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<blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 4145442" data-attributes="member: 4937">Dexterity.&nbsp; Constitution very close at second.&nbsp; Strength probably a more distant third.Average first world (male) inhabitant probably is something like S10, D8, C8, I12, W10, Ch12.&nbsp; Adjust things slightly for average females. Although its easy to be cynical about modern society, in my experience it tends to strongly reinforce mental and social development.&nbsp; People are forced to get an education, forced to rely on themselves, and forced into a large variaty of social situations where they must be at least somewhat outgoing in front of strangers.It's easy to look around at the folly of your fellow man and imagine that all this stupidity and vulgarity must somehow be unique to a particular place and time.&nbsp; But, I think that just shows you haven't been around enough.&nbsp; Go anywhere.&nbsp; Find stupidity.&nbsp; Urban, rural, rich, poor, 1st world or 3rd world.&nbsp; It's all the same.&nbsp; It's nearly as dependable as death and more dependable than taxes.&nbsp; Likewise, for all the wisdom and intelligence of our ancestors, they were largely as unbearable of stupid ignorant dolts as we are ourselves.&nbsp; But if anything, our modern society is uniquely literate - even down to the lowest classes - uniquely broadly exposed, almost uniquely cosmopolitan, and encourages a uniquely bold and independent spirit compared to any other culture you could compare it to.&nbsp; On the whole, 'civilized' man - unbearably ignorant and at the same time proud of it - is not nearly on average as ignorant as the alternatives.&nbsp; If anything, our society is uniquely self-reflective and self-critical.&nbsp; Most cultures aren't even aware just how dumb that they are.However, the flip side of that is the majority of those around you aren't nearly as fit as either thier ancestors or thier neighbors in less 'advantaged' cultures.&nbsp; The average third world kid can run you into the ground, and shimmy up a tree with ninja like agility.&nbsp; We could all do that, except that we've sat too long at desks getting educated (or paid) and eaten far too much food for the actual physical effort we are making.&nbsp; Typically, the first thing to go is your speed and flexibility.&nbsp; After that, your endurance.&nbsp; After that your raw strength.The flip side of this is that the atheletic class (people going to the gym every night) are probably the fittest people who've ever lived on the planet (this is especially true of atheletic women).&nbsp; The Dutch (for example) are the tallest people who've ever lived on the planet.&nbsp; We know how to be fit, but we don't (or can't) bother.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Celebrim, post: 4145442, member: 4937"] Dexterity. Constitution very close at second. Strength probably a more distant third. Average first world (male) inhabitant probably is something like S10, D8, C8, I12, W10, Ch12. Adjust things slightly for average females. Although its easy to be cynical about modern society, in my experience it tends to strongly reinforce mental and social development. People are forced to get an education, forced to rely on themselves, and forced into a large variaty of social situations where they must be at least somewhat outgoing in front of strangers. It's easy to look around at the folly of your fellow man and imagine that all this stupidity and vulgarity must somehow be unique to a particular place and time. But, I think that just shows you haven't been around enough. Go anywhere. Find stupidity. Urban, rural, rich, poor, 1st world or 3rd world. It's all the same. It's nearly as dependable as death and more dependable than taxes. Likewise, for all the wisdom and intelligence of our ancestors, they were largely as unbearable of stupid ignorant dolts as we are ourselves. But if anything, our modern society is uniquely literate - even down to the lowest classes - uniquely broadly exposed, almost uniquely cosmopolitan, and encourages a uniquely bold and independent spirit compared to any other culture you could compare it to. On the whole, 'civilized' man - unbearably ignorant and at the same time proud of it - is not nearly on average as ignorant as the alternatives. If anything, our society is uniquely self-reflective and self-critical. Most cultures aren't even aware just how dumb that they are. However, the flip side of that is the majority of those around you aren't nearly as fit as either thier ancestors or thier neighbors in less 'advantaged' cultures. The average third world kid can run you into the ground, and shimmy up a tree with ninja like agility. We could all do that, except that we've sat too long at desks getting educated (or paid) and eaten far too much food for the actual physical effort we are making. Typically, the first thing to go is your speed and flexibility. After that, your endurance. After that your raw strength. The flip side of this is that the atheletic class (people going to the gym every night) are probably the fittest people who've ever lived on the planet (this is especially true of atheletic women). The Dutch (for example) are the tallest people who've ever lived on the planet. We know how to be fit, but we don't (or can't) bother. [/QUOTE]

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