Would you genetically augment your children?

[Piper Maru]

my son's going to be a Manbearpig.

You can't be cereal.

 

[Ant-manic]

You can't be cereal.

i can't be. but my daughter could be part cornflakes; thanks to genetic augmentation.

 

[BestGirl]

You roll your eyes but if you eliminate mental illness you are essential destroying future work and influence from mentally ill people like Van Gogh.

Who's to say that Van Gogh wouldn't've made equally beautiful, or even better art if he hadn't been mentally ill? BTW, I looked up his illness online and many historians believe he suffered from lead poisoning, and that's what triggered quite a few his problems.

It's my personally believe that God has reasons beyond human understanding for placing certain children and trying to micromanage the type of child you will get will have similar results as when humans toy with ecosystems.

Disastrous.

Honestly parents are lucky is they can raise a decent person let alone build the ideal match for them head to toe genetically.

That's fine, but you said that people who augmented their kids wouldn't love them as much as regular children, which doesn't make much sense.

 

[childeroland]

I don't think we could in all good conscience keep mental illness on the off-chance that some folks may become the next Van Gogh. Too much suffering vs. the (relatively) occasional genius? And if God wants to keep his theodicean reasons mysterious, then he can just stay out of it if we ever find a cure for some of that beyond-human-understanding suffering.

 

[Dr.]

Given a choice, would you genetically enhance your children?

Give them a high IQ, immune to most diseases, make them athletic, etc.

Anytime someone selects an attractive, smart, talented and healthy mate, they are genetically enhancing their (future) children.

 

[redmarvel]

No. I'd be too worried about unforseen side effects. Some side effects of toxins only become apparent after 2 or 3 generations.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

I'm schizophrenic and I find it highly offensive that people think it's well within reason to delete that aspect of my identity.

Schizophrenia impacts how I view the world and my spiritual outlook.

Quite frankly if you never had a psychotic yet spiritual vision you can't say schizophrenia is some worthless plague on humanity with no redeeming value.

My ”condition” has allowed me to explore imaginative and radical concepts so vividly that they could count as valid and real experiences. I'm a better father and dynamic human being thanks to these ”experiences”.

Why don't we identify the genome that makes people materialistic, shallow, and cynical? Surely those traits have caused humanity far more misery than the homeless schizophrenic with an apocalyptic card board sign.

and most schizophrenics can take a pill a day if they want to be just another normal person. But it's nice to have the option to explore the frontiers of madness and divine vision. Most people could use such things in their redundant, predictable existence.

Again, the cold, cynical, apathrtic and shallow traits should get the ax long before the imaginative and colorfully mad.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

Anytime someone selects an attractive, smart, talented and healthy mate, they are genetically enhancing their (future) children.

The person usually has many of those traits already before gaining such a mate.

Unless rape or a sperm donor is involved.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

I'll just share a quick story.

A mother was told that her unborn baby was likely to have down syndrome. She was unmoved and was determined to have the baby despite friends and family unanimously urging her not to.

The baby would eventually become not only normal but one of brightest and sweetest children I have ever met.

My point is that somethings are not meant to be understood let alone tightly controled by humans.

 

[Ant-manic]

I'm schizophrenic and I find it highly offensive that people think it's well within reason to delete that aspect of my identity.

Schizophrenia impacts how I view the world and my spiritual outlook.

Quite frankly if you never had a psychotic yet spiritual vision you can't say schizophrenia is some worthless plague on humanity with no redeeming value.

My ”condition” has allowed me to explore imaginative and radical concepts so vividly that they could count as valid and real experiences. I'm a better father and dynamic human being thanks to these ”experiences”.

Why don't we identify the genome that makes people materialistic, shallow, and cynical? Surely those traits have caused humanity far more misery than the homeless schizophrenic with an apocalyptic card board sign.

and most schizophrenics can take a pill a day if they want to be just another normal person. But it's nice to have the option to explore the frontiers of madness and divine vision. Most people could use such things in their redundant, predictable existence.

