The War On Noticing

I walk our dogs every day. We have two purebred, standard poodles. They are great conversation starters. Not everybody can tell they are standards because they aren't cut to look like them. I let their hair grow out until they look like Portuguese water dogs, then have them cut to a uniform length. No pom-poms unless my wife brings them to the groomer.

People who know dogs invariably remark that, "poodles are so smart." They're right.

Left unsaid is the reason why poodles are so smart. That might be noticing.

It's not because they are born as some blank slate, and my household environment has somehow shaped them to be smart. Their intelligence is the result of centuries of careful breeding. The dogs with the most desirable characteristics are selected for breeding. And they're not inbred. Breeders' associations keep careful records of the lineage of every dog to ensure that breeding takes place well outside their direct line.

Our poodles get along really well with other dogs, but they have a special affinity for other poodles. They go wild with excitement when they see another standard, or even a poodle mix. If we are at the beach, and I see another poodle or poodle mix, I will try to get closer to them so they can all play.

There are certain extractions of dogs we avoid. If there is a pit bull at the dog beach, we will head straight for our car. If there is more than one, we double-time it.

Why are we afraid of pit bulls? Because pit bulls have been selectively bred for fighting other dogs. Even if a pit bull has been raised by the most gentle owner and trusts the whole world, they still possess that aggressive gene.

I would never consider telling a pit bull's owner, "those dogs are so aggressive." That would be noticing.

This is a good metaphor for human intelligence. For years I've been thinking about pathologies in black society, like the out-of-wedlock birthrate. Only one in four black children is born into a two-parent household. This has correlations for everything from school achievement, incarceration, and the job market.

I'm starting to realize that while environment plays a role in child development, it also plays a role in helping people select the tendencies they value, and will breed with. The cultural pressure against a black person "acting white" is helping to select the next generation.

A father who leaves his family is likely to produce children that are also likely to reproduce out-of-wedlock. This isn't just because the children were conditioned to accept single motherhood. The father's behavior, the nearly inevitable result of his genetic makeup, is passed along to his children.

Political correctness is a war on noticing. This seems like a WMD on the side of geneticists. And it troubles me, because I've always subscribed to the "all men are created equal," fantasy. It's not a value judgement to admit we are not.