He saved a bus! For NASA!
May. 8th, 2008 09:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
soc_puppet*flops* Tiiiiired! Tired tired tired tired tired T-T
On the plus side, I've finished all my finals \o/ On the minus side, my Culture and Tech final gave me a major headache -_-a Mostly the take-home part (augh! haet take-home tests, raar), whose directions I have copied here:
Locate yourself 40 years from now. Predictably, parents then, as now, will want what is best for their children. Picture yourself living in a highly competitive social/cultural environment where intelligence is highly prized and where you and others like you (but not everyone in society) can afford to enhance the "brain power" of your unborn children. The science/technology of this enhancement is still risky, although a great deal of advancement has happened in the past quarter centruy. Should you seek the help of genetic medicine to create a baby that most likely will be much more intellectually capable than you? To answer your question, please pick one of the ethical perspectives we have studied - traditional morality (Kass or Sandel), liberal morality (Agar), or postmodern morality (DeZengotita), explain how they would answer your question (including their reasoning), and then defend this reasoning against the other two perspectives.
My response, as written on the bottom of the sheet of paper:
THEIR perspective? THEIR reasoning? It's my hypothetical kid, shouldn't I be the one with an opinion? Wasn't the entire point of this class to develop our own opinions on morals of technology, etc? Why would I take a class just to learn, preach, and potentially practice what someone else believes? Where's the logic?!
The response I actually turned it: Euphemia's GMO
Euphemia sat silently with an arm wrapped protectively around her middle, nursing a headache. All around her, her family was arguing.
"No way should the kid be modded," Kassy snapped. "Society's started going downhill ever since we started this crazy trend, and I don't want my own sister-in-law to be a part of it!"
"And what happens when the child goes to school?" Agartha demanded. "Half the rest of the class at least is going to be modded, how is Euphie's child supposed to keep up with them?"
"The same way all the other un-modded kids do," Sandela said patiently. "Try their hardest and keep up with the work."
"And what about when their hardest isn't good enough?" Aunt Agartha asked. "What happens to them – to this child, potentially – when they're passed over for scholarships or can't get a job, or when they’re ostracized for not knowing as much?"
Sandela turned red with anger and opened her mouth to argue, but Kassy got there first. "Ostracism works both ways and you know it, Agartha. And we all know that Euphemia could've gotten into Mensa if she wanted, so what's to say that her kid's not going to get any of that?"
"Besides," Sandela added, finding her voice at last, "it's still too risky. Why should Euphie risk her health, and my future niece-or-nephew's, just so her kid'll be smarter than other kids whose parents couldn't afford the treatment?"
"It's hardly any risk at all these days, to either subject," Agartha said caustically. "With all the medical advancements we've made in the last few decades, it's not even as dangerous as a natural pregnancy from when I was born. There's no reason for Euphie not to take a chance and make a better life for her child."
"You know what’s bad for the baby?" Euphemia asked, seemingly from nowhere. Her relatives turned to look at her guiltily, as if they’d forgotten she was in the room at all. "Stress is bad for the baby," Euphie continued. "Stress, and people talking about it like it's not here, or like its mother is incapable of making her own decisions."
Her relatives looked stricken. "Euphie, we didn't mean – " Sandela started.
"But you're not actually going to go ahead and alter it, are you?" Kassy interrupted. "It's immoral!"
"Hush, Kassandra," Agartha said. "Euphie gets to make the decision, whatever it may be, and I'm sure it'll be the right one." Agartha's eyes said which way she thought that was, but thankfully she kept her mouth shut.
"Thank you, Aunt Agartha," Euphemia replied, rising. "I'm sure it'll be the right one, too. Now if you'll all excuse me, I believe the doctor has just called my name." Euphie strode off purposefully towards her doctor’s office.
----
Hours later, as Euphie's husband Frank drove them home, he glanced at her questioningly. "So, what did you decide?"
Euphemia smiled tiredly. "I decided to go through with the modding," she told him. "Even if things aren't very fair right now, if we do everything we can for our child, there's a chance he or she could help make things better in the future."
Frank smiled warmly. "That's my Euphie," he said, and leaned over to kiss her at the next red light.
--end--
I went totally heavy-handed with the names there :/ Mostly because I didn't think the teacher would manage to catch that I actually -referenced- them if I didn't, but still. Didn't manage to sneak DeZengotita in, to the best of my knowledge, but I've already gone over how I feel about his work (unfavorably).
SO glad that class is over. I am tired of being told to express other people's opinions, as if I have none of my own. Very not fun.
Anyhow. Went to my brother's final high school band concert last night instead of doing anything on the internet ^^a It was the big senior acknowledgment ceremony thing, too. See, each senior and parent(s) were called to walk on stage, receive a certificate and a gift (a fleece blanket with the band logo for the students, and a rose for the parents), and the band director shared a bit of information about the student in question. Tomas's cracked us up XD
Band Director: Tomas came back from vacation one year with a story about how he, uh. Invented a spaceship for mice? No, that's not it. Tomas, what did you do?
Dad: *whispers to him*
Band Director: Oh yes, that's right; he saved a bus! For NASA!
Socchan: ...XDD
That was either vastly understated, or vastly overstated. I'll figure out which when I dig up the post that details my brother's space-camp-bus-related exploit(s) later. Spaceship for mice. Pfft!
