2 ms·

What if the predominant traits in our population were supra olfactory capability (smelling) that helped us recognize people instantly, or avoid poisons, or perh

What if the predominant traits in our population were supra olfactory capability (smelling) that helped us recognize people instantly, or avoid poisons, or perhaps infra-vision (ability to see at night), etc... What would it be like to be unable to recognize without the use of smell? How would we avoid some subtle poisons without smelling them? And wouldn't we be basically helpless in the dark, for 25% of the day, requiring artificial aids just to keep a car on the road? Walk down a path? Would deliberately having a child to be like, well, us, be cruel? I wonder if deaf parents basically are looking at it like this. They are fine with the way they are, they don't consider being deaf to be a particularly profound disability, and they want to have children that are like them; not a particularly unusual instinct.

antihero 14y ago
The difference is we live in a culture and a world that has been built around the senses "normal" people do have, so you would be depriving them of a large part of that world. Though if you are happy, then so be it.
mehwoot 14y ago
So should two parents who only have one arm be allowed to cut off their babies arm in order to make them like they are? After all, only having one arm isn't a debilitating injury in today's world. Even moreso with prosthetics it could be considered an advantage... Furthermore, since it isn't genetic, their child retains the options to choose whether their children will be one armed or not, unlike in this case where a gene might always be carried or carried a very high % of the time.