|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 9:58 pm
This is weird stuff. It's too science fiction! eek From TIME magazine: "Within a decade or two, it may be possible to screen kids almost before conception for an enormous range of attributes, such as how tall they're likely to be, what body type they will have, their hair and eye color, what sorts of illnesses they will be naturally resistant to, and even, conceivably, their IQ and personality type." This seems WRONG to me. Does it feel that way to you? Why or why not? Assuming the technology is perfected would YOU design your dream baby?You can read more here http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,989987,00.html
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 10:34 pm
Oh, yeah, I heard about this a while back!
It's definitely an interesting concept, in terms of genetic engineering. It would be useful for breeding flowers or food.
But babies?
This is where I have ask: 'Really, world? Really? Your natural babies weren't good enough for you? You had to go to this?'
I don't really understand why people would want to basically engineer their babies like this. Of course, it's understandable if it's for resistance of immunity to sicknesses and the like, but that would just lead to other type of diseases/illnesses that are strong enough to fight those genes or something. I mean, bacteria have already gotten that anti-bacterial trait in them alarmingly fast.
And to even go to the physical traits, speaking in terms of unnatural alteration is...well, it's absurd to me. There's nothing wrong with the majority of babies born in this day and age. Why do people continually thing that their children are 'not enough'? :'(
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2009 3:56 pm
You've made a lot of good points.. the one that struck me the most is the last that: their children are 'not enough'?
Do you think assuming this became commonplace and that a significant portion of the populace was altered that non altered babies would have inferiority complexes??
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2009 6:06 pm
Definitely, definitely.
Enough to have parents keep on thinking that their children is 'not enough' so much so that they don't even really realize it anymore. I understand a parent's desire for their children to, you know, be all you can be, and things like that, and I think that they just want to be able to be proud of their children.
But I wouldn't say that the aforementioned things is incentive enough to artificially alter babies.
I think this point was made clear in the movie....gah, I forget the name, but basically it was a world where it was possible to basically 'engineer' babies. It ended up being a place where the non-modified children ended up lower than the altered ones being discriminated against. They had their life pre-determined for them because it was thought that they couldn't be better than their altered counterparts.
...but yeah, I would say that they would have ineriority complexes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2009 7:34 pm
Indeed it is a bit odd.
Well, I would condemn such an action. I mean, if everyone was perfect, the world would be just as screwed up as it is today.
It is the differences of the world that have kept us around for so long, and if we begin to alter genes to simply create the "perfect" being, we are just damning the future of the human race.
This would lead to overpopulation, and less genetic variation eventually.
With that, the human race could not survive long enough, since our food source can't grow infinitely.
Not to mention the act would be immoral, humans are supposed to be flawed. The flaws make you perfect.
As stated before, the non-altered humans would most likely have some sort of inferiority complex.
Well, that is my two cents.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2009 8:31 pm
Certain attributes in children, like disease resistance, perhaps gender {Though I'm fairly certain one can do that now, don't quote me on this I'm not sure.}, and even at a streach, meaningless aesthetics. Certain things like creating super intelligent offspring with whatever personality base you should desire is terribly, terribly idiotic. Life would become nearly meaningless to this new super race that far excedes the limitations of their parents. Not to mention how governments everywhere would try for super soldiers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2009 11:09 am
 
This is a most interesting subject Wicked.
Years back I took a genetics class and in that class was the discussion of the governments attempt to create "savior siblings". This was when the "designer baby theory" was brought up. Now to create the "savior sibling" doctors would use tissue typing in conjunction with preimplantation genetic diagnosis and would be able to pick a human embryo for implantation which would become a "saviour sibling", a brother or sister capable of donating life-saving tissue to an existing child.
Three main prohibitionist arguments were considered and found wanting: (a) the claim that saviour siblings would be treated as commodities; (b) a slippery slope argument, which suggests that this practice will lead to the creation of so-called "designer babies"; and (c) a child welfare argument, according to which saviour siblings will be physically and/or psychologically harmed. As you can see .... this has turned out to be exactly what they predicted 5 years ago ... "designer babies".
