Moral rigor vs math rigor, reprint
This 2016 item deserves a reprint.

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Half-formed thought, after reading about the admirable African bishops making one last attempt to turn the US/UK Anglicans back toward Christianity. It won't work, but sometimes you have to get the situation 'on the record' to forestall historical revision. When the facts are fully public, silencing the truth is more expensive.

I've often referred to the African talent for moral rigor, which is more important to human survival than the Oriental talent for math rigor. Our public education system and our industrial and employment policies are totally devoted to math rigor, even though the record is perfectly clear. When we emphasized moral rigor, we had a successful country. Now that moral rigor is illegal, we're failing fast.

Let's try to compare those two rigors in a concrete and consequential way.

Tech types and STEM types think moral rigor is nonexistent or irrelevant. Does Nature agree?

What happens when you get a math equation wrong? On paper or in the computer, not much. Nature doesn't care if you figure the maximum load on a beam incorrectly. But if you use that incorrect number to install an inadequate girder in a bridge or building, Nature will tell you about it, and people will die.

What happens when you get a moral equation wrong? On paper or in the church, not much. Nature doesn't care if you preach that nations should favor immigrants over natives. But if you use that incorrect judgment to install inadequate borders, Nature will tell you about it, and people will die.

Similarly with other incorrect judgments like "the sole purpose of sex is pleasure". Nature isn't bothered when you write books about this idea. Nature doesn't even care when individuals act on it. But when you use it to install mechanisms like birth control pills, abortion clinics, and day-care instead of parenting, Nature will tell you about it. Society will collapse and millions will die from cancer and crime.


MORALITY IS ANOTHER WORD FOR SURVIVAL.

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