Somin's Suppositions

Leave it to the fellows at The Volokh Conspiracy to pinpoint the truly important issues of tomorrow. Ilya Somin writes an article entitled "The Case for Designer Babies," in which he explores the possibility that the babies of the future will all be genetically modified, or, at least, the ones with rich parents will be. Not only will the future's babies be inherently more intelligent than today's, they will feature a wide array of  "abilities" that stand to be a net gain for all of mankind. Afterall, who else but our genetically modified children will stand to save us when a intrinsically superior alien race of intellectual, hive-minded, super-mutants try to enslave our feeble planet. I, for one, can barely wait for the model of babies that shoot laser beams out of their eyes.

In case you couldn't tell, that last paragraph was whole-heartedly sarcastic. Mr. Somin's article was ridiculous enough that I simply couldn't help myself. While I do believe that thinking preemptively about the possibilities of tomorrow is wise, making assumptions about how undeveloped technology will operate, especially when that technology is quite a far off prospect, is anything but wise. The focus of Somin's article is that this possible technology will increase average IQ's which will "eliminate political ignorance," and "reduce cognitive inequality," but he does not address what evidence made him come to that conclusion. Intelligent Quotient tests themselves are virtually meaningless as they assess only one aspect of a persons knowledge: their ability to take a test. If Somin's only basis that genetically modified babies equate to a better tomorrow is that they will be better test takers then he himself is in need of some genetic modification.

Moralistically, who is to say that genetic modification is to ever even become prevalent? I can't say I know many people who would be willing to have their children subjected to any sort of modification, let alone having their DNA, the essential fabric of their being, tampered with just so that they can sit on the high end of the bell curve. I may not have children but I know that loving them for who they are is an important part of the whole equation. While I may be a geek that finds the idea of genetic modification more than awesome, I still think Mr. Somin's concerns are more than a little ahead of their time.

Boehner Bunglers Boggle Cranky Krugman

A recent New York Times article written by Paul Krugman, entitled "The Boehner Bunglers," is one of many, many opinion articles to hit the web this week about the government shutdown and the looming debt ceiling. Krugman, who identifies himself as a liberal, writes about the incompetence and radicalization of the Republican party, calling them bullies and would-be extortionists. He goes on to say that "the modern Republican Party is no longer capable of thinking seriously about policy," and that if Obama were to back down and negotiate under the threat of an economic crisis that it would "legitimize extortion as a routine part of politics." The focus of the entire article is restated at the end: "Incompetence can be a terrible thing."

In many ways I agree with Krugman, incompetence can be costly, Republicans like Boehner have reached an undeniable degree of radicalization, after all, shutting down the government is no small trick. The Affordable Care Act has already been signed into law and refusing to budget the government as a means to delay is akin to a childish tantrum. As Jon Stewart put it: When the Giant's lost 31-7, they didn't shut down the NFL. However, I think a certain amount of incompetence can be attributed to all parties involved. I see too many articles like Krugman's which are quick to scold and point fingers but offer no insight into any sort of solution, or take responsibility for the shortcomings of their own political orientation. All faults aside, any day now someone is going to have to give into compromise and I am eager to witness the outcome.