[ExI] moral guidance please: was Anders on io9

[Adrian Tymes]

On Fri, Feb 7, 2014 at 8:47 PM, spike <spike66 at att.net> wrote:

> Parting shot on all this: I have contacted about 120 of my DNA relatives
> and I will have to say it has been mostly a disappointment.  My DNA
> relatives were not nearly as bright as I had imagined them to be; on the
> contrary.  They seemed to be unable to reason thru such things as creating
> genetic triangulation algorithms, or invent creative ideas on how to deduce
> identities of their own DNA relatives.  All this with one shining
> exception, one very bright cousin, who was interesting, smart as a whip,
> well educated, open minded, creative, wise, kind, all the good stuff.
>

Genetic kinship seems to be FAR less useful in finding fellow spirits as
social or memetic kinship.

At least, that is how it is these days.  Things were Different(TM) just
over 20 years ago, and moreso 20 years before that, so the ancient wisdom
about seeking one's blood brothers may well have been true...in ancient
times.  It just doesn't seem to apply today.

(True, I am more likely to find a closer companion on the far side of the
US than, say, in southwest Asia - but that again is due to memetic
kinship.  If that person were, as a child, brought to and raised in the US,
my odds of bonding with them would raise to the average for any random US
citizen, without any genetic links being added.  And indeed, this exact
scenario has happened more than once, resulting in an acquaintance I would
not otherwise have made.)
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