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Suppose this had been tested on 17 different mammals, all of whom gained remarkably in intelligence - the equivalent of gaining 70 IQ points (4.6 standard devia
by logicallee 11y ago
Suppose this had been tested on 17 different mammals, all of whom gained remarkably in intelligence - the equivalent of gaining 70 IQ points (4.6 standard deviations, or the difference between a severely mentally handicapped adult and a Nobel-winning scientist), and in particular an ape with the modified gene raised by researchers was able to attain not only an increase in general intelligence but even was able to learn the speech skills and mental abilities of a two year old human - breathtaking abilities including limited, but full conversation, albeit with great difficulty as it did not have actual language genes but merely learned with intense researcher help.
If there were good reason to believe the gene modification were safe and the increase in mental abilities would transfer to humans: would you let your next child be modified as an experiment?
- bdamm 11y agoYes. I'd also expect there to be unexpected consequences. The child might become socially isolated. They might experience an existential crisis the likes of which cannot be experienced by a mouse. There's no assurance that such a child grows to be a successful adult. The child might engage in risky behavior and experience a handicapping trauma. There's also a possibility that such a child grows up to be a psychopath. With these possibilities come a responsibility for emotional stability that might be difficult to provide by many parents. Still, I'd do it. Homo sapiens sapiens will evolve. My child is almost 3 yrs old.
- fastandfurryous 11y agoNo, because I do not believe you can isolate the effect of a gene modification to just "increasing intelligence" without side or downstream effects. We can barely determine how the brain works or explain how to treat mental disorders or why treatments do or do not work. I owe it to my child not put them through that because I alone have the desire to make them relatively more intelligent. There is also evidence that stimulants can aid in concentration and learning, but I wouldn't force that on a child that didn't want to deal with the side effects.
- danieltillett 11y agoSince it is defective gene mutation rather than a new gene there is almost certainly people alive today that have this mutation - it is a catalytic domain mutant of PDE4B (Y358C)[1]. The amazing thing is the human population is so large these days that if you look hard enough you can find people with mutant versions of any non-lethal gene. Pharmaceutical companies are just starting to make use of this to develop new drugs although it won’t really take off until everyones genome is sequenced. 1. http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/vaop/naam/abs/npp2015240a.html http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/vaop/naam/abs/npp2015240a....
- jkyle 11y agoMy child? Can I take it?
- ksenzee 11y agoNo. I'm not convinced unusually high IQ leads to greater happiness, and what I care about for my children is happiness. In a literal sense, they're probably already too smart for their own good.