Chapter 5

Chapter 5: In reading this chapter of Growth and Development I learned about two fundamental constraints: time and energy.

Hill and Kaplan state that these two constraints have two major task; growth/maturation and reproduction. According to the book time and energy may not be used simultaneously for reproduction. I took this to mean that it takes energy to conceive and time as the birth process takes place.

The authors describe time as how much time we have left on this earth. Therefore, for most people time is impossible to measure out. I found it interesting that if an organism knew that their time on earth was low that the recommended way to manage the time left correctly is to reproduce. This view as opposed to the view of enjoy life while you can, is very unfamiliar to me. If my time on earth was limited and I knew it the last thing on my mind would be reproduction, especially if whatever is limiting my time on earth can be passed on to my off-springs.

Probability of being alive for child’s 20^th birthday

Age at Birth		Whites	Blacks	Harlem	Detroit	Chicago	Watts
Mothers
15		0.99	0.98	0.95	0.97	0.95	0.96
20		0.99	0.97	0.91	0.95	0.93	0.95
25		0.98	0.96	0.88	0.93	0.9	0.92
30		0.97	0.94	0.85	0.9	0.87	0.9
Fathers
15		0.97	0.94	0.89	0.9	0.86	0.87
20		0.96	0.92	0.82	0.88	0.82	0.85
25		0.96	0.9	0.74	0.85	0.78	0.83
30		0.94	0.88	0.68	0.8	71	0.8

By being from the Westside of Chicago and from what I hear about Harlem I think that this chart is pretty accurate being that those two cities have the lowest percentages as far as parents probability of being alive for child’s 20^th birthday, mainly because those are dangerous areas. I know that in Chicago, depending on which part, a lot of dad’s are poor and uneducated and have, unfortunately, become involved in selling drugs to make ends meet. With that being said, as we all know that is a dangerous job to do and can often lead to an early death.

As far as race goes I am not sure what to make of that. Maybe you guys can better help me understand why it seems blacks have a lower percentage in this chart.

Peace!!