I don't see any dichotomy between "healthcare" and "genetic
engineering". Wouldn't genetic engineeering be the most organized
healthcare ever used?
> I am not sure where the default position rests in this case
> -- you seem to be optimistic that healthcare will cure any
> and all possible defects; while I think there are limits to
> what we can "cure". As always, I think it's better to attack
> the source rather than treat the symptoms.
I wonder a little what you mean by this.. Do you mean that we
should use things like retroviruses to remove genes that are
proven to be lethal or cause severe handicaps and diseases? Or
do you suggest that we eradicate every gene that the current
society thinks is "bad" and replace them with genes we think
are "good"?
The first of these uses of genetic engineering I don't
particularly disapprove of. The other, however, I think
would be a bit sad. Not only because soon everyone would
be tall, full-haired, athletic and non-perspiring :), but
more importantly: that approach would definitely cement our
current state of development as the final one. And I happen
to think that our evolution isn't over by far, if we don't
stop it ourselves with a scheme like that.
People that have studied programming with genetic algorithms
know that one quite easily and soon finds a local maximum-point.
The first one found is extremely rarely also the global max.
The problem is that, for the algorithm to be able to get away from
the local maximum, there has to be quite a bit of variation in the
gene pool. If most units in the pool are rather close to the local
maximum, the algorithm will get stuck, and never find a better
solution. The trick to find a better solution is:
_Don't_ remove the units that have really bad values. Let them
live on. One sometimes has to go quite far away from the local
maximum to get into the attractor zone of another solution. At
times, one even has to "exterminate" all the seemingly "good"
units, so that the remaining "bad" ones can converge on another,
better, solution.
I don't advocate that last approach in the case of the human
gene pool, though.
What if the gene-complex that causes short-sightedness recombined
with a future gene that seemingly causes a form of skin disease,
induces telepathic abilities? We don't know. We can't know. And if
we genetically engineer all our future children to have good eyesight,
we will never know what we're missing..
-Andreas