Domesticated human slaves

What would be simpler than my other idea would be what they do to the lower class in Brave New World. The babies that will be born into the lower class are given alcohol while in gestation. This could help lower the IQ of the slaves.

Brave New World was my inspiration when I thought about this years ago. In order to have a slave population that functions as such, they should be a couple standard deviations shorter. Of course, as stated earlier, if you go back very far, people want the largest strongest slaves possible. So this would have to be a post-industrial society.

Intelligence is way more complicated and like physical stature, you don't really want to stunt it too much if you want a useful slave.
 
If you want to add to the weirdness (say you're sort of moving to the outline of a novel in the New Weird genre, as a random example), those marks could be either facial scarring OR cranial deformation. This was in common use in several parts of the world (even in France up until the XIXth century!) and does not affect intelligence.
This could be used to mark the slaves, or the non-slaves.
That second option seems more likely as it'd be a mark of "civilisation", as you're even conquering your own body and transforming it. It was used to mark nobles in some pre-Colombian civilisations.
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From what I understand, the practice within Medieval Europe was one that came from traditional medicine among the peasantry. Children would have their heads wrapped in thick cloth to cure types of fevers and maladies. This inadvertently caused the head to grow into elongated shapes. In other words, it was never a cultural tradition to select for cranial expansions.

Though, you are correct about it existing in some places. Even outside of America, there are places in Asia wherein this symbol of status and markers were common. The Tocharian nobles of the Kushan realm for instance practiced serious cranial deformation to distinguish themselves, it would seem. Coinage depicts the Kushan monarchs as having extremely slender craniums while depictions of gods do not have this cranial situation; thus it was a custom of their people. Other sources from other lands likewise speak of the cranial deformation as common among the lords of the Kushan, Neo-Kushan and Hepthalites and other Indo-European peoples of the steppe and their descendants who came to rule Hindustan as the Kushan and Hepthalite empires.

Likewise, the Xiongnu seem to have practiced this custom. However, the expansion of the Mongolic Xianbei and the wider Altaic peoples, seem to have induced the decimation of this custom that once stretched from parts of Europe into India in antiquity.
 
Morlocks were masters, not slaves.
They ate the Eloi, after all.
And I think they were examples of technological evolution, not breeding for purpose.
They were a servant race initially (albeit one that arose naturally through an ironclad class divide), the fact that their necessary work bred for greater strength and intelligence, so the positions flipped.
 
They were a servant race initially (albeit one that arose naturally through an ironclad class divide), the fact that their necessary work bred for greater strength and intelligence, so the positions flipped.
Also the Eloïs devolved through idleness and by getting all you want at your fingertips
 
I would argue the human species has in fact done exactly this to itself, since who knows when, maybe since before our ancestors became primates.
Milgram and others have proved that we are a lot more obedient than we'd like to think, and an enormous deal more than is good for us. To this day, most of the world's cultures extol obedience to authority, instead of using that energy and cultural capital to promote the more valuable alternative of cooperative spirit.
Without getting too deep into gender politics, I'm inclined to blame the specifics of human reproductive selection.
 
I would argue the human species has in fact done exactly this to itself, since who knows when, maybe since before our ancestors became primates.
Milgram and others have proved that we are a lot more obedient than we'd like to think, and an enormous deal more than is good for us. To this day, most of the world's cultures extol obedience to authority, instead of using that energy and cultural capital to promote the more valuable alternative of cooperative spirit.
Without getting too deep into gender politics, I'm inclined to blame the specifics of human reproductive selection.
Humanity may have largely domesticated itself but that's still a far cry from singling out a portion of the species and turning them into full on livestock
 
I suppose not, if the conditional is having only a segment of humanity bred to be more slavish than the rest. If there are any differences in how obedient populations are (and there are, I'm sure) they are far too small to qualify.
 
I would argue the human species has in fact done exactly this to itself, since who knows when, maybe since before our ancestors became primates.
Milgram and others have proved that we are a lot more obedient than we'd like to think, and an enormous deal more than is good for us. To this day, most of the world's cultures extol obedience to authority, instead of using that energy and cultural capital to promote the more valuable alternative of cooperative spirit.
Without getting too deep into gender politics, I'm inclined to blame the specifics of human reproductive selection.
A counter to this is our promotion of rebels as heroes. Perhaps because rebels sometimes become the elite so their disobedience to authority becomes "authorised".
How much more popular are "cowboy diplomat" films than those following process?
Rants against red tape and bureaucracy are much more popular than lives saved because someone followed authoritative procedures.
 
Yeah, but that's mostly entertainment and escapist fantasy. I'm reminded of one of Ill Bill (the rapper)'s lines: "Every society honours its live conformists and dead troublemakers"
 
didn't the british try this with african & irish slaves in caribbeans?
I order to end up with slaves better suited to the climate (african slaves being resistant, but expensive and irish slaves being cheap and expendable, but not well suited for the hot climates )
i recall reading something about it a long time ago.
 
They were a servant race initially (albeit one that arose naturally through an ironclad class divide), the fact that their necessary work bred for greater strength and intelligence, so the positions flipped.
Also the Eloïs devolved through idleness and by getting all you want at your fingertips
Do note that both of these are speculation given by a character who could barely communicate with one group, couldn't communicate at all with the other, and had been there there for under a week regardless. There was hardly time or resources for him be particularly trustworthy in the biological history of the Morlocks or Eloi.
 
How much more popular are "cowboy diplomat" films than those following process?
One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter
Do note that both of these are speculation given by a character who could barely communicate with one group, couldn't communicate at all with the other, and had been there there for under a week regardless. There was hardly time or resources for him be particularly trustworthy in the biological history of the Morlocks or Eloi.
That is an immensely interesting take! Never thought about it that way
 
Yes, except for the very few audience members who have both the opportunity and a reason to apply any lessons from them in real life.
And I also suppose adventurers and privateers also don't exist and have romantic encounters. Oh wait they do. There goes your implication that only obedience was selected for.
 
That implication is a product of your imagination. I only meant to say that (IMO) obedience has been selected for way too much.
 
That implication is a product of your imagination. I only meant to say that (IMO) obedience has been selected for way too much.
While Milgram's studies certainly show that obedience has been selected for I think you're overstating its importance. Other things have also been selected for in humans including pain resistance and heroism. Milgram himself noted a large minority who consistently refused to obey authority.

Edit: fyi it's generally considered good netiquette to quote or @ the person you're responding too.
 
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