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[LeoLeonardoIII]

It's like picking a four-leaf clover. You pick one and then you're more likely to find another. The person who first finds one will find ever-increasing amounts, dramatically increasing their luck. If you never pick one up you're stuck with a crappy +0 to everything forever.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

I was under the impression that Black Americans benefited genetically/physically from slave breeding as well.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I feel like I need a different word than ''benefited'' there :p

No, and if you ever come to America I would not say that. That is the kind of thing that racists say.

Dutchling: There was selective slave breeding? I had not been aware of that.

There was indeed, but as it was carried out by people who had at best a rudimentary understanding of genetics and heredity for about 250 years (in truth less, all evidence of selective slave breeding I've ever seen is from the 1800's) there is no way it could have made meaningful changes that would persist in the population. Evolution doesn't happen that fast even in an optimized eugenics program, let alone the pseudoscientific efforts of slavers.

[nenjin]

I can see where he's coming from, from a totally factual point of view. When you treat people like cattle, selective breeding is what can result. I wouldn't call it a "benefit", nor do I think slavery went on long enough for that kind of genetic engineering to really have taken hold. But it's not out of the realm of possibility.

But yes, calling it a "benefit" in America is guaranteed to piss off or offend a lot of people.

[XXSockXX]

But yes, calling it a "benefit" in America is guaranteed to piss off or offend a lot of people.

I understood "benefit" sarcastically here, you know, as in Black Americans still suffering from hereditary effects of having ancestors living in miserable conditions for generations, with malnutrition, trauma and such. I think I have heard that studies can actually show some of these effects today.

[LeoLeonardoIII]

Yeah these guys still believed in phrenology, the phlogiston and aether, moral relativism, young-earth creationism, and homeopathy.

[nenjin]

But yes, calling it a "benefit" in America is guaranteed to piss off or offend a lot of people.

I understood "benefit" sarcastically here, you know, as in Black Americans still suffering from hereditary effects of having ancestors living in miserable conditions for generations, with malnutrition, trauma and such. I think I have heard that studies can actually show some of these effects today.

America is increasingly becoming unable to distinguish sarcasm from just garden variety racism. Or more appropriately, people are so ready to dive over what they view as racism they'll shout first and read between the lines later.

[Darvi]

Yeah these guys still believed in phrenology, the phlogiston and aether, moral relativism, young-earth creationism, and homeopathy.

Soooo pretty much like your average hick?

[Dutchling]

America has done with the word "racism" what the whole world is doing with "anti-semitism".

[XXSockXX]

America is increasingly becoming unable to distinguish sarcasm from just garden variety racism. Or more appropriately, people are so ready to dive over what they view as racism they'll shout first and read between the lines later.

We all have our sensitive issues. There currently is a minor media outrage over Hillary Clinton making a Putin/Hitler comparison, these never go over well in Germany.

[LeoLeonardoIII]

Yeah nobody wants to be associated with Putin.

[XXSockXX]

Yeah nobody wants to be associated with Putin.

Oh yeah, I'm glad I made clear what I meant there. 

[Bauglir]

This seems like a good post explaining why that's not true.

it had more to do with the “luck” of the slave to that point.

Right, so basically the slave population was naturally selected for their amount of luck. And then they got lucky with other lucky people, leading to a luck spiral. The genetic luck then causes a disproportionate amount of the best trainers and talent scouts to notice the ones who are good at sports at the exact right moment.

I see.

... Wat. That quote was from a section in which it was explained why this particular application of "selection" is, in fact, bullshit. That's like quoting somebody saying "I have never said that Hitler was right" starting after "that". "Luck" is shorthand for "that particular person's life experiences up to that point, and specifically nothing to do with genetics". How you're possibly interpreting it to be a claim that "luck" is something that was genetically selected for, I have no idea. I've highlighted the quote below, in the context in which it appeared this time. Seriously, what the fuck, dude?

Selection in Africa was largely the result of tribal conflicts and war. Those who became slaves were not selected for strength but were merely the survivors of conflict. Even if the people choosing who became a slave was selecting for apparent strength/health the basis of that strength/health was NOT genetic but was environmental/opportunistic, that person just happened to not be suffering from randomly acting disease/injury/malnutrition.

Survival on the way to the slave markets was similarly not genetic but had to do with the slave's health at the beginning of the trip and specific events (disease exposure/nutrition/etc.) during the trip.

Traders in markets in Africa may have selected for perceived strength/health, but again the basis for this selection was not primarily genetic, it had more to do with the "luck" of the slave to that point.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

America has done with the word "racism" what the whole world is doing with "anti-semitism".

Que? Are you really going to imply that there isn't racism and anti-semitism in the world? I'm just trying to help you, dude. "Slavery wasn't all bad because it lead to X benefit" is a argument that is made by some racist revisionists in America.

[Descan]

* Descan watches the joke do a 720 spin as it flies over Bauglirs head.

[Bauglir]

* Descan watches the joke do a 720 spin as it flies over Bauglirs head.

... That does happen, occasionally. That's what I get for reading this thread while doing other things. Wait, do you think it would be believable if I claimed to be playing along?