Blish's "Conscience" vs. Wolfe's "Fifth Head"

Omixochitl · 03 Jan 2006, 04:59 · from rec.arts.sf.written.2006.mbox

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From: Omixochitl <omixochitl2002 at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Blish's "Conscience" vs. Wolfe's "Fifth Head"
Date: 03 Jan 2006 04:59:13 GMT
Message-ID: <Xns97401D1B36Aidtoken at 204.153.244.170>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
References: <1135781723.546189.19520 at g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com> <1136128612.366330.128000 at f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com> <Xns973F5BACDAC2Bidtoken at 204.153.244.170> <1136227104.069393.207880 at z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com> <41tatqF1g85fbU1 at individual.net>

>>
>> Perhaps the statistics don't actually support the concern I voiced
>> above -- I don't know. Urban legend would suggest that NBA stars tend
>> to father far more children than any intellectual, but this again
>> could be bogus.
> 
> Whether bogus or not, it's irrelevant, unless the women he fathers
> them _on_ refrain from getting pregnant (in or out of wedlock) by
> someone else. 

Also, whether bogus or not, it sidesteps the whole nurture factor.  After 
all, part of the urban legend seems to be that these athletes don't know 
of, let alone support and encourage, all their kids.

Now if an intellectual behaved the same way, would his kids be much better 
off?  Or is the kid of a single mom and a professor who totally ignores 
then no more likely to succeed than the kid of the same woman and a ball 
player who totally ignores them?

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