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Comment by nonameiguess

I think you're taking this the wrong way. I understand that it probably feels patronizing and you don't give a shit that a trait you have that makes your life personally hell might be good for the health of the species overall, but I still think it is. I get into this with my wife every now and again because she had ADHD and has often argued she shouldn't procreate because of it.

That kind of perspective is narrow to the current human environment, which is not permanent. We're living in a tiny infinitesimal speck of the spectrum of the whole biological timeline of earth, let alone entirely different planets we might someday inhabit. Her constant worry and distractedness might be disadvantageous in a world that requires you to concentrate on unstimulating tasks and in which the threats you see yourself surrounded by are largely imagined and extremely unlikely to be realized. But that is because we currently live in a society of laws and stability, presumably somewhere near the height of civilization. There is no guarantee it will always be this way. When shit hits the fan and the threats get real, my perfectly well adapted to the current world self who fixates for days at a time on narrow tasks, pays little attention to surroundings, and worries about almost nothing, will get killed off within days if not hours. It'll be up to people like her and you to give humanity a chance to make it into the far future.

This is why we need diversity. Because even if it sucks to be you who isn't well adapted to the current moment, the current moment is short. It doesn't mean you're a superhero. It just means we have no idea what sorts of traits and behaviors might keep us going under drastically different future pressures and we may as well keep as many different traits around as possible just in case.

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