> http://www.elmergates.com/by_gates/art_rearing_children.pdf
>
> Has interesting stuff about learning and inheritance of acquired traits.
> Quite interesting - I wonder if this stuff has been verified or
> discredited in more recent times

I've just read the report.

Here are my thoughts.

Assuming that Gates's tests are properly-conducted double-blind
experiments, and assuming that I have understood the report correctly,
then all that he has shown is that a child is affected by processes
going on during gestation.

This has already been firmly established as accurate.

His conclusion that mind-building affects sperm and egg is neither
obvious nor necessary. The evidence (so far) shows that the
'inheritance' that Gates talks about is brought about not through DNA
but through hormonal and other effects during gestation.

Likewise, it is not at all established that you make your child happy by
being happy before and during gestation. My personal (non-scientific)
observations indicate that there is no correlation.

It is also not firmly established in their entirety which features can
be affected during gestation; what Gates might have found is yet another
feature that can be added to the list.

It is known that the mother's physical health, including diet, both
prior to and during gestation, and during breast-feeding, can make a
significant impact on the child's physical health and brain size and, to
some degree, mental health.

I think that Gates's moral conclusions, as 'nice' as they sound, do not
fit the data as presented. Indeed, they could have the unintended effect
of a making pregnant mother feel incapable or unworthy by making her
feel that she is experiencing the 'wrong' emotions for her child,
thereby intensifying any 'negative' thoughts and feelings that she might
be suffering.

Paddy


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