Totally 100% unrelated but on the line "China continues to buy up American debt", the United States could just as easily buy up Chinese debt. For some reason it just doesn't do this.
China Is Engineering Genius Babies (2013)
61–70 of 150 posts
Re: China Is Engineering Genius Babies (2013)
#62Earlier quoted context omitted.
is a high IQ enough to determine 'success'?
I think you could form an entire HN thread just on what it means to be successful. For example is Reddit a success despite not having IPOed? Are you a success if you have as many kids as possible? (Genghis Khan is probably the most successful persons of all time judging by that)
Is it really that complicated? As I see it, success is achieving your goals. Set goals and achieve them and you've succeeded, whether that's family or money or building a hyperloop or grilling the tastiest grilled cheese known to man... whatever. Given enough time none of it will matter so just pick something and run with it. Don't bother with whether other people are successful by your criteria because they probably don't have the same goals as you (unless your goal is to somehow judge if other people are successful I guess, which sounds silly but I guess by my own rules I can't judge).
Re: China Is Engineering Genius Babies (2013)
#63Are they still carrying this out? I thought it stopped when the head of BGI bailed.
Re: China Is Engineering Genius Babies (2013)
#64[deleted]
Re: China Is Engineering Genius Babies (2013)
#65Here's the primary piece: > At BGI Shenzhen, scientists have collected DNA samples from 2,000 of the world’s smartest people and are sequencing their entire genomes in an attempt to identify the alleles which determine human intelligence. Apparently they’re not far from finding them, and when they do, embryo screening will allow parents to pick their brightest zygote and potentially bump up every generation's intelli…
A dictatorship that wants to shut down criticism but raise IQ ? That seems like contradiction 101.
It's no more contradictory than a dictator wanting to promote economic development, increase literacy and education, or a number of other things that often lead to democracy.
Re: China Is Engineering Genius Babies (2013)
#66Earlier quoted context omitted.
A dictatorship that wants to shut down criticism but raise IQ ? That seems like contradiction 101.
Not at all. Many of Hitler's associates were remarkably intelligent (IQ scores): 1 Hjalmar Schacht 143 2 Arthur Seyss-Inquart 141 3 Hermann Goering 138 4 Karl Doenitz 138 5 Franz von Papen 134 6 Eric Raeder 134 7 Dr. Hans Frank 130 8 Hans Fritsche 130 9 Baldur von Schirach 130 10 Joachim von Ribbentrop 129 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg_trials#Intelligence_...
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Re: China Is Engineering Genius Babies (2013)
#67Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sounds like you're really plugged into this. Is there really a contingent out there that thinks Gattaca[1] is a desirable outcome? Edit; citing the movie as a widely known example of a stratified society with both engineered and non engineered humans. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gattaca
(Gattaca is a fictional movie, not a realistic outcome. What anyone thinks about it is irrelevant because it has not, will not, and could not happen, any more than Brave New World.) As far as making use of these techniques, certainly. Transhumanists, socialists, and 'liberal eugenicists' have always advocated 'seizing the means of reproduction', so to speak, but it's mostly been theoretical; modern behavioral genetic…
Why do you say its unrealistic? Eugenics has been seriously considered in the past, and is likely to be seriously considered in the future.
If genetic modification and control becomes 'easy' and relatively safe I don't see why those in power wouldn't try to exercise control over that power. In that future its not hard to imagine lawmakers banning having children who would have inherited known genetic 'defects'.
Now imagine 'defects' are classified as having dark skin, or whats considered a 100 IQ today.
Re: China Is Engineering Genius Babies (2013)
#68I wonder how they define intelligence. I suspect the cognitive traits that will serve an economy best in 30-40 years, when these babies reach the top of their economic productivity, are not what one might expect today.
Not perfectly but being talented in one area tends to correlate with being talented in another area.
Re: China Is Engineering Genius Babies (2013)
#69Earlier quoted context omitted.
is a high IQ enough to determine 'success'?
It's not sufficient, but arguably necessary. There are roughly three things that make you successful: 1. Being smart 2. Working hard 3. Opportunity Everybody can do #2, but most won't. #1 is at least partially genetic. #3 is mostly luck, but is influenced by the other two. In fact all of the factors influence one another to a degree. Being born in an area with good schools and working hard can overcome somewhat defic…
You forgot the 2 that count the most luck and network.
Re: China Is Engineering Genius Babies (2013)
#70Earlier quoted context omitted.
Me. In general, the less intelligent people are, the less they contribute to society. I'd rather live in an engineered society with engineered people. The primary problem to solve is discrimination against non-engineered people. That problem was the only reason Gattaca was so dystopian. As long as there are controls in place that make it difficult, it should be possible to move forward with engineering humans in a pr…
The ladies who empty the trash here contribute more to society than I do. I just write throwaway apps for throwaway companies, they actually DO something.
You're free to quit your job and go empty peoples' trash if you really find it so much more meaningful.