| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Pivot of Civilization by Margaret Sanger: heredity are not antagonistic. Our problem is not that of ``Nature
vs. Nurture,'' but rather of Nature x Nurture, of heredity multiplied
by environment, if we may express it thus. The Eugenist who overlooks
the importance of environment as a determining factor in human life,
is as short-sighted as the Socialist who neglects the biological
nature of man. We cannot disentangle these two forces, except in
theory. To the child in the womb, said Samuel Butler, the mother is
``environment.'' She is, of course, likewise ``heredity.'' The age-
old discussion of ``Nature vs. Nurture'' has been threshed out time
after time, usually fruitlessly, because of a failure to recognize the
indivisibility of these biological factors. The opposition or
|
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Land of Footprints by Stewart Edward White: ceremonially in front of them. One of my friends lay on his back,
resting a huge telescope over his crossed feet. With this he
purposed seeing any lion that moved within ten miles. None of the
rest of us could ever make out anything through the fearsome
weapon. Therefore, relieved from responsibility by the presence
of this Dreadnaught of a 'scope, we loafed and looked about us.
This is what we saw:
Mountains at our backs, of course-at some distance; then plains
in long low swells like the easy rise and fall of a tropical sea,
wave after wave, and over the edge of the world beyond a distant
horizon. Here and there on this plain, single hills lay becalmed,
|
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Aeroplanes and Dirigibles of War by Frederick A. Talbot: a check. The huge Zeppelin was manoeuvring over the North Sea
within easy reach of Heligoland, when she was caught by one of
those sudden storms peculiar to that stretch of salt water. In a
moment she was stricken helpless; her motive power was
overwhelmed by the blind forces of Nature. The wind caught her
as it would a soap-bubble and hurled her into the sea,
precipitating the most disastrous calamity in the annals of
aeronautics, since not only was the ship lost, but fifteen of her
crew of 22 officers and men were drowned.
The catastrophe created consternation in German aeronautical
circles. A searching inquiry was held to explain the disaster,
|