Hi Zim,
It's been a very useful dialog with you which has substantially shifted my thinking on what causes what. Most of all, I now see an absolutely critical tie between culture and individual genome to create a “civilization”. Interrupt that tie and the civilization goes into collapse. That was true in Rome, that is true now in Western societies, I expect.
To the degree that intelligence SELECTED FOR in reproduction drives drives the growth of dominant civilization, the tech which arrives from the intelligence becomes a force interfering with integrity of the genome(ethnicity) + culture. And, thus, the tech proceeds to destroy the genome + culture, and to collapse the civilization.
FWIW, I think you continue to pretty much completely misunderstand what I am saying with regard to ethnicity-intelligence.
The Chinese ethnicity has an average IQ higher than the average Caucasian. The Japanese, likewise. The Jewish likewise. These are all FACTS...and I am not a member of any of those IQ-exhaulted groups. Conversely, it is similarly just a fact that certain ethnicities are, on average, lower IQ than the average Caucasian.
I don't know where Filipinos, in particular, fit into the spectrum. In my experience, and judging both from the geographical ties to Asia, and from their ability to adapt and master new skills and technologies, their average IQ is probably quite high and, quite possibly, higher than the Caucasian average. In their native culture (which includes Catholicism...and allowing the genetically-unfit to die of starvation or otherwise), successful Filipinos have a reproductive advantage. So, I'm guessing the average IQ in the Philippines is pretty high…and might actually be increasing!?
So this is not about "racism", that is not the point I am trying to make. I'm saying that IQ reflects genetics and genetics reflect REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS IN A *SPECIFIC*. ENVIRONMENT. What creates reproductive success, over generations, is SELECTION: what group has the most children which go on, themselves, to reproduce.
I have also come to realize, in trying to lay out my argument for you, is that once you separate ethnicity +culture+environment, the equation E+C+E=CIVILIZATION fails to work, and you MUST expect change to a new dyamic.... Average IQ will go up or down, SELECTED for or against, in that new dynamic, based SOLELY on whether it conveys a survival (reproductive) advantage.
What led to Western civilization was a mutually-reinforcing connection between ethnicity(genome, including IQ), culture (including religion), and environmenal pressure. We have now shattered the connection.
That equation has now been shattered by disturbing the reproductive advantage. Our civilization, therefore, must rebalance (no surprise) DOWNWARD.
"We have become the tool of our tools." ― Henry David Thoreau.
In this case, genetics+culture+environment allowed us to create tools to further our civiizational ascent. But, in doing so, it forced a break in genetics+culture+environment. So, collapse of this civilization was baked into the cake (the "progress") we made. Now the "progress" becomes our undoing and, in turn, lowers reproductive-selection, lowers AVERAGE IQ, speeds the collapse.
Does that make sense? IQ is only one portion of genome. Higher IQ, in a mismatched culture, isn't rewarded with reproductive advantage and, therefore, AVERAGE IQ goes into decline. Which is what we are seeing, decade by decade. Falling IQ lowers ability to master the advanced math which ABSOLUTELY underscores our tech and our civilization.
It is fascinating how intelligence ONLY provides advantage, only creates a positive feedback loop, in a particular environment and culture. And how that same intelligence then goes into reverse: destroying the culture, the reproductive advantage, the civilization, and eventually the higher IQ itself!
ALL that evolution cares about is who has the most babies who, in turn, go on to procreate. So, look at a civilization and you will see the highest IQ individuals at the apex of that civilization(machine). Now, if the people at the apex are not reproducing at a much higher rate than than people further down the hierarchy you are looking at a civilzation with falling IQ and falling civilization.
No way out of that outcome. Western-civilization no longer rewards higher achievement with more survival advantage. Indeed, those who achieve the most in our system actually reproduce LESS than those who contribute the least. Evolution is RUTHLESS...and not always obvious!
Our intelligence, itself, has made us unfit to survive, as we embraced one "improvement" after another which gave reproductive/survival advantage to those less intelligent (instead of letting them die/be sterile)! You have to laugh, when you realize what we did to ourselves with our attempt to "progress" the outside world! ;->
Wow! It's going to take me some time to digest this insight and repercussions!
My guess is WEF, and plenty of others, have modelled this on computer, run it out 2-5 generations, and know, quite well, how fooked our “civilization” is. We are “selecting for” lower and lower and lower IQ. Lower IQ now provides a reproductive advantage until the whole of the machinery falls down...making way for something dramatically different!
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