No it's not fact. A severely mentally handicapped person isn't going to be able to become a world famous biologist. Someone psychically incapable of running and has a heart condition isn't going to make it in the NBA. Someone who's tone deaf or completely unable to speak isn't going to be able to become a world famous singer.
A severely mentally handicapped person isn't going to be able to become a world famous biologist. Someone psychically incapable of running and has a heart condition isn't going to make it in the NBA. Someone who's tone deaf or completely unable to speak isn't going to be able to become a world famous singer.
You're citing those examples as if they were fact :P
But were you to be entirely consistent with your criticism, you would have said is extremely unlikely to.
If we bring nature as well as nurture into the argument then I'm going to say 'No' - some people just aren't born to be 7 foot tall and play basketball.
As much as I wish I could feel that way -- and I think it's a beautiful world view -- I don't.
Sometimes, although people have overcome great adversity, there are some intrinsic issues that are simply impossible to triumph over.
For example, humans born with certain (note, not ALL) disabilities are either physically or mentally incapable of certain futures...whether or not it's attributed to their own handicaps or that of society. Like what MageGrayWolf said.
Not to mention the limitations imposed on us by society. (Whatever society we may or may not belong to.)
I truly believe that everyone has the potential to be anyone.
Everyone has the potential to be who they can be. See what I did there? There are people who simply cannot do things that others can and vice-versa. Whether it be physical, psychological, mental, or moral, there are people that simply cannot achieve goals and stages in life, whereas they can in other areas.
We are humans. We do not and cannot have the potential to be everything. We are a societal animal, where we rely on groups of people to achieve a cultural nirvana.
Everyone has the potential to be who they can be. See what I did there? There are people who simply cannot do things that others can and vice-versa. Whether it be physical, psychological, mental, or moral, there are people that simply cannot achieve goals and stages in life, whereas they can in other areas.
We are humans. We do not and cannot have the potential to be everything. We are a societal animal, where we rely on groups of people to achieve a cultural nirvana.
^ This.
Another thing to ponder is that, while a psychopath might very well become a skilled surgeon who saves lives, they'll never be able to connect to people or feel remorse in the same way most of us do. They simply don't have that type of potential, regardless of how many successful operations they perform.
Granted, that might not be the type of potential you're referring to, but it's an addition I chose to include.
"Potential" is an unwieldy term unless the parameters on both sides of "reality" and "hypothetical" need to be clearly defined. "Anything is possible" is not only a phrase for the fanciful, but also the hardline skeptics, seeing as it is a corollary of the phrase "nothing is absolutely knowable". Potential is also about expectations, and can be applied to any context to really throw a spanner in the works, most notably in my line of work the following scenario:
Billy was a bright young man, with his life ahead of him. He had a girlfriend, a job and plenty of potential. However one day he was involved in a horrific road accident and almost died. Doctors managed to save his life but he was in a coma on life support. It was unknown as to whether he would ever wake up again, and if he did, what level of function he might attain. His girlfriend and family wanted them to keep him alive, but the doctors were pretty sure that Billy would never wake up again and if he did, the tests indicated he would be mostly a vegetable. However they had to admit that there were known cases where similar patients DID wake up and were able to recover, but these were exceedingly rare, besides, the ongoing life support for Billy was costing close to $50000 a day, and wanted to cease life support.
See how many interpretations of the term "otential" you can find in that scenario. It's not that uncommon, by the way.
to be honest i don't believe in my topic i just wanted a good discussion. also what people were saying: i believe that scientific discovery will eventually lead people into people having their genetics changed by some kind of surgery so that they will be able to be anyone, just not perhaps with their predetermined physical body.
