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The Crispr Twins Had Their Brains Altered

51 points by Vaslo 8y ago

dentemple 8y ago
I'm morbidly curious to see what the unexpected side effects will be. Altering cognition like this can't be for free.
calbear81 8y ago
Memory is a two way street, I think the brain has a way to protect itself from painful memories as a way to keep us functional and sane.
- true_tuna 8y ago
  Totally. I have a very normal memory and have sometimes wished a particularly unpleasant or embarrassing memory was a bit less sharp. Then again, I’v often wished my memory was a bit sharper for learning new languages, names or technical details. I too must admit to a morbid curiosity to see how this turns out. I suppose we’ll have to wait about twenty years to see.
- sdrothrock 8y ago
  LeBron James has an eidetic memory and has talked about being trapped by loops of bad memories, or haunted by them, both of which make him hesitate or underperform on the court: http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/11067098/lebron-james-greatest-weapon-brain http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/11067098/lebron-james-gre...
1zee 8y ago
> We need drugs, but it’s another thing to take normal people and muck with the DNA or chemistry to improve them In a sense, don't drugs do exactly that sans the mucking with DNA?
- meowface 8y ago
  Yes. If we read that quote in 50 or 100 years, it'll seem hilariously antiquated.
bsaul 8y ago
Although i share the intuitive reaction of disgust, the last statement "we're not ready for it" made me wonder : knowing the complexity of the genes expression problem, is there any point when we'll be able to say we're ready for it ? Another question i wonder : is making a baby with someone else truely something responsible, knowing the number of things that we alter when we combine pretty randomly the DNA of two , sometimes extremely different, people ?
- jobigoud 8y ago
  Another question, if we had the tech to improve the cognitive abilities of our offsprings, would it be ethical not to do it?
8bitsrule 8y ago
One relevant 'Twilight Zone' episode. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_12_Looks_Just_Like_You https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_12_Looks_Just_Like_You ( clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7d6h3kaQs6g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7d6h3kaQs6g) and another https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eye_of_the_Beholder https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eye_of_the_Beholder
beenBoutIT 8y ago
It's probably something like configuring a kernel and enabling way too many options. The guy's probably flipped a shitload of switches and there's a chance neither of the kids will boot correctly.

51 points by Vaslo 8y ago

I'm morbidly curious to see what the unexpected side effects will be. Altering cognition like this can't be for free.

Memory is a two way street, I think the brain has a way to protect itself from painful memories as a way to keep us functional and sane.

true_tuna 8y ago
Totally. I have a very normal memory and have sometimes wished a particularly unpleasant or embarrassing memory was a bit less sharp. Then again, I’v often wished my memory was a bit sharper for learning new languages, names or technical details. I too must admit to a morbid curiosity to see how this turns out. I suppose we’ll have to wait about twenty years to see.
sdrothrock 8y ago
LeBron James has an eidetic memory and has talked about being trapped by loops of bad memories, or haunted by them, both of which make him hesitate or underperform on the court: http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/11067098/lebron-james-greatest-weapon-brain http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/11067098/lebron-james-gre...

1zee 8y ago

> We need drugs, but it’s another thing to take normal people and muck with the DNA or chemistry to improve them In a sense, don't drugs do exactly that sans the mucking with DNA?

meowface 8y ago
Yes. If we read that quote in 50 or 100 years, it'll seem hilariously antiquated.

bsaul 8y ago

Although i share the intuitive reaction of disgust, the last statement "we're not ready for it" made me wonder : knowing the complexity of the genes expression problem, is there any point when we'll be able to say we're ready for it ? Another question i wonder : is making a baby with someone else truely something responsible, knowing the number of things that we alter when we combine pretty randomly the DNA of two , sometimes extremely different, people ?

jobigoud 8y ago
Another question, if we had the tech to improve the cognitive abilities of our offsprings, would it be ethical not to do it?

8bitsrule 8y ago

One relevant 'Twilight Zone' episode. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_12_Looks_Just_Like_You https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_12_Looks_Just_Like_You ( clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7d6h3kaQs6g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7d6h3kaQs6g) and another https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eye_of_the_Beholder https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eye_of_the_Beholder

beenBoutIT 8y ago

It's probably something like configuring a kernel and enabling way too many options. The guy's probably flipped a shitload of switches and there's a chance neither of the kids will boot correctly.