2015-03-15, 12:02 AM
[MENTION=4093]SaptaZapta[/MENTION]; I actually almost brought up the decline in marriage rates as well. I'm aware of the statistics, but I don't have much personal experience with this occurring in my social groups. Among my friends and family, marriage is still the norm and definitely desired even if there is no religious implications.
The divorce rate also has a lot to do with the expanding notion of "parents". My parents divorced and then both remarried leaving me with 4 parents and 8 grandparents. I actually consider myself fortunate to have so many people involved in my life (most of the time anyway lol).
The mental ethnic difference is actually an old issue. But I think most of what you're seeing is nurture rather than nature. There's far more variety in brain physiology and chemistry within ethnic groups than there is distinction between them. I think a more poignant question would deal with the history of disenfranchisement of minority groups and the difficulty of breaking the cycle of socio-economic poverty that is actually culturally imbeded in some communities.
I could talk about AI for hours, but there's no real prospect of sentience in the near future. Long term though... we'll have to watch out for Skynet.
The divorce rate also has a lot to do with the expanding notion of "parents". My parents divorced and then both remarried leaving me with 4 parents and 8 grandparents. I actually consider myself fortunate to have so many people involved in my life (most of the time anyway lol).
The mental ethnic difference is actually an old issue. But I think most of what you're seeing is nurture rather than nature. There's far more variety in brain physiology and chemistry within ethnic groups than there is distinction between them. I think a more poignant question would deal with the history of disenfranchisement of minority groups and the difficulty of breaking the cycle of socio-economic poverty that is actually culturally imbeded in some communities.
I could talk about AI for hours, but there's no real prospect of sentience in the near future. Long term though... we'll have to watch out for Skynet.