On the plus side, I've finished all my finals \o/ On the minus side, my Culture and Tech final gave me a major headache -_-a Mostly the take-home part (augh! haet take-home tests, raar), whose directions I have copied here:
Locate yourself 40 years from now. Predictably, parents then, as now, will want what is best for their children. Picture yourself living in a highly competitive social/cultural environment where intelligence is highly prized and where you and others like you (but not everyone in society) can afford to enhance the "brain power" of your unborn children. The science/technology of this enhancement is still risky, although a great deal of advancement has happened in the past quarter centruy. Should you seek the help of genetic medicine to create a baby that most likely will be much more intellectually capable than you? To answer your question, please pick one of the ethical perspectives we have studied - traditional morality (Kass or Sandel), liberal morality (Agar), or postmodern morality (DeZengotita), explain how they would answer your question (including their reasoning), and then defend this reasoning against the other two perspectives.
My response, as written on the bottom of the sheet of paper:
THEIR perspective? THEIR reasoning? It's my hypothetical kid, shouldn't I be the one with an opinion? Wasn't the entire point of this class to develop our own opinions on morals of technology, etc? Why would I take a class just to learn, preach, and potentially practice what someone else believes? Where's the logic?!
The response I actually turned it: Euphemia's GMO
Euphemia sat silently with an arm wrapped protectively around her middle, nursing a headache. All around her, her family was arguing.
"No way should the kid be modded," Kassy snapped. "Society's started going downhill ever since we started this crazy trend, and I don't want my own sister-in-law to be a part of it!"
"And what happens when the child goes to school?" Agartha demanded. "Half the rest of the class at least is going to be modded, how is Euphie's child supposed to keep up with them?"
"The same way all the other un-modded kids do," Sandela said patiently. "Try their hardest and keep up with the work."
"And what about when their hardest isn't good enough?" Aunt Agartha asked. "What happens to them – to this child, potentially – when they're passed over for scholarships or can't get a job, or when they’re ostracized for not knowing as much?"
Sandela turned red with anger and opened her mouth to argue, but Kassy got there first. "Ostracism works both ways and you know it, Agartha. And we all know that Euphemia could've gotten into Mensa if she wanted, so what's to say that her kid's not going to get any of that?"
"Besides," Sandela added, finding her voice at last, "it's still too risky. Why should Euphie risk her health, and my future niece-or-nephew's, just so her kid'll be smarter than other kids whose parents couldn't afford the treatment?"
"It's hardly any risk at all these days, to either subject," Agartha said caustically. "With all the medical advancements we've made in the last few decades, it's not even as dangerous as a natural pregnancy from when I was born. There's no reason for Euphie not to take a chance and make a better life for her child."
"You know what’s bad for the baby?" Euphemia asked, seemingly from nowhere. Her relatives turned to look at her guiltily, as if they’d forgotten she was in the room at all. "Stress is bad for the baby," Euphie continued. "Stress, and people talking about it like it's not here, or like its mother is incapable of making her own decisions."
Her relatives looked stricken. "Euphie, we didn't mean – " Sandela started.
"But you're not actually going to go ahead and alter it, are you?" Kassy interrupted. "It's immoral!"
"Hush, Kassandra," Agartha said. "Euphie gets to make the decision, whatever it may be, and I'm sure it'll be the right one." Agartha's eyes said which way she thought that was, but thankfully she kept her mouth shut.
"Thank you, Aunt Agartha," Euphemia replied, rising. "I'm sure it'll be the right one, too. Now if you'll all excuse me, I believe the doctor has just called my name." Euphie strode off purposefully towards her doctor’s office.
----
Hours later, as Euphie's husband Frank drove them home, he glanced at her questioningly. "So, what did you decide?"
Euphemia smiled tiredly. "I decided to go through with the modding," she told him. "Even if things aren't very fair right now, if we do everything we can for our child, there's a chance he or she could help make things better in the future."
Frank smiled warmly. "That's my Euphie," he said, and leaned over to kiss her at the next red light.
--end--
I went totally heavy-handed with the names there :/ Mostly because I didn't think the teacher would manage to catch that I actually -referenced- them if I didn't, but still. Didn't manage to sneak DeZengotita in, to the best of my knowledge, but I've already gone over how I feel about his work (unfavorably).
SO glad that class is over. I am tired of being told to express other people's opinions, as if I have none of my own. Very not fun.
Anyhow. Went to my brother's final high school band concert last night instead of doing anything on the internet ^^a It was the big senior acknowledgment ceremony thing, too. See, each senior and parent(s) were called to walk on stage, receive a certificate and a gift (a fleece blanket with the band logo for the students, and a rose for the parents), and the band director shared a bit of information about the student in question. Tomas's cracked us up XD
Band Director: Tomas came back from vacation one year with a story about how he, uh. Invented a spaceship for mice? No, that's not it. Tomas, what did you do?
Dad: *whispers to him*
Band Director: Oh yes, that's right; he saved a bus! For NASA!
Socchan: ...XDD
That was either vastly understated, or vastly overstated. I'll figure out which when I dig up the post that details my brother's space-camp-bus-related exploit(s) later. Spaceship for mice. Pfft!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-05-10 05:06 am (UTC)Ever seen the movie "Idiocracy"? In the future, parents may be too stupid to worry about the well being of their children. Why, they'll probably run up massive debts for their children while depleting irreplaceable resources instead of providing the best future for their kids they can. Oh, wait...
no subject
Date: 2008-05-10 06:19 pm (UTC)XD Can't say I've seen it, but as I've apparently been living it for the last N years...