Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

CRISPR takes important step toward silencing Down syndrome’s extra chromosome

medicalxpress.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 155 posts

Re: CRISPR takes important step toward silencing Down syndrome’s extra chromosome

#11

Post by spockz »

refulgentis wrote: post #7
JimmyBuckets wrote: post #2

[flagged]

That 99% number is wrong. Additionally, it should set off alarms that the argument implies we should give people Down Syndrome . Using it to argue against helping people with Down syndrome is worse. The authors spell out why its wrong. [1] Their sample was exclusively from DS nonprofit mailing lists, got a 17% response rate, with a median household income of $100K, (2x median), and as they wrote, the results are like…

I completely hear your point. We have a close neighbour with a kid with a mental disability which causes her to mentally stay forever 6 years old. She is a happy person but we do see the effects on the parents and sibling and how much care and love they spend. They do it willingly and lovingly, but it still takes a toll. Would they choose differently? I don’t know. But as a parent if I had the chance up front to cure/fix/prevent expression of Down syndrome, I would take it.

Re: CRISPR takes important step toward silencing Down syndrome’s extra chromosome

#12

Post by CooCooCaCha »

JimmyBuckets wrote: post #2

[flagged]

If I told you I put a chemical into the water supply that gave people brown hair you’d probably think I am weird and stupid but not evil.

If I told you the chemical gave people down syndrome you’d probably think I am evil.

Whenever these topics come up there’s always people saying things like “but what if people like it?” And I can’t help but wonder, really? Are we really having this conversation? The answers are obvious so why pretend they’re not?

I don’t believe anybody actually thinks this way.

Re: CRISPR takes important step toward silencing Down syndrome’s extra chromosome

#15

Post by pixl97 »

CooCooCaCha wrote: post #12
JimmyBuckets wrote: post #2

[flagged]

If I told you I put a chemical into the water supply that gave people brown hair you’d probably think I am weird and stupid but not evil. If I told you the chemical gave people down syndrome you’d probably think I am evil. Whenever these topics come up there’s always people saying things like “but what if people like it?” And I can’t help but wonder, really? Are we really having this conversation? The answers are obv…

>I don’t believe anybody actually thinks this way.

Oh, there are far too many people that do. I mostly call them the "Hell for you, heaven for me" bunch, the doublethink/cognitive dissonance in so many is very very strong.

https://joycearthur.com/abortion/the-only-moral-abortion-is-...

“The Only Moral Abortion is My Abortion” is a common example of this behavior.

Re: CRISPR takes important step toward silencing Down syndrome’s extra chromosome

#16

Post by almostjazz »

pixel_popping wrote: post #13
JimmyBuckets wrote: post #2

[flagged]

99% doesn't make sense, not even 99% of people without Down syndrome are happy (far from it I believe).

What exactly is logically impossible about people with down syndrome being happier on average than those without it?

Re: CRISPR takes important step toward silencing Down syndrome’s extra chromosome

#17

Post by almostjazz »

CooCooCaCha wrote: post #12
JimmyBuckets wrote: post #2

[flagged]

If I told you I put a chemical into the water supply that gave people brown hair you’d probably think I am weird and stupid but not evil. If I told you the chemical gave people down syndrome you’d probably think I am evil. Whenever these topics come up there’s always people saying things like “but what if people like it?” And I can’t help but wonder, really? Are we really having this conversation? The answers are obv…

If you force something major and permanent on somebody without their consent for no good reason, of course it would be evil. It would be evil to force somebody gay to be straight and it would be evil to force somebody straight to be gay, that has nothing to do with the goodness or badness of being straight or gay. Hair dye is temporary.

Re: CRISPR takes important step toward silencing Down syndrome’s extra chromosome

#18

Post by pixel_popping »

almostjazz wrote: post #16
pixel_popping wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

99% doesn't make sense, not even 99% of people without Down syndrome are happy (far from it I believe).

What exactly is logically impossible about people with down syndrome being happier on average than those without it?

It could be true because their surrounding/family... would take care better of them than the average person, that I might understand, but still, it's really a stretch.

can you really say you're happy with something when you don't know what life without it looks like? You adapt. You make peace with it. That's human nature. Doesn't mean it's the best option.

Re: CRISPR takes important step toward silencing Down syndrome’s extra chromosome

#19

Post by lynx97 »

JimmyBuckets wrote: post #2

[flagged]

A similar statistic applies to many disabilities. If you give people a few years of time, after they acquired a disability, studies show their happiness isn't substantially different from a person without a disability. Grief comes from lack of accessibility and society failing to support us. But not from the actual situation. I have to explain this every other week, to a non-disabled person that tries to tell me how bad my life must be. Its a well known phenomenon. And a total break of boundaries. Imagine someone walking up to a woman and tellign her they are sorry for her being born as a woman? Not imaginable. But happens with people with disabilities all the time.

Re: CRISPR takes important step toward silencing Down syndrome’s extra chromosome

#20

Post by jjj123 »

CooCooCaCha wrote: post #12
JimmyBuckets wrote: post #2

[flagged]

If I told you I put a chemical into the water supply that gave people brown hair you’d probably think I am weird and stupid but not evil. If I told you the chemical gave people down syndrome you’d probably think I am evil. Whenever these topics come up there’s always people saying things like “but what if people like it?” And I can’t help but wonder, really? Are we really having this conversation? The answers are obv…

Kind of a strange example, because yeah I do think it’s evil to inflict your aesthetic preference on everyone’s bodies without consent.
Post reply on HN