Genetic remodeling

[wswears]

Alright, I want my grandson to be 2 meters tall if he wants to be. I want cancer to be a disease that was once one of the scourges of the human race, now thankfully easily curable with a tailored virus or treatment that invades cancer cells and replaces there nuclei with bog standard data from healthy cells. I'm tired of witch doctors arguing over whether they should poison me with radiation or chemicals in order to kill something that is effectively a localized genetic disorder.

I want to be able to talk with my genetic counselor and tell her to make sure my kid can't inherit my allergies or her mother's bad ankles. My kid, but better than me, because she doesn't have my weaknesses.

[aburt]

And so the human species will evolve -- not by external influence but via internal choice. (Probably still random in a certain sense -- but add up all the diverse modifications people request, we'll asymptotically approach what we "want" to be as a species. I suspect it will be much more varied than now... many variations on, who knows, extra arms, other body shapes, eyes in new places... the choices seem infinite. But the aggregate is what we'll want to be. Really fascinating!)

[Mottman]

I highly doubt this would end up with more variation. Basic sociology: people want to fit in. They do that by dressing alike, talking alike, doing things alike. Give people the power to morph their children and you will see clones, and clones alone. Bar the rich and the eccentric, they will be the wild variants.

[aburt]

Devil's advocate position... rich people like designer clothes, and designers change styles each year. Rich people don't want to wear identical clothes to anyone else -- imagine two women showing up to the ball wearing the same dress! So if they have genetic choices, they may prefer unique "designer" selections...

[Mottman]

Ok yes, but that would probably end up being the angle of the nose, or the shade of the lips. Lower class parents are not going to purposely add a wild variation into their child. They would make sure their kid is the same height as everyone else so that they don't get bullied. What parent is going to make their child blue, and then send them off to school? What is seen as "ugly" is variation, there would be no more big noses, no more double chins, no more defining characteristics. People would be tall dark and handsome, or petite and pretty, end of universal description.

Those people, those millions of people, with body image issue are going to make sure their children never have the same issues. Meaning, those thighs i'm so embarrassed about i will never pass on to my kids. This huge mouth that i hate so much, gone. These big feet i have so much trouble fitting, never be seen again after me. I have fat genes, well my kid wont. I'm too weak, well my kid wont be. I'm too tall, my kid wont be.

The rich people, those choices i would like to see. Imagine if Hollywood stars had the ability to adjust their children's every feature.....ha ha, poor kids

[aburt]

Many might wish for conformity, but even if (for the sake of argument) you're right about the majority, there's usually at least 20% contrarians in any crowd. It would be interesting to see! I suspect we may soon get to find out.