Term's End

The term has ended. I think my classes went well. I felt quite rushed at the end of the semester, but I'm really happy with the way things turned out, both academically and socially. Now that I'm at home, I have a little more free time. Not that I should--I ought to be cleaning, building/testing a hydroponics system, and learning Spanish. But in the mean time, I have been reading about the values of different cultures.

First, I read Intelligence and How to Get It: Why Schools and Cultures Count. I loved it. The book attempts to counter the strong hereditarian viewpoint that intelligence is highly genetically determined. It revealed some holes in key studies that once convinced many that IQ was primarily genetically determined. Then it showed how large variances in IQ and achievement between groups can be environmentally explained and changed. This is what got me started reading about cultural values.

I found all the different values really interesting. Some of the ones I have read about so far are traditionally Jewish, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, and American values. I'm not finished yet, of course. (Ecuador's values really should be on my list....) I would like to know what different people value not only so I can understand different people's ethics when I travel, but so I can use the knowledge to choose my own values with greater freedom.

In all this reading, though, something kept cropping up that bothered me greatly: racism. It seems that many homogeneous groups with strong values look down on others not merely from an ethical standpoint but even from a biological one. I want to know what leads to this so I can prevent it in myself, so I can pursue what I strongly believe in and stand for it without excluding others. Cultures and values are such weirdly evolving things....

I don't know if anyone reads this, but discussing personal values and cultural preferences is something I'm really interested in. If you want to talk about that kind of thing, please ask me some questions later. I can do the same: What is important to you to be like? To do? Is working hard important? Being creative and finding an easier way of getting results? Family loyalty? Taking care of the environment? What turns of phrase do you consider polite or rude? What are the qualities of a good friend?

(Incidently, Amazon.com claims to sell Jewish values for a low price. If you spend more than $25 on them, Amazon will even ship for free...)