I truly believe, perhaps by my personal religious beliefs, that life without death is not life. If you were to know that you would live without harm or sickness, could you and would you live to the fullest. Would you love like no other, dream of your wildest desires, push yourself to do all the wonderful things that life has to offer. I honestly don't know. I do not think I would.
I feel that death is not the end, it is just another beginning and when "man" takes that away from us they leave us with a society of no emotion. Children created by the hand of man ?? What happens to those few who do not turn out 100% perfect. Are they cast out, killed, or do they suffer along the way as merely parts for others? I see death everyday. Healthy beautiful people who had a full life ahead but in a brief moment they were gone. Honestly, it does not matter what they create free from illness, exclusive learning capabilities, or beauty beyond compare - death will always be there waiting in one way or another.
Perhaps this is just our government trying to control everything. A league of super soldiers like Neo said. I don't believe their intentions are as honest and thoughtful as what they want us to think.
**edited** I had one more question for you all. If we have the technology to create super babies or super humans then why do we not have the technology right now to cure the illnesses that we are faced with? Super babies ... is that another way of saying "complete mind controlled"?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 12:31 pm
@Blood:
Super babies= mind control, quite possibly.
I mean, imagine if the government began mass production of the very things parents love.
A baby factory, similar to The Matrix, so to speak. Then we will have hundreds of highly adept warriors in our midst, who(if trained correctly) can stop an invasion of Bubble Beings from planet Zargon if necessary.
Can you say government takeover?
Can you say totalitarianism?
Can you say certain doom?
Can you say nuclear war?
It is a horrible thing, but inevitable if we gain technology.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2009 2:43 am
I think it's not as much as the food problem, Kage, but the survival problem. The reason why there are so many variations in the human being (and any other living things) is that it is needed for the natural selection process, survival of the fittest thing. If designer babies make everything the same, well.. once a disaster occurs, that will be the end of us. We'll be wiped out.
Besides, segmentation of the society, and social classes are only natural. If everyone were to look like Orlando Bloom, well, there'd be no one to appreciate the beauty.
The Island is a movie about this whole human as commodities thing. I'd hate it if we humans were to get as low as that. D;
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2009 12:52 pm
First off Luna, I said the exact same thing in a different way. Less genetic variation also damns us, but a scientist has already proven that if we grow too much we won't be able to sustain the high numbers that we'll have.
It will be utterly impossible for the human race to survive with any type of superhuman. So, if this starts, prepare for Armageddon.
And also, humans have already stooped to treating other humans as commodities.
The Middle Passage, selling slaves to plantation owners, slave auctions.
We've done it. And once we do this, you can say goodbye to everything.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2009 8:06 pm
You did, but I just wanted to emphasize what issue we should worry about more.
As to slavery - true, we have those issues, human trafficking, etc but we're doing something to stop it, and it's much better now than before Abe's period. Creating babies just for the sake of keeping the sibling alive is way lower than that, IMHO. Although both of them are despicable nonetheless.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 30, 2009 3:26 pm
Yes, but genetic variation is a more long term issue than running out of food.
And you are correct, that is much more rare.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 27, 2010 5:13 pm
i belive the thought is despicable the only tho where the exception is is when you have a parent with a deadly disease like HIV/AIDS then you can do what you can do what they call "washing" to make sure the babt won' be cursed.
but we as humans are petty and selfish if you would have a child and create another one to be it's "savior" aren't you just phsycologicly making the one being saved a murderer in it's mind and the one doing the saving a unimportant drone with an expiration date?
though the thought of being able to have blue eyes that do run in my very african family a sure thing pleases me for a moment i will not even lie. but then i think doesn't that say to the child i made you perfect so now you must be perfect or i only love you because your my perfect baby. so if i do have a child i want it to know that know matter how you came out with our 8bill+ combinations i love you jus the way you are.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
