When rich people can edit their kids DNA won't that just lock everyone else out and create a new class?
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CRISPR and other tools aren’t science fiction anymore. If the wealthy get there first, what happens to everyone else?
This happens in a smaller way with access to prenatal testing and abortions. Parents with access to those things are at least able to detect and avoid the more debilitating birth defect, while parents without access are more likely to have a child with a severe birth defect. If they're already struggling materially, that can sometimes guarantee that both the parents and child will have no upward mobility.
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This has been a thing for at least a few years. Luckily last I checked (pre pandemic) it hasn't taken off bc
- Eugenics reminds people of Nazis and is bad
- Genetic diversity might be the only thing that saves us in another pandemic. Kind of like how strains of bananas all go extinct at once if they're genetic clones.
So probably too dangerous to actually take off any time soon. Iirc a Chinese scientist tried it and got sent to jail, seems to be a pretty universal thing
I wonder how that kid is doing. I would love to hear an update. It was bad and all but I am still curious.
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My bad, dunno how I could confuse my authors
Both are very early science fiction pioneers, I can see how they could get mixed up.
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CRISPR and other tools aren’t science fiction anymore. If the wealthy get there first, what happens to everyone else?
They don't need genetic engineering to have advantage over everyone else tbf.
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CRISPR and other tools aren’t science fiction anymore. If the wealthy get there first, what happens to everyone else?
They have bigger problems
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CRISPR and other tools aren’t science fiction anymore. If the wealthy get there first, what happens to everyone else?
The questions reminds me of Brave New World.
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In some cases there were absolute superior though. Like the pianist with 12 fingers.
The actual moral of the story was that it's not worth it. Being a bit better at some random shit like swimming, playing piano or piloting a rocket is not good enough to sacrifice the rest.
Like the pianist with 12 fingers.
Having twelve fingers isn't what makes you good at playing the piano.
Being a bit better at some random shit like swimming, playing piano or piloting a rocket is not good enough to sacrifice the rest.
There's an underlying question in the story that amounts to "if you've made Earth such a great place, why is everyone trying to leave?"
The plan to colonize Titan is, at its root, a eugenics fantasy.
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CRISPR and other tools aren’t science fiction anymore. If the wealthy get there first, what happens to everyone else?
I don't think it's the eugenic stuff that's gonna take off, but fixing future developmental problems.
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Like the pianist with 12 fingers.
Having twelve fingers isn't what makes you good at playing the piano.
Being a bit better at some random shit like swimming, playing piano or piloting a rocket is not good enough to sacrifice the rest.
There's an underlying question in the story that amounts to "if you've made Earth such a great place, why is everyone trying to leave?"
The plan to colonize Titan is, at its root, a eugenics fantasy.
wrote last edited by [email protected]Having twelve fingers isn't what makes you good at playing the piano.
The movie literally says that the piece cannot be played without 12 fingers.
The plan to colonize Titan is, at its root, a eugenics fantasy.
the movie doesn't say anything about "colonizing titan", in fact the mission doesn't even state what's the purpose other than to get to titan which has never been done before - it symbolizes ultimate frontier that in the eyes of eugenicists would require a perfect human to be achieved and yet the guy that ends up outcompeting everyone is a not genetically modified and achieves this through sheer skill and determination.
There's an underlying question in the story that amounts to "if you've made Earth such a great place, why is everyone trying to leave?"
You're misinterpreting the ending. Vincent always felt rejected by the world for being a natural but ends up feeling bittersweet for leaving as he found Irene and Jerome who proved to him that earth is very much capable of loving him. Not "everyone is trying to leave earth", just Vincent really and even then he heavily diminishes his desire.
I love Gattaca and really don't understand your beef with it. It's a beautiful story but awfully insightful too that aged perfectly even to this day! In fact, I'll watch it again tonight
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Aw man really? If there is an incentive to read that's it.
Absolutely. Time jump + story in the evolved situation for mankind. Final book is a collection of all the short novels, some of which were integrated into the show ("Drive", "Strange Dogs"), or alluded to (" The Churn"). But others are new reading material. I recommend reading the novels & main books in chronological order.
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CRISPR and other tools aren’t science fiction anymore. If the wealthy get there first, what happens to everyone else?
wrote last edited by [email protected]Ooor they'll turn their kids into "pugs" that are ultra-cute and good at passing certain tests but otherwise useless and unhealthy.
I'd definitely prefer we didn't go down that path, but do consider the endpoint might be more The Time Traveler than Gattaca, because rich people aren't exempt from being dumb.
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I wonder how that kid is doing. I would love to hear an update. It was bad and all but I am still curious.
It's twins actually, Lulu and Nana. The gene editing might have increased their cognitive function.
I don't know why, but I cannot bring myself to condemn the editing.
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CRISPR and other tools aren’t science fiction anymore. If the wealthy get there first, what happens to everyone else?
At least we will have better rich people to look at. The current oligarchy in the US looks like deep fried dog shit. Imbred looking ass...
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They don't need genetic engineering to have advantage over everyone else tbf.
They might not need financial advantage, but they could surely do things to their physicality (birthing tall children), or to their anatomy (no more lactose intolerance).
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CRISPR and other tools aren’t science fiction anymore. If the wealthy get there first, what happens to everyone else?
Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress. A scifi that deals with the creation of classes based on whether you can afford to buy your children good genes. Politicians are charismatic, ruthless and good looking, because they are bred for politics.
In this world people without genemods are sorta out of luck, without any of the tools or enhancements rich genemod people have.Or, check out GATTACA, good movie.
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Yeah it’s a cool movie but the message of systemic disadvantages don’t matter if you try hard enough is a little questionable at best.
At the end it came down to him going for the launch despite knowing he'd likely get caught and the doctor letting him through despite knowing who he is, because his son was also not engineered, I think the message was people of the under class coming together to fight the system rather than just working hard
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Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress. A scifi that deals with the creation of classes based on whether you can afford to buy your children good genes. Politicians are charismatic, ruthless and good looking, because they are bred for politics.
In this world people without genemods are sorta out of luck, without any of the tools or enhancements rich genemod people have.Or, check out GATTACA, good movie.
wrote last edited by [email protected]I'm compelled to mention every time GATTACA is mentioned, that the title is made up of the amino acids* that comprise our DNA: A,T,C,G
*nucleic acids
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Ooor they'll turn their kids into "pugs" that are ultra-cute and good at passing certain tests but otherwise useless and unhealthy.
I'd definitely prefer we didn't go down that path, but do consider the endpoint might be more The Time Traveler than Gattaca, because rich people aren't exempt from being dumb.
I do wish the ultra wealthy would just become morlocks and go underground forever.
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I do wish the ultra wealthy would just become morlocks and go underground forever.
Hate to tell you but the morlocks weren't the rich in that story.
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That's a worry, but also there's still a lot of stuff we don't understand about genetics, and a bunch of grifters who'll fleece the super wealthy
That’s what I think will maybe even the playing field; while it’s expensive it’s not well understood; a few mistakes and they’ll be more cautious. By the time it becomes more popular again it’ll be cheap. Optimistic thought at least.