Again, the cold, cynical, apathrtic and shallow traits should get the ax long before the imaginative and colorfully mad.

do you take medication?

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

do you take medication?

Currently yes, why do you ask?

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

It's funny that medication wasn't even an issue until I admitted I was schizophrenic.

Then it's instantaneously used to discredit my worldview.

Oh well, it was worth a shot. Maybe someone out there understands.

 

[CGHulk]

I'd love to genetically modify my kids where they'd have no desire for greed. They'd be thick skinned. They'd take the higher ground. To not to be afraid of opposition. They'd work tirelessly to make the world a better place for everyone. They'd believe in themselves and in their dreams. They'd be less judgmental. To remove the mentality of victim victimizer from their mentality. They'd not succumb to jealousies. They'd live their lives to inspire others!

Forget get it! If I'd have acess to this I can only imagine what others would decide.

 

[Thundercrack85]

Well, that gets more into imprinting, which is also possible. Literal brainwashing. I'm not a proponent of that though.

 

[CGHulk]

Well, that gets more into imprinting, which is also possible. Literal brainwashing. I'm not a proponent of that though.

Actually culture, religion and patriotism is all brainwashing! Media and public schools and parenting are too! If everything is, then reality is what we make it be or what we want it to be!

 

[Thundercrack85]

Actually culture, religion and patriotism is all brainwashing! Media and public schools and parenting is it too.

I'm against all those things. Well, not culture.

But the thing is, your mind can combat all those things. You can think for yourself (at least to some degree). You have a sense of yourself. With imprinting, you have no choice.

 

[childeroland]

Most mental illnesses can't be dealt with only by taking a pill. And I don't know if most people dealing with them see them as vital to who they are in a positive way. Of course many folks can come to embrace all they are, but how many would rather not deal with the issue at all? And how are their parents to know before they are born? Should those parents wait till the kids grow up on the (off?)-chance that those kids will come to appreciate their condition, or should they, if they could, use genetic augmentation so that their children never have to deal with it in the first place?

 

[CGHulk]

I'm against all those things. Well, not culture.

But the thing is, your mind can combat all those things. You can think for yourself (at least to some degree). You have a sense of yourself. With imprinting, you have no choice.

You do have a choice, you have the ability to change any belief. There's plenty who have broke with their imprinting, and there are those who haven't. Usually it take a traumatic event or something big to wake you up.

 

[Thundercrack85]

Not the kind that is literally implanted into your mind genetically (or, neurologically... not really sure what they would call it).

 

[CGHulk]

There's no kind that is genetically implanted, even science hasn't proven that yet!

 

[redhawk23]

I have to question if we are always correct to label things as disorders or illnesses. Remember that until the 1970's homosexuality was considered a mental illness.

Things like ADD and ADHD, while not compatible necessarily with sitting in a classroom for 7 hours a day were perfectly fine traits in the environments within humanity evolved.

 

[redhawk23]

Also things like "slow metabolism," the conservation of energy and ability to store fat seems like a disadvantage in our own society with its abundance of food and inactive lifestyles, but seriously this has not been the case throughout history, or even today throughout the world and there is no guarantee the way we live will even be possible a few generations down the road.

 

[Thundercrack85]

I have to question if we are always correct to label things as disorders or illnesses. Remember that until the 1970's homosexuality was considered a mental illness.

Things like ADD and ADHD, while not compatible necessarily with sitting in a classroom for 7 hours a day were perfectly fine traits in the environments within humanity evolved.

I imagine that will be controversial. You will be able to choose your kids' sexual orientation.

 

[redhawk23]

I imagine that will be controversial. You will be able to choose your kids' sexual orientation.

Not everything that has its roots in biology is necessarily genetic though.

 

[redhawk23]

I am not necessarily fearful of the possibility of such technologies and I think it could do a lot of great good, but at the same time, humans are not always known for great decision making and I question the wisdom of having the biology of the following generation be susceptible essentially to fashion.