Intelligence Enhanced Children

[Darkdestroyer]

My intelligence certainly isolates me. I wish sometimes that I was stupid, to be blunt. confused I'm sure some of you can understand. I'm not a nerd or anything it's just people get irritated when I do well in tests. stressed It's a lose:lose situation. I would definitely abolish genetic modification  

[Cornelius loh Quatious]

Well, do you feel that if everyone was on the same intellectual level as you that you would not be so isolated? Trust me, once you hit college it's a whole different ball game.  

[Spooky Ames]

It would be nice if you could go from an IQ of 70 to an IQ of 100, but I don't think people with an already ok IQ need to be any smarter.  

[irridescent nobody]

I don't like the idea of mass genetic engineering at all. It scares the crap out of me. That's something we were not meant to do. Us home-grown humans will be obsolete.

 

[Strideo]

50s Greaser

I don't like the idea of mass genetic engineering at all. It scares the crap out of me. That's something we were not meant to do. Us home-grown humans will be obsolete.

Perhaps not obsolete, but rather "inadequate". Like, what if non-genetic engineered people became looked down on or became some sort of underclass? I would hope that in an age of genetic engineering people would still be judged by their merit rather than just their genes.  

[Cornelius loh Quatious]

Well, I suppose it would still be determined by who's the majority, and who's in power. The first genetically-engineered will have it the hardest, and will be constantly shunned by those who fear becoming inadequate around them. As the enhanced population continues to grow, so to will the acceptance of them in our culture. After that, it is up to them to determine how "normal" humans will be accepted or marginalized.  

[d e s d e m o n o]

Miss Gish

Izzabot

I don't think that any one person can make a decision like that. It also reminds of the writings of Kurt Vonnegut and Ray Bradbury. People mean well when they try to create a utopian society where everyone is equal but it never really works. People weren't meant to be all alike, life is more interesting than that.

Did Vonnegut make a Utopian style book? Hmmm I'll have to look into this.

ANYWHO! Dboy, we aren't actually that far off from making this possible. It's called genetic engineering, hun. Scientists around the world are getting closer and closer each day to making it possible.

Actually, we were just discussing this kind of topic in my Lit class. Without people realizing it, more and more are we becoming a perfect society. (Although, I do believe we will never be "perfect").

I think it'd be horrible if we started engineering young children to become geniuses. Instead of remembering things like toys or playing with their friends or things like that, they're going to remember when they learned their first algebraic equation or s**t like that. I certainly, would not want a childhood like that. It's boring.

Plus, if everyone did have an IQ of 200+...we'd all be drones. Just machines. All we would care about is using that intelligence and how to make it better...we'd have no personality. (Or, at least, not a good one). Think of Brave New World, or The Island, or other Utopian stories...they were all the same...all perfect machines living in a perfect world without change or feeling.

I would disagree with a few things.
1) Children wouldn't necessarily remember learning the algebraic equation and academic stuff. If they ALL had an IQ of 300, they might well remember playing with their friends, building models of carbon molecules wink !
2) It is NOT boring! I was 10 when I learned it, and I should know!
3) Having an IQ of 200+ doesn't take away a person's personality. It make alter it, but it does not necessarily take it away.
Note: Wouldn't you say that people in Brave New World have a personality? A shallow one, certainly, but they have it.  

[butterflygirlGK]

Has anyone read any of the ender's shadow series by orsen scott card.... I can't help but wonder what the physical ramifications would be for genetically altering someone to be more intelligent... Will is make them more fragile as a human... For instance, in ender's shadow the character will continue to grow until his body can no longer support itself... Also if everyone is genetically switched to be smarter and smarter, then a 137 IQ could become the new average person and the standard of dumb, smart and smarter will still exist.  

[SolstaLynn]

heart I hate to be the one to point out that the IQ test is not accurate, I tested at 300, and I am no genious. Indeed, I am excentric.
There is also a bias toward the western hemisphere with the IQ test. This can be proven by the fact that I have also scored a 0 on this same test.

I can say that I do not rely on IQ to be any guage on possible success. heart  

[SolstaLynn]

Butterfly, I have read the entire "Ender's" series. It was nice, but I do not rely on fiction to decide the future.  

[xxBatOutOfHellxx]

I don't think that it would be right, as there may be side effects, and as people have allready said, not everyone would use it for good.  

[sewing-life alchemist]

the problem you pose is very simple children with 150 dont fit beacause most children have 100 if every children had 150 every they would fit and yes it would benifit the human race i mean with the problems we have now were gonna need all the geniuses we can get  

[Mara EZK]

What's the point of enhancing intelligence even more than it is? People for centuries have been fine with naturally selecting intelligent humans. If you ask me, I think there can be much better uses for our money than enhancing peoples intelligence when we truly don't need it.  

[ferret321]

The social aspect is a bad one. In todays society, being stupid and ignorant is thought of as being "cool". the social aspect should not exist, and the fact that it does makes me mad. I was not intellectually enhanced, but the way I was raised, not being around other kids, I had to be mature and I spent all of my time reading and learning beyond my grade level. In 1st grade, I was reading at a 10th grade level and learning advanced quantum, particle and nuclear physics. I had little interaction and I turned out being succesful. Social interacton is not as important as many think. Being kind, intellagent and successful is much more important.  

[ferret321]

SolstaLynn

heart I hate to be the one to point out that the IQ test is not accurate, I tested at 300, and I am no genious. Indeed, I am excentric.
There is also a bias toward the western hemisphere with the IQ test. This can be proven by the fact that I have also scored a 0 on this same test.

I can say that I do not rely on IQ to be any guage on possible success. heart

On the cotrary, your IQ is a major factor, but people are smarter in different areas, and the IQ test only covers a few. You can't gauge success on the test, but you can gauge it with the IQ itself.