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A review by innae
More Than Human: Embracing the Promise of Biological Enhancement by Ramez Naam
3.0
This book is fascinating. I know I don't agree with everything Naam has to say, as he is PRO everything. and I am not so sure on some of it. But, he does make valid arguments at every step.
I did have a few thoughts as I was reading -
- What about the children and children's children of gene therapy folks? -- he does address this later in the book, if they are given therapy after already a person (ie. born) then the gene therapy does not integrate into every cell, so it would not be passed on -- but the ones who are given therapy in the womb, or the test tube, prior to many of the cells dividing -- then the therapy would be in EVERY cell and would be passed on to future generations -- weird.
- He talks about gene therapy to be able to suppress guilt or empathy -- meaning truly bad guys would be able to take away the "badness" they feel -- however, this could work to give empathy and guilt to the sociopaths out there, and perhaps "cure" them?? an intriguing thought.
- He discusses Calorie Restriction (CR) to live longer. Apparently it works in monkeys -- however, would you really want to live to be 120 if you couldn't eat an eclair? or a piece of chocolate? ever?
-There is a possibility in the future to give an unborn child a gene that would make them immune to most strains of HIV (or any other disease) -- now would this really be an enhancement? or just a step up from vaccination? -- imagine no more vaccination shots, just genes to protect you from polio and chicken pox and HIV and cancer put directly into your body?? and if it were done when you were still in "cells" stage, it could be something you would pass on, effectively breading out disease? hmmmm.
This was a book to make me think. Many of the thoughts that were brought up by this book are interesting, and very scary. Is it because it is "new technology" or is it because it is Wrong? Hmmm, perhaps we need to discuss this with Ian Malcolm (from Jurassic Park -- "Just because you CAN do something doesn't mean you SHOULD do something)
I did have a few thoughts as I was reading -
- What about the children and children's children of gene therapy folks? -- he does address this later in the book, if they are given therapy after already a person (ie. born) then the gene therapy does not integrate into every cell, so it would not be passed on -- but the ones who are given therapy in the womb, or the test tube, prior to many of the cells dividing -- then the therapy would be in EVERY cell and would be passed on to future generations -- weird.
- He talks about gene therapy to be able to suppress guilt or empathy -- meaning truly bad guys would be able to take away the "badness" they feel -- however, this could work to give empathy and guilt to the sociopaths out there, and perhaps "cure" them?? an intriguing thought.
- He discusses Calorie Restriction (CR) to live longer. Apparently it works in monkeys -- however, would you really want to live to be 120 if you couldn't eat an eclair? or a piece of chocolate? ever?
-There is a possibility in the future to give an unborn child a gene that would make them immune to most strains of HIV (or any other disease) -- now would this really be an enhancement? or just a step up from vaccination? -- imagine no more vaccination shots, just genes to protect you from polio and chicken pox and HIV and cancer put directly into your body?? and if it were done when you were still in "cells" stage, it could be something you would pass on, effectively breading out disease? hmmmm.
This was a book to make me think. Many of the thoughts that were brought up by this book are interesting, and very scary. Is it because it is "new technology" or is it because it is Wrong? Hmmm, perhaps we need to discuss this with Ian Malcolm (from Jurassic Park -- "Just because you CAN do something doesn't mean you SHOULD do something)