• Leon_Grotsky [comrade/them]
    ·
    3 years ago

    why not, genetically engineer every kid, supe up our fuckin’ species, cast off the yoke of natural selection driven evolution once and for all

    That's not what they were doing in the film though if I'm remembering it correctly; they were doing what they are talking about in the article which is special-selecting embryos with the good genes, not exorcising the bad genes from every embryo.

    also didn’t the main character have like a genetic heart defect? Like yeah I don’t wanna tell people “oh your genes are garbage so you’re a trash person” but I do think having a heart that could explode while piloting a rocket ship is a good reason to bar people from doing that

    The thing was though, his heart condition really didn't have an affect on his abilities as an astronaut. He was labeled as an invalid simply because of genetic makeup, and prevented from being an astronaut because the people-sorting-mechanism of the film determined he would die before 30 (which was wrong) and that his heart would explode under liftoff-conditions (which was wrong.) This begs the question, was it ever really about his physical capabilities or was it purely genetic gatekeeping? (the answer may surprise you.)