I thought he was funny, that makes me a troll? No trolling intended anyhow, if I understand the term correctly. (I should do, being a moderator elsewhere.) Anyhow, excuses to whomever took this as a way of making fun OF someone instead of joining in the joke, which was the intent.

At last things make sense!

Would it not be easier to have AI-bots identify the humans instead of the other way around? Humans are so unreliable!

This 2D-plane that you refer to is the one in which the majority of the material in the solar system moves.

Well, amateur astronomers observing actually have made quite a few important contributions to the science of astronomy.

But can the chihuahua be reverted into a wolf or something wolflike? It could be argued that Nature would never produce chihuahuas, but that it does produce wolfs.

The time it takes depends upon what craves the change. If an asteroid would hit earth, evolution would work very very quickly (see Dinosaurs).

"external force trying to achieve these alterations by exerting absolute control over breeding""

That force could very well be a change in the environment. That is, there is no need for any conscious control or Controller (Designer). Evolution is slow when there is no need for it, but death to the unfit makes change happen pretty fast.

Well, as they are able to reproduce they are not less robust. Things have changed. Survival of the fittest doesn't mean survival of those who go to the gym but survival of those best fitted to the environment in which they live. Surviving into an age where you can reproduce yourself is ALL that counts. THAT's evolution.

You just explained something very fundamental about the propagation of the species. Thing is, though, people may have other reasons to procreate than to have successful books published. Unfortunately?

No-no. December 2012 is still a few steps down the road.

I did not check "Post Anonymously"?

When comparing cultures, you must compare on the same level. That is, you cannot put the philosophers of the East against the drug abusers of the West (or vice versa). Popular culture against popular, high culture against high culture. If you do it that way, it will mostly come down to your personal preferences, at least if you compare the higher expressions. Besides, cultures are not monolithic and interact and intersect in a multitude of ways.

But would you not say that good knowledge of language and math helps a person to develop his intelligence towards its optimum (assuming there is any such thing)? I'd consider both language and math kinds of knowledge management, making thinking processes â" if they are essentially non-verbal and non-mathematical â" more efficient. And is not that what intelligence IS; thinking efficiently?

Do I sum you up correctly by saying that what is intelligent varies with circumstance?

I have no source, but I think it has been shown that when humans select for mating, a decently intelligent partner is one of the most important criteria, which is why the IQ gets higher and higher with every generation.