[TAG] Public Menace or Public Good

[Jimmy O'Regan]

Brian Bilbrey wrote:

>I watched them doing this work, and commented on their contravention of
>the positive application of Darwin and Wallace's discoveries to the
>improvement of the human species. When they prevent children that are
>inquisitive enough to crawl through spaces smaller than their skull in
>order to jump in some water and drown, they remove opportunities for
>genetic improvement in the species.
>  
>

One of the books I'm currently reading is, serendipitously, "The Darwin 
Awards III: Survival of the Fittest" 
(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0525947736/).

I found myself in agreement with the general sentiment of your mail 
until I hit the above paragraph, the word "crawl" in 
particular--children still at crawling age are not generally familiar 
with the fact that a swimming pool is not a solid surface, hence the 
need for fences. You could, of course, argue that these children have no 
business near a swimming pool in the first place (and I could possibly 
resist the urge to be trite and say "Exactly! Put a fence around it"), 
but you'd be surprised how far a toddler can crawl in the blink of an eye.

"We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid." 
-Benjamin Franklin