All humans are born with the same potential. Nothing is ever gained in life, it is only lost along the way. “Experts” may give reasons like some people are just born naturally gifted at some things and others are not. They will make nonsense claims, which are just unethical reasons, for nature or nurture with no way to measure or validate one over the other. They say that it is a win for evolution when someone has more potential than their peers. This is why they stall out at the expert level.
Enter the philosopher.
Evolution has not determined which human beings will live or die based on abilities for a very long time. Evolution does not play a role in giftedness either. Neither does evolution play a role in survival based on adaptability as society will always reach out and pull those up who are suffering, old, frail, weak, etc.
There is also medicine, air conditioning, and advice on health and exercise which cancels out evolution. And as far as sexual selection is concerned, money, power, and wealth changed who will have better chances of getting selected starting about 5,000 years ago with the first civilizations in Mesopotamia and the bartering system which created wealth and prestige.
Barring the elements of sickness and disabilities one proof that I would personally posit to validate my theory that all humans are born with the same potential is that as infants we all struggle for and against the same needs, desires, pain and suffering with equal gusto.
There is obviously a lot of factors that go into two human beings who will scream and cry for food equally as a child, only later in life to come to a point where one will work at a menial job with little pay for groceries and the other will comfortably lay on mom’s couch and go hungry. There is also something to be said of the one who will do all it takes to put their best foot forward in search of a mate and the other who prefers porn and video games. Nothing was ever gained in the ones who chose a more successful (challenging) path, there was only something lost in the others.
There is a reason why most of us hate people who try too hard. It is a known fact that those who take advantage of challenging situations and put forth too much effort may pose a challenge to the preexisting social order. Obviously, these individuals will fall beyond the normal distribution on the Bell Curve.
Of course it starts at a very young age with being the “teacher’s pet.” Whether it be at work or at the gym weightlifting we are skeptical of those around us who might be putting forth all they have. We will ask questions like, “who does he think he is? The world champion?” Or we may say, “she just wants to be the manager.” It’s the cognitive dissociation that claws at us when faced with the success of our own potential clearly shown in others who are moving froward.
It is painful to be around those who are always stepping on our toes because they are eager or ambitious. This is because they are constantly reminding us of what we could do if we put forth more effort, or had put forth more effort all along. As I like to phrase it: they are constantly reminding us of what has been lost.
“Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside while still alive. Never surrender.” Tupac Shakur.
