An explanation about yesterday's posting...

To Tom and Ron and my other American readers (the whole three of you!) my apologies for choosing an inappropriate response to that article (above) and its remarks about results on the question of technology being used to improve intelligence. I'd like to explain....

The subject of technology being able to help with intelligence, or in other words 'genetic engineering' is something that I'm  sensitive about, because ethically applied genetic engineering could possibly eliminate problems like being born bipolar (manic-depressive) which is the result of chemical imbalances in the body caused by defective or missing genes in the DNA. These missing or damaged genes are responsible for the chemical imbalances because they are unable to instruct the central nervous system to save and use certain trace chemical elements which are essential to maintaining a normal balance in the chemistry of the blood plasma electrolytes and central nervous system generally, without which, the system tends to 'swing' or 'hunt' for its proper balance point, never successfully finding it unless supplemented by additional doses of specific medications designed to compensate for these missing trace chemicals. So the person experiences mood swings expressed sometimes as 'temper tantrums' or periods of wild elation or severe depression, and episodes of inappropriate behavior because of this lack of control which came with the system.

All of that can result in life becoming much more difficult than it needs to be, and result in loss of friends, difficulties with employment, marital problems, and a generally unpleasant kind of life, involving prejudice, discrimination, and a few other antisocial consequences. And I would know, because in the spring of 1977 I was confined to a Psych Ward for just over a month, during which extensive tests of several different kinds including brain scans and ECGs and blood tests galore were done on me, and the doctor then informed me that I'm a manic-depressive, and needed to take my medication regularly if I wished to enjoy any kind of 'normal' life. - His 'normal', not mine, because my 'normal' apparently wasn't, but it needed to be, obviously.

So, to make this story shorter, yes - I would favor genetic engineering if it was conducted ethically, scientifically, and only for certain specific deficiencies. I wouldn't want it misused as today's plastic surgery seems to be, and I wouldn't want it leading to anyone trying to create some kind of 'super race' like 'Der Fuhrer' envisioned in Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s. There would need to be controls in place to prevent that for sure. But it might be nice if we could augment the intelligence of guys like 'Dubya' or Wayne LaPierre of the NRA, to improve their cognition and 'common sense' factors by a few points. That might be very tempting....

And to Tom and Ron, I'm really sorry if my yesterday's remarks offended you. That was not my intention. I was trying to be a smart-ass, and I wasn't thinking it through, and I apologize. I sometimes even yet open mouth before engaging brain, and yesterday was one of those.