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Culture War Roundup for the week of September 26, 2022

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What's worse is, "What percent of a thing is environmentally/genetically determined" is itself environmentally determined. In an environment where not everyone is well-fed, height isn't completely genetic, because there are people who are short because they've been malnourished. Once you feed everyone, the environment is no longer determining who is short, it's just genetics.

(Unless I've made a mistake here) This paradox is pretty contentious though because it seemingly undermines many revolutionaries. If something is even a little bit genetic, the revolutionary seems to be steering the future where it becomes more and more genetic. Since revolutionaries aren't out there measuring how genetic and meritocratic society is, I suspect "there is some nurture to it!" is basically said in bad faith, by people who are salty.

That is to say, being short sucks whether its because of your genetics or because you're not well-fed. The Short Revolution uses the nature/nurture argument to justify the guillotine.

The honest blank slatist is then resigned to argue that genetics and biology is unfair. Is he even wrong?

The honest blank slatist is then resigned to argue that genetics and biology is unfair. Is he even wrong?

I'm not sure what this even means, if they are acknowledging that genetics and biology is unfair then they can't be a blank slatist. Yes, biology and genetics is unfair, when did "life isn't fair" stop being a cliche truism?

Complicating this is that both facial claims are probably always at least a little true.

I was assuming that this was uncontroversial enough that most real people would agree with it, and so nobody would be a true blank slatist. In this way, "blank slatism" would be a spectrum of belief. Someone who thinks that nurture is most of things, and nature is very little would be highly blank slatist.

Still, my post was bad because it assumed that a world without disparate nurture impacts would still look more or less like ours, whereas it might look very different. In that world, all differences really are nature, but maybe those differences are very small. In that case, highly blank slatists are vindicated.

when did "life isn't fair" stop being a cliche truism?

Around the same time that they started handing out participation trophies, if I had to guess.