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Teclo', 'F')or a start we are more likely to destroy the human race by overbreeding than underbreeding; [the] planet's full. So you get groups that reproduce more than others, tact and diplomacy build a fence round your little culture. The base, nature idea of out breeding other races is futile and senseless and reduces quality of life for all....
I'm reminded of that first year of calculus when students are trying to sort out the meaning of derivatives in ascending order.
The zeroth derivative is simply the value of the function; where the zeroth derivative is zero, the function has a root (it crosses the domain axis). The first derivative is the slope of the tangent line at that part of the function; where the first derivative is zero, the function has a local maximum or minimum. The second derivative is the rate at which the first derivative is changing; where the second derivative is zero, the function has an inflexion point. The third derivative is the rate at which the second derivative is changing, etc.
If you've taken that calculus course, you've seen students struggle to assimilate the various ideas entailed by differentiation and sort them in relationship to each other.
But you can see the same sort of struggle, or failure to struggle, in the realm of social or political ideas. Some people never get past noticing that a certain thing is "positive," or, perhaps we should say, "progressive." They see the zeroth derivative of a situation, but that's
all they see, and, for many of them, it's all they
want to see or ever
will see.
If you think about it, though, you'll realize that every social function is dynamic and therefore has derivatives of higher order. What is positive now might not stay positive; it might lead to a maximum followed by a downturn. In order to understand ideas such as this, it's helpful to study history and make thoughtful comparisons, and learn to recognize specious modern "hip" propaganda whenever you hear it.
Jerry Abbott