CRISPR and other tools aren’t science fiction anymore. If the wealthy get there first, what happens to everyone else?
As others have said, go see Gattaca. It’s completely about this topic and very interesting.
Awesome movie.
That’s already happened. It happened a long time ago.
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.
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
You know I never noticed that but that’s a nice subtle reference.
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.
If the ‘rich’ are anything about choosing genes as they have been about choosing plastic surgery, we know that most of them will make a complete hack of it and their offspring will suffer for it.
I do wish the ultra wealthy would just become morlocks and go underground forever.
The wealthy became the Eloi in that story, haha. You’re supposed to want to eat them.
You’re right, huge brain fart… I still wish they would all leave us alone forever, analogy or not
Hate to tell you but the morlocks weren’t the rich in that story.
It’s been a while since I read it, and now I’m ashamed because it’s one of my favorite books 😂
They don’t need genetic engineering to have advantage over everyone else tbf.
Yah they already have inherited wealth and privilege, will it make ANY difference for the rest of us if their kids don’t get the diseases that they can afford to treat anyway?
Lets say they do make ubermensch super-babies and create peak physical perfection… it will take generations before that creates enough of a class-divide that it will be noticable and by then, enough of them will have fucked around and bred with the common-folk that the edges of that divide are also going to get fuzzier and fuzzier. The world is full of rich people who mingle everywhere and are allowed to impregnate who they want and nobody cares.
The only way you get the science-fiction dystopia with beautiful rich monsters with super powers versus the plucky gang of resistance fighters who are rough around the edges but have hearts of gold, is if you separate the wealthy elite out and make them live on Mars or something.
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).
I did mean as in physical advantage.
Eat nutritious food and go to the schools with best learning conditions and never stress about anything from birth and you too can be an athletic engineer with 90+ years life-expectancy.
Tho yeah allergies and all would still depend.
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…
Editing a gene is not like editing code. But I’ll let the rich folks experience the wonders of body-horror.
Who am I to deny them this nightmare😏
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.
If a dude in his garage could do it, it’s not gonna be locked away. See: The Thought Emporium
Well, yes, but no.
SHUT THE FUCK UP AND GIMME ECHOLOCATION ALREADY
Just grab the installer, bro.
Yes
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.
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.
This already happens with social factors that affect physical development like access to nutrition and a permanent place to live.
I don’t think it’s the eugenic stuff that’s gonna take off, but fixing future developmental problems.
The will find a way to be even more inbred than they already are
The questions reminds me of Brave New World.
