Elinor Smith Quotes
All good qualities in a child are the result of environment, while all the bad ones are the result of poor heredity on the side of the other parent
Smith, Elinor Goulding. The Complete Book of Absolutely Perfect Baby and Child Care. Harcourt, Brace, 1957.
Though a great early science, he was ignorant of the many non-genetic factors that could cause deformities in children ranging from nutritional deficiency to improper delivery techniques. Even in the genetic area he had no inkling of mutations where deformities develop and have NOTHING to do with either parent’s genetic history. Last, he did not realize that a large proportion of all pregnancies abort before the mother even realizes that she was pregnant.
This pseudo-scientific organization, in spite of the junk science it was promulgating, actually had a substantial American following and over 20 states actually passed laws to allow forced sterilization who were “UNFIT”. In reality while there is a genetic component to each of the examples it only increases the probabilities and is not determinative. And even f it were and there were selective breeding of humans, these “TRAITS” would not be eliminated in 3 generations.
She argues that our species is evolving and will continue to evolve, and that what any one family does for their child or children will not bend the evolutionary arc for the human race. However, many people are no much concerned the the race as a whole compared to their own family. See quote 583692 for a sharp quotation making this alternative point of view.
This pseudo-scientific organization, in spite of the junk science it was promulgating, actually had a substantial American following and over 20 states actually passed laws to allow forced sterilization who were “UNFIT”. In reality while there is a genetic component to each of the examples it only increases the probabilities and is not determinative. And even f it were and there were selective breeding of humans, these “TRAITS” would not be eliminated in 3 generations,
Elinor Smith was a pioneering American aviator, once known as "The Flying Flapper of Freeport". She was the first woman test pilot for both Fairchild and Bellanca (now AviaBellanca). She was the youngest licensed pilot in the world at age 16.
