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vibesandcrimes t1_ja5w3ry wrote

Why do all this when their zip code does it more effectively?

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tendervittles77 t1_ja5wd4k wrote

The best line in Gattaca is from the genetic counselor picking a parent’s genes for a child:

“It is still you, just the best parts of you.”

He is the embodiment of the slippery slope.

That film was produced by Danny DeVito. I wonder if he was interested in the project because he would never exist in that world.

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P7BinSD t1_ja5wwi4 wrote

Look no further than your ZIP code.

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bigbangbilly t1_ja67upp wrote

Replying to tendervittles77 (#2,042,443)

>Danny DeVito

Gattaca might as well be a dramatic escalation of Brothers (the one with Arnold Schwarzenegger) like how based on fan theories Snowpiercer is somehow a sequel to Willy Wonka and the chocolate factory.

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futurewolf336 t1_ja68k35 wrote

Why not just look at the parents economic status and connections?

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Esselon t1_ja6dhly wrote

I'd guess most of these people would also agree with the statement of "we only use 10% of our brains" despite that being just a shitty scifi plot point.

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ohmosis t1_ja6fyps wrote

One of the stupidest things I've ever read is this.

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tendervittles77 t1_ja6iefm wrote

Replying to Dromey_P (#2,046,447)

I think he’s referring to the movie TWINS, where Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger played fraternal twins. Arnold had been engineered to be a super-being, and Danny DeVito was “the leftovers.”

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hummingbird_mywill t1_ja6nk3v wrote

Replying to Independent-Canary95 (#2,042,617)

I’m sure you can’t totally believe this though…

My husband’s parents were Polish immigrants with PhDs. Mom got cancer within a year of arriving in the US and died. Dad’s English was kind of shit so he couldn’t keep a job at his level and struggled to pay the bills as a single father. Both husband and sister-in-law went to Ivy League schools on scholarship/loans. These kinds of stories aren’t uncommon for immigrants who have a lot of brains and no money.

Matter of fact, even with me, both my parents are educated but fucking stupid with money and lost hundreds of thousands of dollars getting grifted repeatedly. I have gone on to be modestly successful, no thanks to their money, but thanks for the genetics mom and dad 🙏

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bettinafairchild t1_ja6oqfb wrote

They already do this. People select their partner based on similar education levels. And if you get donor eggs or sperm, they almost exclusively take sperm from donors who are taller than 5’10” and who went to an elite school. They include SAT scores on the application, but I don’t think they verify as there was some dude who made all kinds of bogus claims and famously a significant proportion of the kids he fathered have serious mental and emotional problems, similar to him. For donor eggs they charge a premium for women from elite schools and they’re more likely to demand to see what she looks like first and favor pretty donors.

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Deyln t1_ja6xplf wrote

ah yes.... testing embryos for enforced debt.

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Ephemeral_Being t1_ja782ti wrote

Replying to ddbllwyn (#2,049,732)

It's basically the same. You take two (previously three) exams, scored out of 800.

Anything below 700-ish should provoke an automatic retest if you're serious about attending a private University. I had a 2200 (730/730/740) when I applied to Ivy League schools (Harvard, Duke, Princeton, Yale, Dartmouth), and got only a single interview (Dartmouth), no acceptances. I had the other stuff, GPA, extracurriculars, AP course and exams, letters of recommendation, essays, etc., but it wasn't enough. Scored a 35 on the ACT, too, though I think that's even less important. I had one of the highest scores in my graduating class, and exactly one of us was accepted to an Ivy League school. She had about a 2150, and was accepted to Barnard (Columbia), but her extracurriculars were miles better than mine. She was there on a partial sports scholarship, in addition to having great academics. That girl was brilliant, driven, and talented. She earned that spot. Worked way harder than I did, that's for damned certain. I was reading novels (and later Reddit) in class while she took notes. I played video games and building robots while she studied and did ballet. There's no animosity or envy, there. I was genuinely happy for her, and I imagine she's doing great things with her life.

Anecdote aside, I guess "passing" depends on your goals and it should be noted they're not the only important metric. I don't think they're even the most important.

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Ephemeral_Being t1_ja79cnz wrote

Replying to ohmosis (#2,046,388)

Uh. Why do you think this is stupid?

We know intelligence is at least partially genetic. The degree is up for debate, but there's an indisputable link between intelligent parents and intelligent children. If we can isolate genetic sequences tied to better memory, cognition, or perception, you'd be an idiot not to opt into a selection process that gives your child better tools to succeed in life.

