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<< I've done some research on these kinds of population control. No country has ever correctly implemented it. >>
I'd hazard that it cannot be done. Basic human flaws that you've already mentioned (greed, lust, stupidity, etc) stand in the way. Like people who cannot possibly afford the cost of rearing more children, yet continue to do so. Or people who are so wont to have just ONE child, instead of adopting or some such, they take some crazy fertility drug and end up with 8 kids. >>
I'm afraid that I have to agree. Humans aren't exactly the brightest species the Universe has spawned
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<< I was only referring to genetical flaws which would lead to serious defects/illnesses in the offspring. If you've ever seen a child suffer from some physical deformation or have heard a child with cystic fibrosis tell you that he won't even live past 30 years, you don't wish any child to experience the same thing. Not even if their family gains so much 'love' from these children :disgust: >>
Dude...at The College of New Jersey, a required course is this "Society, Ethics and Technology" and in one lecture they show a film about this couple and they have a kid who has CF. Sucks for them. They go see a genetic counsellor who determines that they each carry CF and there's a 75% chance any kid they have will also have CF.
So what do they do?
Have another kid.
And the crux of the film is actually their wrestling with what should be a no brainer--whether or not they should have a 3rd child. Maybe I'm nuts, but after the misery of the first 2 kids, you'd think they'd want to spare their future children. >>
Did I already mention stupidity and stubbornness?
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<< ***
<< I consider marriage to be a relic from different times. It's a pretty silly concept. >>
The institutional concept of marriage is somewhat whacked. The spiritual concept, OTOH, is sound enough. >>
I find it flawed. But I assume that people are just too much used to it. Afraid to think outside the box, I guess. >>
Get back to me when/if you meet that "special someone" [/i] >>
*laughs*
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<< We'll see. 10 bucks say that you're wrong >>
You are SO on! Let's hope paypal still exists in 10 years. But if it is, you're gonna owe me! >>
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<< Sorry, but I enjoy being alone, simply because of my personality, the person I am. I can think of no words which can describe what I feel at this moment, but this should give you a crude impression: It feels as though I've a complete multiverse inside of my mind. I live the lifes of countless people, feel and think everything they do, see what they see. >>
I know how you feel. I enjoy solitude. I can constantly entertain myself in my mind. Clinicians call it "Attention Defecit Disorder." >>
LOL
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<< However, you have lived naught if you have only lived in your imagination. As I said...there's only so much you can learn without truly experiencing. You can play a game or read a book or act on a stage, but you haven't truly experienced it until you have truly done. >>
I beg to disagree. The world isn't as complicated as one might imagine. It's actually quite simple. It are just two traits of the Human race which keeps it from realizing this: stubbornness and stupidity >>
It's not even about the world being complicated, really. It is, in a way, the simplicity that makes it complex. It's nothing more than electrical impulses and chemicals. Yet somehow if you could reproduce exactly the physical reactions of the body, you still would not get the same experience.
Think of it this way. You can try to imagine me as a kayak surfer and attempt to live the experience. You can probably get a good impression of how it's done and what it feels like from reading, doing a virutal reality sim or some such. Imagining, role-playing it, even by sitting on the beach or in another boat watching it go on.
But no amount of passive experience could ever possibly prepare you for what it actually feels like to flip over backwards, or fly through the air, or drop down the face of the wave. The true experience cannot be simulated, nor can it be felt without actually doing it. >>
I can.
When fully focusing your thoughts during meditation, you can experience just about anything. Ever wondered what it feels like to be stabbed by a knife? I know, because I've felt it.
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<< You won't get it now, but in 5-10 years, believe me, you will. >>
What makes you so certain? >>
There's a certain constancy to people. I once thought I knew myself, in many ways the way you know yourself. I came to realize I was quite wrong in some ways and quite right in others. We'll see >>
[/i] >>
Indeed, we'll see