Considering how closely-related to humans Neanderthals are, it would seem rather unethical to bring one into the world as an experiment. It would live, who knows, maybe 80 years and have to be cared for the entire time. I fail to see the purpose.
The article relating government spending as a percent of GDP to income in developed countries is certainly revealing. The list of possible explanations for the list of GDP x Income provides some valuable insights into why this is the case empirically. It would be interesting to break each country’s economy down into not just income vs GDP but how the money was spent. I’d be curious to see if income varied when controlling for certain kinds of government spending. I would venture that waste and fraud occurs less frequently in the countries with smaller government expenditures.
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Also, I think that cloning a Neanderthal would not be ethically permissible despite the interesting science that could result. If it seemed likely that it would serve some function in helping humanity as it is today, not just understanding humanity as it was and how it came to be, I think it might possibly be more useful.
Jurassic Park tried cloning species of the past and look how that turned out for them! Although…I would like a pet Dodo bird. It seems we could really gain from cloning if we could find an ethical manner in which to do it. Evolution did allow the Neanderthal and the Dodo to become extinct. I’m sure that didn’t happen by chance.
“Among developed countries, the smaller government spending is as a percent of GDP, the higher the per capita income.”
Interesting findings. However, as Evan has touched on, there is a confluence of factors that would be interesting to study outside of the income/GDP correlation. Corruption in spending is a big factor not accounted for and the data in the blog is a bit outdated as well.
I did know this. I do not agree with it. My beliefs in the sanctity of life notwithstanding, the American taxpayer should not be saddled with the responsibility to care for another being – in life or in death. I should not have to pay for the choices of another human being, whether that choice is to keep the life or to take it.
If we can clone a Neanderthal, should we?
Considering how closely-related to humans Neanderthals are, it would seem rather unethical to bring one into the world as an experiment. It would live, who knows, maybe 80 years and have to be cared for the entire time. I fail to see the purpose.
The article relating government spending as a percent of GDP to income in developed countries is certainly revealing. The list of possible explanations for the list of GDP x Income provides some valuable insights into why this is the case empirically. It would be interesting to break each country’s economy down into not just income vs GDP but how the money was spent. I’d be curious to see if income varied when controlling for certain kinds of government spending. I would venture that waste and fraud occurs less frequently in the countries with smaller government expenditures.
.
Also, I think that cloning a Neanderthal would not be ethically permissible despite the interesting science that could result. If it seemed likely that it would serve some function in helping humanity as it is today, not just understanding humanity as it was and how it came to be, I think it might possibly be more useful.
Its interesting how many crazy problems could potentially come up from cloning a Neanderthal!
Jurassic Park tried cloning species of the past and look how that turned out for them! Although…I would like a pet Dodo bird. It seems we could really gain from cloning if we could find an ethical manner in which to do it. Evolution did allow the Neanderthal and the Dodo to become extinct. I’m sure that didn’t happen by chance.
“If we can clone a Neanderthal, should we?”
I think it should be an obvious “no”, right?
“Among developed countries, the smaller government spending is as a percent of GDP, the higher the per capita income.”
Interesting findings. However, as Evan has touched on, there is a confluence of factors that would be interesting to study outside of the income/GDP correlation. Corruption in spending is a big factor not accounted for and the data in the blog is a bit outdated as well.
“Did you know that Medicaid pays for abortions?”
I did know this. I do not agree with it. My beliefs in the sanctity of life notwithstanding, the American taxpayer should not be saddled with the responsibility to care for another being – in life or in death. I should not have to pay for the choices of another human being, whether that choice is to keep the life or to take it.