frommd Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redskinsfanatical Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 Wrong Wrong Wrong ......hope it NEVER happens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mass_SkinsFan Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 I find this very interesting. As somebody who has a serious GENETIC birth defect (my birthmark) and whose parents had it suggested to them before I was born that it might be better to terminate the pregnancy or put me up for adoption as soon as I was born BECAUSE of that birth defect, I find this a very interesting concept. To me it really depends on what it ends up being used for. IF it's used to try and weed out things like cystic fibrosis, and other debilitating birth defects that's one thing in my mind. If it's used to choose the hair and eye color of your kid, the gender, height, and other physical characteristics of the child it's a very different thing entirely in my mind. The first I have no problem with, as I wouldn't wish that sort of issue on anyone. The second is the ultimate form of hubris in my mind. Just my :2cents: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oriolesfan93p Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 I wouldn't mind something that got rid of the genes that cause cancer and other such things, but there is a slippery slope here that is going to be tampered with sooner or later.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrFan Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 "Science without conscience is the soul's perdition." François Rabelais A very good movie about eugenism: Gattaca Gattaca is a 1997science fictiondramafilm written and directed by Andrew Niccol, starring Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman and Jude Law with supporting roles played by Loren Dean, Gore Vidal, and Alan Arkin. The film presents a biopunk vision of a society driven by "new eugenics". Children of the middle and upper classes are "designer babies", genetically engineered in-vitro to be the optimal recombination of their parents' genetic material. A genetic registry database uses biometrics to instantly identify and classify those so created as "Valids" while those conceived by traditional means are derisively known as "faith births", "god children" and, more pejoratively, "In-Valids" (as in "invalid"). “In-valids” who try to enter the “valid” world (by contracting with “valids” to purchase their DNA through collection of blood, urine, hairs, dead skin flakes, etc…) are known as “borrowed ladders” and "de-gene-erates". While genetic discrimination is forbidden by law, in practice it is easy to profile one's genotype resulting in the Valids qualifying for professional employment while the In-Valids who are susceptible to disease are relegated to menial jobs. The movie draws on concerns over technological developments which facilitate reprogenetics, and the possible consequences of such biotechnology for society. It also explores the theme of destiny, and the ways in which it can/does govern lives. Characters in Gattaca continually battle both with society and with themselves to find their place in the world, and who they are destined to be according to their genes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zguy28 Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 I wouldn't mind something that got rid of the genes that cause cancer and other such things, but there is a slippery slope here that is going to be tampered with sooner or later....I didn't know cancer was genetic? :whoknows:Just a little ways down that slippery slope is a bunch of blonde haired, blue eyed men wearing SS patches.:2cents: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oriolesfan93p Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 one can be genetically predisposed to get cancer, sometimes it is brought forth with smoking and other such activities but yes, cancer predisposition is genetic at least in some forms, that's why doctors want to know if there is a history of cancer in your family when trying to come up with a diagnosis. and I agree with that SS comment, very short leap from one to the other, if we do this we really need to set a fine line and make sure it isn't crossed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IONTOP Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 "Science without conscience is the soul's perdition." François Rabelais Dude check out post 8!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TD_washingtonredskins Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 This would be creepy if it ever becomes reality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokerPacker Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 What was the movie about this? Gattaca? That was an awesome movie.... it was pretty cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokerPacker Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 No, it was Star Trek 2.Khan was a eugenics product, remember what happened there. dammit, you beat me to the kahn post. but he was right, too. in gattica, the only people who were allowed to hold respectable jobs were genetically advanced people, while natural-borns were oppressed for being inferior. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riggo-toni Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 Quite frankly, I'm all for this. Seriously. Poor uneducated people tend to reproduce more, mostly because the opportunity cost of forsaking career for child rearing is greater for the wealthy, not to mention all the perverse incentives for illegitimacy we had up until welfare reform in the 90s. All you have to do is look at the popularity of pro wrestling and Jerry Springer to realize our country's genetical pool is in need of some serious chlorine. Granted, we still need idiots for manual labor and menial tasks, but I have no problem with creating a generation of geniuses (or is it genii?) to improve the world economically and socially. I know I'll get blasted for saying all this, but it's how I genuinely feel. Wrath of Khan and Gattaca make nice sci-fi, but I simply don't believe engineering people to be smarter is going to make them inherently evil. That sounds suspiciously like medieval paranoia over allowing anyone outside a monastery to learn to read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpillian Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 Hey as long as my offspring are included in the genii and not the hillbilly's... genetically design away!! (otherwise, if I'm on the outside looking in -- definitely against it) On a serious note, the social ramifications of this sort of genetic design would be enormous. The basic premise of most western societies is found in the first sentence of our Declaration of Indepence -- "that all men are created equal". Genetic design to the extent discussed in this thread could definitely upset the apple cart as far as social stratification is concerned. Edit: correcting my "hillbilly" grasp of the english language :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riggo-toni Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 The basic premise of most western societies is found in the first sentence of our Declaration of Indepence -- "that all men are created equal". The meaning of that phrase is that all men are equal under the law, NOT that all men are of equal talent or abilities, so designing the next Edison or Einstein would be no violation of that principle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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