We started watching Gattaca in class today, and I was surprised to find it’s very similar to my tech. research project topic –designer genes. This boy named Vincent was one of the few children born without genetic assistance; meaning he was more prone to diseases, bad traits, etc. He obviously stood out from other people, and it was known that he had a heart disease that would most likely kill him by age thirty. To make matters worse, he also wouldn’t be able to follow his dream in traveling in space because of this.
It would obviously be very strange to live in a world where people are almost perfect. No sickness, no addictions, no bad habits. I can see the appeal of removing genetic diseases, but literally choosing who your child would be is too much. Even picking the gender is going too far, in my opinion. Not everything needs to be dissected and understood to achieve perfection. Who we are is supposed to be developed and learned, not manipulated. A balance is important in life –we would never know what is good without bad and vice versa. I think one day science may go too far. We would have no mystery left in life, and how boring would that be? Designer babies would be crossing the line.
Preview of the film:
Excellent, robust posts that delve deeply into class topics; well done! 25/25
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