Nurturing Nature

I've decided to start using this blog when I can, as I am graduating from college this week and thinking about going on a road trip around the U.S. soon.

So my first post will be to share a random thought I had when I couldn't sleep last night...

I think that most people are familiar with the term "Nature vs. Nurture" when talking about genetics. If you aren't, it refers to the way a person is. The argument is: Is a person the way he/she is because of genetic makeup (nature) or because of the environment in which it is raised and the stimuli it is exposed to over that time.

My random thought was that since we are all getting so smart and good at what we do, i.e. the level of skill of sports players today compared with 50 years ago, combined with the knowledge we are gaining about the human genome, and our willingness to take more extreme measures to make ourselves "better" -- what is the next step?

We can now take a blood sample from a person and find out if they are susceptible to diseases, if they are going to be an analytical thinker, or a good ball player, among other things. I don't like it, but the fact is, right now, we are living in the age of genetic engineering. We eat genetically engineered food, wear engineered clothing, most of our products are being created in a lab to be "better".

Is the next step human engineering? We are on the brink of being able to regrow limbs and living 40% longer. What's to make us think that we won't be taking blood samples from our babies, finding out what they may have a proclivity for, and conditioning them from birth for a certain trade? Many of us will resist this if and when it ever comes, but will that put our children at a disadvantage to the well-off children whose parents have no qualms about doing this? Will a young person be able to go to college or be able to get a job if they are not prepared for the future, like some of the others, perhaps doomed to work dead end jobs for low pay?
Seems like something out of a sci-fi movie like Gattaca, Farenheit 451, Blade Runner, and many others that will require complacence, conformity, and a loss of identity to achieve a decent level of success and quality of life.

Sorry, my mind ponders odd things sometimes.

Getting it Up

This is me testing my blog as i start it up...