[MD] Is morality Hard Wired, part two?

[Krimel]

[Khalid]
Has technology worked against Biology?

[Krimel]
I would be hard pressed to say the technology has worked against biology.
After all life spans are longer and populations continue to rise at levels
that would give Malthus the heeby jeebies.

[Khalid]
Are social skills lagging behind modernization?

[Krimel]
Whole new social skills are evolving before our eyes. Even 10 years ago
there was no reminder in movie theaters to turn of your cell phone. There
were no proposals being advanced in English Departments to allow children to
express themselves as they do when text messaging. If a student tried to use
emoticons of abbreviations it was a BFD. 

What is acceptable speech any more? I knew some serious lines had been
crossed the first time I heard a talk show host call someone a pussy. But
it's not like we couldn't see it coming.

[Khalid]
Have we interfered with the "survival of the fittest"?

[Krimel]
Maybe interfere is not the right word but we have radically altered what
fittest means. We have extended the lives of children born with all manner
of birth defects. We allow all kinds of people who can not care for
themselves to live and to reproduce. There are laws in most states that
respect the reproductive rights of people with developmental disabilities,
drug problems and genetic problems.

[Khalid]
While certain groups seem to function well on the basic level, the lack
of refinement and enlightenment will hinder social advancement. I.e. the
use of the N word for endearment, or using the F word 5 times in a 20
word sentence.
 
[Krimel]
Every generation seems to seek to outrage the generations that preceded it.
I don't really know if this is true but it surely seemed to be true in the
past century. The real problem is the pace of change. I was talking to a
teacher recently about the ways her students not only behave but about the
way they understand the world around them. She is seeing radical changes of
behavior and attitude among classes only five or ten years apart. Technology
is accelerating exponentially. 

I was listening to a lecture by Ray Kurzweill today. He has been looking at
the pace of change in several different ways over the past 15 years and sees
the exponential growth in knowledge across several disciplines. In the
computer field processing and storage capacity are now doubling about once a
year. In the areas of medical science the example he gives is that five
years ago it cost about $12 to sequence a gene pair it now costs under a
penny. 

It is now common to install cybernetic devices in humans. Pacemakers now
include defibrillators for heart patients. There are cochlear implants for
the deaf, computer chips in the brains for Parkinson's patients and nearly
ever organ of the body is being studied with an eye toward repair and
enhancement.

I don't think this the case of Socrates grousing about the unruly Athenian
youth anymore. This is really something different and I don't think we are
ready for it.

It is a bit hard for me to get all huffy about the behavior of children
growing up under conditions that are almost nothing like what I experienced
as a child. I am not even sure what advice one generation can offer to the
next anymore.

[Khalid] 
Please understand, my observations are general. Yes I am painting with a
very broad brush. People should be free to do as they wish, but is there
such thing as public etiquette and guidelines for a place where families
gather?

[Krimel]
I agree that freedom is a wonderful thing but I think you are right to be
concerned. It is terribly disappointing how it gets put to use.
 
[Khalid]
I have nothing against people with tattoos. But is there a code somewhere
about displaying your prison tattoos in public.
 
[Krimel]
Some of the baby that gets toss with the theological bathwater is stuff like
the body is the temple of the Lord. I wouldn't mind getting that one back
out of the yard.