I agreed a lot with Darwin's ideas throughout our readings, but I found the following exerpt a little rediculous: " A positive example was the self-selection whereby the "best people" in Europe, as defined by such qualities as energy and courage, had formed an exceptionally talented population in emigrating to the United States." I think a lot of people are very energetic and courageous, but the people here are not necessarily more courageous than the people in Europe. For all Darwin knew, the worst people who were the least successful in Europe came to the United States so they would not have to deal with the strong competition of the more successful Europeans. I feel that Darwin is making too big of an assumption in this exerpt from his writings.