NYT 'Op Eds From the Future' Launch With Sci-Fi Writer Ted Chiang (nytimes.com) 33
Slashdot reader Lasrick tipped us off to the first installment in a new series at the New York Times called "Op-Eds From the Future."
Science fiction authors, futurists, philosophers and scientists write op-eds that they imagine we might read 10, 20 or even 100 years in the future. The challenges they predict are imaginary -- for now -- but their arguments illuminate the urgent questions of today.
The first one is by science fiction writer Ted Chiang (best known for the short story which became the Hugo-winning movie Arrival). Apparently riffing on the college admissions scandal, Chiang writes that "It's 2059, and the Rich Kids Are Still Winning. DNA tweaks won't fix our problems..." His op-ed complains that a "philanthropic effort to bring genetic cognitive enhancements to low-income communities" has failed to get most of them into elite colleges or into jobs with good salaries and prospects for advancement.
"With the results in hand, it is time for us to re-examine the efficacy and desirability of genetic engineering...."
Science fiction authors, futurists, philosophers and scientists write op-eds that they imagine we might read 10, 20 or even 100 years in the future. The challenges they predict are imaginary -- for now -- but their arguments illuminate the urgent questions of today.
The first one is by science fiction writer Ted Chiang (best known for the short story which became the Hugo-winning movie Arrival). Apparently riffing on the college admissions scandal, Chiang writes that "It's 2059, and the Rich Kids Are Still Winning. DNA tweaks won't fix our problems..." His op-ed complains that a "philanthropic effort to bring genetic cognitive enhancements to low-income communities" has failed to get most of them into elite colleges or into jobs with good salaries and prospects for advancement.
"With the results in hand, it is time for us to re-examine the efficacy and desirability of genetic engineering...."
Re: (Score:1)
I wonder what butthurt in the year 3000 will look like.
Republican
Huh (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
They're struggling to find content people want to read.
Let them sink. No great loss.
Re: (Score:2)
These are essentially op-ed pieces under the guise of (sort of) fiction.
Re: (Score:1)
Ted Chiang correctly observes that intelligence is not the demarkator of success
Access to those with dynastic capital is.
Re: (Score:2)
Entering? They been in the fiction business for a while.
Re: (Score:2)
All for a quick buck, all for a quick buck. Integrity an honor is dead in the journalism space.
"Futurist" = Idiot (Score:2)
Or rather Futurists are a subclass of idiots that unfortunately have learned to write and are now pestering everybody with their deranged ideas. SciFi authors usually are aware that their writings are fictional and meant to entertain. That I have no problem with.
Not Dystopian Enough (Score:2)
Human genetic engineering (Score:5, Insightful)
Long before we can identify the genetic complex that facilitates intelligence, we will find and knock out the addiction gene. This, just by itself, will allow a much larger number of people to qualify for college.
Yet more genetic monopolist propaganda (Score:2)
The study was rigged to fail. With only 500 subjects and no controlling for nutrition and educational resources, it is no surprise that they did poorly. The gened and pharma companies designed it that way, to strange the public subsidy of cognitive enhancement in the crib. They're terrified of an even playing field, even if it guaranteed billions coming their way, because it would have boostrapped the next generation right out of their dependency. A smarter populace is a less credulous populace, and their v
A comment on the article (Score:2)
In a discussion that seems to revolve around the relative impact of wealth and innate intelligence, an important factor is being overlooked: the transmission within families of practical information that is useful in achieving success.
Children who grow up hearing parents who are doctors discuss their work are better prepared for careers in medicine. Children whose parents talk about their work in law, finance, and upper levels of business managemen
IQ (Score:1)