4 ms·
Well this is exciting, but hopefully it will advance beyond "genetic disease". Or maybe in the future we will be able to expand our definition of that term, to
by mmirate 9y ago
Well this is exciting, but hopefully it will advance beyond "genetic disease". Or maybe in the future we will be able to expand our definition of that term, to include all genetic predispositions to suboptimal traits? (e.g. slow observation-decision loop, hedonism, sentimentalism/too-much-empathy, neuroticism, etc.)
Either way - hopefully, when this tech is completed, we will be able to accept and enjoy that our descendants will literally be superior beings to us, and not look upon them with too much envy.
- zanny 9y agoWait, being empathic is now a negative trait? I'd hope we would want our first generation of superhumans to be too empathic, or else they might exterminate all of us of inferior breed.
- bluGill 9y agoYou would want that, but that choice may not be possible. There are some known genes where you choose between social skills or memory. You cannot have both as it is the same gene.
- mmirate 9y agoIn addition to the factors mentioned in the sibling comment, empathy can often lead one to make the wrong decision. (Where by "wrong" I mean any decision other than the one best supported by one's rational analysis.)
- mmirate 9y agoSo I suppose it's not the empathy itself that's the problem; rather, it's that we are so emotionally sensitive to the data we gain from our empathy.