We can't do it yet, but once the technology is available we'll see this kind of thing done frequently for anyone having IVF. It's like genetic screenings for trisomy 21, Huntington's, or cystic fibrosis, just in reverse. Instead of blacklisting gametes or embryos with certain genetic sequences, we'll provide you a survey where you weigh different factors and a computer will select the appropriate combination of gametes or fertilized embryos based on your criteria. This one has eight sequences of memory, and six of cognition. That one has twelve of cognition, but only four of memory, etc.

This is the future. This is how we take evolution into our own hands, and begin to craft the society that we've dreamed about for centuries. No more sickness. No conflict. We'll breed a population of enlightened scholars, with empathy and compassion for their fellow man.

If you think this won't happen, you're naive. I'd guess already happening in China, albeit not with the efficacy I envision. We'll need a few generations of test subjects to refine the algorithms, identify the best combination or ratio of traits and what (if any) side effects occur when you force atypical brain development upon a child.

My suspicion is that if we push too hard, we end up with Asperger's syndrome and autistic savants. But, I don't have the evidence to support that hypothesis. It's just a guess, and was admittedly influenced by the DS9 episodes with the genetically augmented humans that Bashir tries to help.

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Own-Willingness-3935 t1_ja7h69s wrote

The bar for college entry is so low & scammy that I bet the embryo itself would be admitted and granted a student loan. Lmao

0

hummingbird_mywill t1_ja7icnk wrote

Replying to Sw33ttoothe (#2,048,728)

Are you suggesting parents’ bank accounts are correlated to their children’s success rather than a cause then? I just find Reddit loves to say money is a direct cause of x or y, but just as often it’s not.

Maybe it’s weird to attribute my success to genetics. But here’s the way I see it: I have worked my ass off to be successful, but there are plenty of other people who have or are going to work just as hard as me and not achieve the same success simply because I placed well in the genetics lottery (in terms of many of society’s predictors of financial success in a Western society). So we (husband and I) try to keep this in mind in the way we donate our money and vote, while at the same time I resist this idea that most successful people in American society bought their way there. There are the super notable exceptions, but generally I find the biggest predictor to just be genetics plus a stable enough home environment.

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big_juice01 t1_ja7liju wrote

If you believe Tupac Shakur and JFK Jr are alive and in hiding, let me save you an embryo test.

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motogucci t1_ja7niut wrote

Replying to Deyln (#2,049,791)

Only the best genetics all across the board for tomorrow's wage slaves.

We owe our corporate masters at least this much.

--

Because of course there are still only X spots for college and even more limited "successful positions" afterward. The rest still get shitty jobs.

Not to mention, what's the point, when abortion is being criminalized across the country anyway. "Your embryo has 0% chance of going to college. Don't try and fight it. Sucks to be you!"

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Zeduca t1_ja7qdya wrote

Genes have a lot to do about abilities. I suspect testing embryos to select their college major is coming too.

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g3t_int0_ityuh t1_ja97fah wrote

That sucks. I’ve worked with brilliant individuals that are PhD MD, phd PhD et c… and damn that is a curse. The amount of engagement needed to keep minds of that caliber sane is. A. Lot. Seriously, high intellect is a hair away from insanity.

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defaultusername-17 t1_ja992rh wrote

oh joy... eugenics 2.0... just in time for a new fascist movement... nothing alarming bout that.

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DebiMoonfae t1_ja9gapd wrote

Oh they can read your bank account through embryos now?

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lrrc49 t1_ja9y1ei wrote

Replying to DebiMoonfae (#2,071,821)

just a way to get money from those with money to spend.

phd in biochemistry and molecular biology: only the wealthy will be able to afford genetic screening and alterations.

Ethically I think all forms of embryonic genome editing in humans should be banned unless it is to treat a specific genetic disease.

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qj-_-tp t1_jaa73cr wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#2,068,788)

I call trolling. The other party is more correct than you are, though each raised valid points. Trolls lose by forfeit immediately after being outed. Therefore, you lose. And don’t think you can sucker me with more trolling; whether you have good points to make or not, troll == loss. I’m done with you; your loss.

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QuartermasterBetel t1_jaakegh wrote

I don't usually see a headline and get all "the world is a dystopian nightmare!" Or "I saw a Black Mirror episode about this once"

But this is really kinda hellish. Cause this same system could be (wrongly) used to "predict" criminal intent. The likelihood your child could become a criminal and arrest them before they even commit a crime

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maracajaazul t1_jadj6ky wrote

Replying to Kingbuji (#2,056,464)

Damn Im glad things are not like that over here. In order to enroll into a college over here you must do an exam. What you did extracurricular and your gpa did not matter at all as long as you got the sufficient score. It was very convenient for me as I got a relatively good grade for the long term effort(little) that I did.

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